Star Trek Resurgence understands what makes great Star Trek

Unlike its esteemed counterpart at Lucasfilm, Star Trek’s history with video games isn’t exactly stellar.

There have been licensed Star Trek video games going back 50 years, but there’s never really been one great Star Trek game whose appeal transcended the boundaries of its existing fan base. In addition, the most famous Star Trek games from the 2000s such as Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Forceof 2002 Star Trek: Bridge Commanderand longest running MMORPG star trek online, place an extreme emphasis on combat, which is only a last resort in Star Trek stories. Gene Roddenberry’s Cosmic Controversy Often Has Action, But It Never Happens About this Work; Star Trek is about compassion, curiosity and camaraderie. To truly capture the essence of the spacefaring adventure series, a video game needs to be as much about talking as it is about flying and shooting, letting players explore new worlds, build relationships, and face complex moral dilemmas. allows.

seems to be the purpose of star trek resurrection, the first release from Telltale offshoot Dramatic Labs, and the first Star Trek game in ages to be as character- and dialogue-focused as a television series. aboard a new ship and starring an almost entirely new cast, resurrection is a branching narrative whose balance between interstellar intrigue, interpersonal conflict and explosive space action is closer to its source material than any Star Trek game in decades – perhaps ever. As a game and as a piece of software, it leaves a lot to be desired. But as a Star Trek story, it certainly earns its pips.

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Image: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

resurrection Alternates between the viewpoints of two player-controlled characters aboard the science vessel Resolute, incoming First Officer Commander Jara Rydek (Kryzia Bajos) and enlisted engineer Petty Officer Carter Diaz (Josh Keaton). The Resolute is recovering from a recent disaster that cost the lives of several of its crew and the reputation of its captain, Zachary Solano. Solano fears he has lost the trust of his crew, and is counting on academy protege Rydek to help restore his honor as the Resolute goes on an important diplomatic mission. Throughout the story, Rydek focuses on uncovering a mystery with galactic implications, earning the crew’s trust while also evaluating whether Solano is worthy of him. Meanwhile, Engineer Diaz deals with more of the nuts-and-bolts problems aboard the ship, while also navigating a romance with a fellow officer.

as in a good peak-age star trek The episode, “Problem of the Week”, is tackled from more than one angle, with some teams handling social or interpersonal conflict while others investigate some related scientific or technological puzzle. Teamwork is an essential component to Star Trek, and resurrection Highlights that solving complex problems requires a variety of skill sets and approaches. There is a two-way relationship between the bridge crew handling the big picture and the specialists below troubleshooting the finer points. Alternating between these A- and B-plots breaks up the story and gameplay nicely, and introduces the player to a variety of likable, memorable characters with whom you interact in different ways depending on your protagonist. Let’s talk.

Image: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

The narrative moves along at a steady clip, with the stakes rising organically from a normal next generation episode something close to a modern season-long arc Search, Importantly, for a video game and a Star Trek story, the player is faced with consequential, difficult, and timely choices.

Unlike the (much better still) Mass Effect games, which present players with a clear Paragon or Renegade path to advance, resurrectionDialogue trees don’t always provide a clear moral binary. Would you risk a dozen lives to save one? Would you disobey a direct order to follow the advice of an emotional subordinate? Which member of your crew do you rely on most in a crisis, and will they count on you in a pinch? All these decisions are made in a short amount of time, forcing the player to think quickly and trust their instincts. it makes instant resurrection Feel closer to the “real” Starfleet experience than the vast open world star trek online, which sets most of your objectives for you; Almost every path ends with “fire all phasers”.

More than anything, it’s your relationships with the supporting cast that shape the variations in the narrative. It’s not just a matter of passing each person’s individual loyalty check that you can get a 100% “perfect” ending. You can’t please everyone and you can’t save everyone. (Or at least I’m not in my two playthroughs yet.) Not only does this put the full weight of duty and command on the player and provide incentive to repeat 12 to 15-hour games multiple times, but it also stars also underscores one of Trek’s essential tenets: it is possible for two parties to disagree in good faith and in good conscience. Sometimes compromise can be made, sometimes conflict cannot be avoided, but no one needs to remain enemies forever.

Image: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

On the other hand, the commitment to the Star Trek ethos has its drawbacks. Starfleet’s strict code of conduct means players are somewhat railroaded. For example, when enlisted engineer Diaz’s love interest is caught accessing files she wasn’t supposed to, you, as Diaz, can’t lie to cover for her. In a distinctive move from the franchise, whose reputation for political bigotry has somewhat dissipated, its core political conflict between a colonial empire and some unfortunate long-suffering defenders on both sides is sniffling. Some sci-fi twists that complicate the plot do so at the expense of subtlety, introducing an overarching threat that forces all parties to work together without ever really addressing them. separated in the first place. It’s a flaw found in a lot of past and present Star Trek, demonstrating the libertarian-libertarian belief that we can just go along without any meaningful change to the status quo.

It features non-dialog-driven gameplay elements. resurrection Really stumbles. While the stealth and cover shooting parts are smooth and fun, a lot of the other mechanics are dull, tedious, or both. This especially applies to PO Diaz’s engineering works, which feel less like puzzles or minigames and more like engagements. (drag R2 to open this groove, now LS+R2 to remove this isolinear chip, and then the next ones, etc.) The fail conditions of some minigames or stages can be disabled via the Story Mode option, But there’s no way to avoid the game’s more mindless actions.

star trek resurrection It also suffered from several technical glitches at the time of release, at least on the PlayStation 4. It is not uncommon for lines of dialogue to start late or be cut early, costing the scene significant exposition or flavor. Keeping subtitles enabled can sometimes compensate for this problem, except for random occasions when subtitles disappear completely for a line or two at a time. Busy cutscenes, such as the game’s space battle finale, load slowly on the PS4, creating second-long gaps between shots, which kills the momentum of what should be an exciting climax. These issues may be resolved in a future update, but at launch, they’re an undeniable drag.

Image: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

Despite these obvious flaws, star trek resurrection Provides space-worthy experiences for Star Trek fans. Where other titles have offered a more complete picture of the Star Trek universe – allowing players to explore the breadth of the galaxy, walk the decks of their favorite starships, or build their own – only a few have looked beyond. Knowledge towards Story, Fans don’t just love Star Trek for the cool ships or the deep mythology, we love it for the friendship between Kirk and Spock, and Picard’s evolution from stoic loner to proud patriarch; to Cisco’s impossible moral dilemmas and Burnham’s search for redemption.

Not too much resurrectionthe closest spiritual ancestor of the classic ’90s point-and-click adventure star trek 25th anniversary Or Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final Unitycaptured that essential human element that makes a great Star Trek story. resurrection Tweaks a worthy cast of characters for an interstellar adventure. does resurrection Qualifies as “Great Star Trek”? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue that any video game has come close.

star trek resurrection was released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X on May 23. The game was reviewed on PS4 using a pre-release download code provided by Double Fine Productions. Vox Media is an affiliated partnership. These do not affect editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find Additional information about Play Gamez’s ethics policy here,