Star Trek Resurgence review: the most Star Trek game yet

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

There are licensed Star Trek video games going back 50 years, but there’s never been a truly great Star Trek game, one whose appeal outstretches the limits of its existing fan base. Moreover, even the most celebrated Star Trek games, such as 2000’s Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force, 2002’s Star Trek: Bridge CommanderIt is a long-running MMO Star Trek OnlineStar Trek’s stories are dominated by combat. It is always the last option. Gene Roddenberry’s cosmic polemic often contains action, but it’s never What is the best way to get in touch with us?Star Trek has a lot to do with compassion, camaraderie, and curiosity. A video game that captures the spirit of Star Trek’s space-faring adventures should allow players to talk as well as fly and shoot, and explore new worlds and moral dilemmas.

The goal seems to be to make the world a better place. Star Trek ResurgenceThe first Star Trek video game since ages, is the latest release by Telltale’s offshoot Dramatic Labs. It’s a character and dialogue focused Star Trek, just like the TV series. A new crew and ship are featured in this game. Resurgence is a branching narrative whose balance between interstellar intrigue, interpersonal conflict, and explosive space action hews closer to that of its source material than any Star Trek game in decades — maybe ever. It is a disappointing game. It is a Star Trek Story, and that’s where it earns the pips.

Images: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

ResurgenceThe game alternates between two characters controlled by the player, the incoming commander Jara Rydek and the enlisted Petty Officer Carter Diaz. Zachary Solano is the captain of Resolute. The ship has recently suffered a disaster which cost several members of its crew their lives and damaged its reputation. Solano fears that he’s lost the confidence of his staff, and is counting on Academy protege Rydek to help restore his honor as the Resolute embarks on an important diplomatic mission. Rydek is tasked with unraveling an intergalactic mystery, and earning the respect of her crew, while evaluating if Solano deserves it. Diaz, the engineer, is dealing with other problems and romances aboard the ship.

It was a great peak period Star Trek episode, the “problem of the week” is tackled from more than one angle, with some of the crew handling a social or interpersonal conflict while others investigate some related scientific or technological puzzle. Star Trek relies heavily on teamwork. ResurgenceIt is important to note that solving complex problems requires a wide range of skills and viewpoints. It is important to note that there’s a mutually beneficial relationship between the crew on the bridge, who handle the bigger picture, and those below them, the specialists. The A-and-B-plots are alternated to break up the narrative and gameplay, and also introduce the player with a range of memorable, likable characters.

Images: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

It is a fast-paced story with organic stakes that are not typical of an action movie. Next GenerationEpisode to something more like a season-long modern arc Discovery. In both a Star Trek and a Star Trek game, players are faced with difficult and important choices.

Mass Effect, a game that is still far superior to Mass Effect, offers players the choice between two distinct paths: Paragon and Renegade. Resurgence’s dialogue trees don’t always offer an obvious ethical binary. Will you save a life by risking a dozen? Will you disregard a clear order in favor of the opinion of a passionate subordinate? In a time of crisis, which member of your crew will you put more trust in? Will they also trust you? All of these decisions must be made in a very short amount time, which forces the player to trust his instincts and think fast. The game instantly becomes more exciting. Resurgence feel closer to the “real” Starfleet experience even than the expansive open world of Star Trek Online, which dictates most of your objectives for you; nearly 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 simply a matter of passing each one’s individual loyalty check, allowing you to achieve some 100% “perfect” ending. The truth is that you can’t please everybody and save everyone. (Or at least I haven’t yet in my two playthroughs.) The player is given the responsibility of commanding the ship and this gives them an extra incentive to keep playing the 12 to 15-hour long game. It also reinforces one of Star Trek’s core beliefs: that two people can have a disagreement in good will and conscience. Sometimes a compromise can be reached, sometimes conflict can’t be avoided, but no one needs to stay enemies forever.

Images: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

The commitment to Star Trek’s ethos has its downsides. Starfleet’s strict code of conduct means that the players are somewhat railroaded. For instance, when enlisted engineer Diaz’s love interest is caught accessing files she’s not supposed to, you, as Diaz, can’t lie to cover for her. The core conflict of this franchise, which is known for its political radicalism but is overrated, involves a colonizing Empire and their oppressed protectorate. This suggests a certain bothsidesism. Some sci-fi turns complicate plots at the cost of nuance. They introduce an all-encompassing threat which forces everyone to come together, without ever addressing the original reasons for their separation. It’s a flaw found in a lot of past and present Star Trek, demonstrating the liberal-moderate belief that we can all just get along without committing to any meaningful change in the status quo.

It’s in the non-dialogue-driven gameplay elements that ResurgenceTruly stumbles. The stealth and cover-shooting portions of the game are fun and smooth, but many other mechanics feel sluggish or tedious. This particularly applies to PO Diaz’s engineering tasks, which feel less like puzzles or minigames and more like busywork. The game will ask you to pull R2 in order to open a conduit. Next, LS+R2 is required to remove an isolinear. Fail conditions of certain minigames or stages can be disabled via a Story Mode option, but there is no way to avoid the game’s more mindless chores.

Star Trek ResurgenceThe PlayStation 4 release was plagued with numerous glitches. It’s not uncommon for lines of dialogue to start late or cut off early, costing the scene important exposition or flavor. Keeping the subtitles on can often compensate for this, except for random instances when they suddenly disappear. Busier cutscenes, such as the game’s space battle finale, load sluggishly on PS4, creating seconds-long gaps between shots, killing the momentum of what should be a thrilling climax. These issues may be resolved in future updates, but at launch, they’re an undeniable drag.

Images: Dramatic Labs/Epic Games

These flaws are still present. Star Trek ResurgenceStar Trek fans will enjoy this spaceworthy adventure. Where other titles have offered a more complete picture of the Star Trek universe — letting players expThe lore the breadth of the galaxy, walk the decks of their favorite starships, or build their own — only a rare few have looked beyond lore toward You can read more about it here. Fans don’t love Star Trek merely for the cool ships or deep mythology, we love it for the friendship between Kirk and Spock, and Picard’s growth from stiff loner to proud patriarch; for Sisko’s impossible moral dilemmas and Burnham’s quest for redemption.

Not even Resurgence’s nearest spiritual ancestors, classic ’90s point-and-click adventures Star Trek 25th AnniversaryYou can also find out more about Star Trek: The Next Generation – A Final UnityThey have captured the essential human aspect that is at the heart of a good Star Trek tale. ResurgenceThis interstellar tale is tied to a great cast. What Does Resurgence qualify as “great Star Trek”? Probably not, but it’s hard to argue that any video game has come closer.

Star Trek Resurgence Released on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows PC on 23 May. Xbox One and Xbox Series X were also available. Double Fine Productions gave us a code to download the pre-release version of the game on PS4. Vox Media is affiliated with other companies. Vox Media can earn affiliate commissions, but this does not affect editorial content. Find out more about affiliate links. additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.