Developed by Dramatic Labs and published by Bruner House, Star Trek: Resurgence is a brand-new narrative Star Trek experience. It has been a long time since we had a Star Trek game apart from the VR experience and I am sure that every fan of this amazing franchise is looking forward to it. Being a fan myself, I was really looking forward to playing Star Trek: Resurgence myself because it looked promising from the trailers. For some reason, the game has remained under the radar even after its launch because it is a brilliant return of this franchise in the best way possible. This is our review of Star Trek: Resurgence on PC in which we try to negotiate peace between two alien races and fail miserably at it.
Star Trek: Resurgence is set after the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation and revolves around the journey of the U.S.S. Resolute, a Centaur-Class science vessel commanded by Captain Solano. You play as two different characters in the game, the newly appointed First Officer Commander Jara Rydek, a Kobliad, and Petty Officer Carter Diaz, an engineering wizard who has been serving on the U.S.S. Resolute for quite some time. U.S.S. Resolute is no ordinary vessel as judged by its history because the ship was literally split into two parts after its previous expedition into space during which it also lost most of its crew including the previous First Officer who was serving under Captain Solano. Commander Jara Rydek is joining the ship at a crucial point because not only is this U.S.S. Resolute’s first voyage since it was repaired and lost most of its crew, but Captain Solano is also aiming to do everything to save his reputation while the crew is still trying to adjust to the new First Officer and the fact that the vessel has such a brutal history.
Being a narrative title, which is heavily influenced by the choices you make during the dialogue sequences, Star Trek: Resurgence takes its inspiration from the likes of games by Telltale Games who pioneered this genre with their plethora of similar titles. However, being a Star Trek game, interaction between the First Officer and the crew including the captain is vital and this is where you, as a First Officer, really have to make choices that not only incline the crew towards you, but you also remain in the good graces of your captain. Throughout its 15-hour story, you have to make different choices that will not only determine the course of your own career, but also your crew, your ship, Starfleet, and the different other species involved in the mix. The two characters are at the top of their game as Commander Jara Rydek is a top graduate with plenty of distinctions under her belt while Carter Diaz can fix anything in the engineering department.
This gives you a more diverse look at the ship and its different sections through the eyes of two differently ranked people aboard the same ship. Both characters are vital to the story as you will see as you start playing the game and it is amazing how their story is intertwined with each other. Your voyage requires you to try and make two different races the Hotari and the Alydians negotiate a peace treaty who are on the brink of war over a power struggle over the rare resource mining of Dilithium. The story gives you an interesting insight into both the professional and personal lives of both characters as they try to make good bonds with their crew members along with the alien races as well. As I mentioned earlier, each choice that you choose in dialogue or in various scenarios will have drastic effects on the relationship between you and everyone around you.
While the story of Star Trek: Resurgence plays out itself in the form of a narrative experience, there are different instances where you will be given a small bit of freedom to do tasks your own way. The gameplay is pretty diversified and there is a good variety of different elements thrown in the mix. For instance, sometimes you will have to issue commands from the ship’s bridge or lead an away team on an expedition inside an alien mine, or sometimes you will need to solve some engineering puzzles to clear interference and beam up friendlies or align the tractor beam to help out stranded shuttles in the outer space. There are also some instances where you will be shooting at enemies with your phasers, using your Tricorder to scan different alien materials, or sneaking around alien installations and mines. During action sequences, you will also need to complete QTEs. While the gameplay feels clunky in different scenarios, nothing is game-breaking, and you eventually manage to complete everything without much trouble. The scenes change seamlessly between Jara and Carter allowing you to view the scenarios through their perspective and complete their respective gameplay sections.
Probably the strongest suit of Star Trek: Resurgence is its story and one that keeps you glued to the screen. The story picks up slowly as you start by checking different ship mechanics and launching out into space and exploring different planets in search of people and different items. Each mission brings something new to the game and gives you a reason to dive deep into the story. There is also a good balance between intense scenes as it gives you time to prepare for the final battles just like the movies. Sometimes the pace really slows down and sometimes you are on your toes as you are battling other ships in the space. The game surely has its moments and they are both intense and emotional.
One of the biggest letdowns of Star Trek: Resurgence is probably its visuals. Some of the environments in the game look brilliant and atmospheric but most of the time, the graphics do not appear very high definition. In open space, sometimes the backgrounds appear to be dull and something that you would paste in the background of your solar system model but in much closer environments like when you are exploring the planets and different other locations, the game feels much more atmospheric and good looking. Considering the fact that we reviewed the PC release of the game, Star Trek: Resurgence does not look really that good when it comes to background depth in sequences that showcase the endless voids of space behind the ship. The overall character animations, their movement, and the facial expressions can sometimes feel a little weird as well especially when the character keeps raising one eyebrow for some weird reason. In certain sequences, the facial expressions are funny enough to make you laugh as well.
But the visual shortcomings of Star Trek: Resurgence is easily overshadowed by the amazing voice acting and the dialogue delivery of the game. The voice acting is amazing, and the actors have done an amazing job to deliver the dialogue throughout the game. Not once did I feel like hollow delivery of any dialogue line. I love the audio design of the game. There are a few crackles in the audio during the first few sections of the game but after that, it is really good. It even makes you forget about the weird and funny facial expressions that you have to see while the actors deliver their lines. The dialog choices play a vital role in the game and apart from delivery, the writing is pretty decent as well. You really do feel the weight behind each choice that you make in the game and all credit goes to a story well-written.
Star Trek: Resurgence is a clear example that Star Trek games still have a lot of life left in them and the developers are still capable of delivering solid titles set in the franchise. Not only does the story, but its overall design and the cast used for the game is top-notch. I would love to see more games coming out like Star Trek: Resurgence with better gameplay mechanics and visuals to make the game even more appealing to the masses because the tons of QTEs thrown in the mix with some clunky movement and stealth sequences do not allow the full level of immersion that the brilliant story of the game deserves. Still, Star Trek: Resurgence is one of the best games I have played this year and I would love to see its story continued with a sequel or even a brand-new story set in the universe with a new set of characters.
Final Verdict:
Despite its issues, Star Trek: Resurgence is one hell of a space ride. Not only does it have tons of references to the movies, but it is also a nostalgic trip back to the 90s. If you love Star Trek, Star Trek: Resurgence is a must-play for you because, despite the okayish gameplay mechanics, it brings a solid storyline that feels like a movie and delivers on every aspect of the Star Trek universe. It has stealth, it has action, it has space rides, and it has different iconic races from the franchise. The drama keeps you on your toes throughout the story. Too bad the gameplay is clunky, and the visuals sometimes remind you of the early 2000s. Even with clunky controls and barely decent visuals, Star Trek: Resurgence has its moments, and it shines in those moments. If you love Star Trek or space games, and even if you want a game with a solid, interactive story where your choices will change the nature of different species, Star Trek: Resurgence is the game for you.
Final Score: 7.5/10
