Star Trek Resurgence Xbox Review – A love letter to Star Trek Fans

We’ve had two Star Trek Games within the space of a year?… Pinch me I’m dreaming!! and now we have Star Trek Resurgence.

Oh, but it’s not a dream my fellow Star Trek fans. It’s very much real.

The first of the two games I’m referring to was ‘Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova’ which was released at the tail end of last year. It was a game more aimed at a younger ‘Star Trek’ audience. However, for the more old-school and die-hard ‘Star Trek’ fans out there, I can safely say that ‘Star Trek Resurgence’ is the game we have all been waiting for.

So, is it a love letter to fans, or ‘Telltale Games’ homage?

Let’s find out below.

In ‘Star Trek Resurgence’ you get to play as two characters. Both in unique roles that show the varying perspectives of working on a Starfleet ship. First off is Commander Jara Rydek a Human/Kobliad and a survivor of the Dominion war. You assume the role of Jara as she joins the USS Resolute as the ship’s new First officer (after their previous first officer died in an accident).

You learn quickly that the crew isn’t too keen on having new blood aboard the ship and would have preferred to have their new first officer promoted from within. You meet with Captain Solano while the Resolute is docked awaiting to disembark after a lengthy refit.

You get the gist that the Captain is aware that the accident (that cost him the lives of his first officer and a few crew) is impeding on his reputation and career. He is aware that his crew doesn’t respect him as much as they once did and is relying on you to be his eyes and ears and to agree with his decisions. For me, I agreed that I would do this for him. I would then learn later what kind of a Captain he is and my views towards him changed throughout the game, impacting the choices I would make.

The second playable character is Petty Officer Carter Diaz. He works on the lower decks of the ship in the engineering department. He is loyal and very good at his job. If you’ve watched the show ‘Star Trek: Lower Decks’ there are a few references made here when playing Diaz.

Out of the two I found him to be the more likable character due to his personality. He feels more ambitious whereas Rydek feels more cautious, like she’s got something holding her back. She is also (at times) very by the book when it comes to Starfleet regulations.

Diaz is as well but is more relaxed towards it. It’s a good dynamic having the story told from two perspectives. You have the perspective of the senior staff and experience what commanding a starship is like, and then you have the lower staff of the ship’s crew which you then experience the day-to-day workings of a starship. It really does put you in the world of ‘Star Trek’ and makes you feel at home on board the Resolute.

The story itself is also very ‘Star Trek’y’ in origin. The crooks of it are that you are on your way to meet a rather legendary half-Vulcan, half-human ambassador to accompany him to broker a peace treaty between two rival alien races on the verge of war. Along the way, you experience first-hand the dangers of space with an interstellar freak storm almost crippling the ship.

Things then take a turn when you find out that there’s more going on, on the planets of these two alien factions which is causing them to jeopardize peace in favor of war. I won’t go too much into detail but the main antagonist of this game is the ‘Tkon Empire’.

For the average gamer that might go straight over your head, but to the ‘Star Trek’ fans eager to play this game, you will know that this is a call back to the very first season of ‘The Next Generation’ and the 4th episode ‘The Last Outpost’ in which the crew of the Enterprise D discovers an entity known as Portal 63 while making first contact with the Ferengi race.

(did I mention I’m a bit of a Star Trek nerd)

It’s a nice callback to what some would see as a very obscure episode to draw inspiration from. However, it’s also refreshing to have a ‘Star Trek’ game where the main antagonist isn’t the popular bad guys of ‘Star Trek’ like the Borg, Klingons or the Gorn.

As I said, I won’t say more regarding the story but there’s a lot of nice references and a good few twists that will keep you invested.

Now in terms of gameplay ‘Star Trek Resurgence’ is essentially a ‘Telltale’ game, and that’s because the developer’s Dramatic Labs’ is comprised of 20+ former employees of ‘Telltale Games’. And what’s even more great is that ‘Star Trek Resurgence’ is the developer’s first game, and what a game to start out on. You can really see the passion behind the development of this game. From the rich ‘Star Trek’ lore weaved so seamlessly into the games world, to the classic ‘Telltale Games’ gameplay. And let’s talk about that iconic gameplay style that made ‘Telltale Games’ such a great developer in the past.

All the point-and-click mechanics and the multiple choice dialogue that impacts the story from the games of old is present in ‘Star Trek Resurgence’, but they are greatly improved upon and feel refined. Movement feels fluid, the point-and-click feels smooth and the graphics look insane for a ‘Telltale-style game. The team at ‘Dramatic Labs’ have really poured their heart and soul into this game to give their loyal fans a truly wonderful experience.

Not only is there the traditional point-and-click mechanics present in this game but there are also unique stealth sections, puzzle sections involving the use of your tricorder, flying sections where you get to pilot a shuttlecraft, and also parts where you get to operate the ship’s computers, most notably that of the transporter room controls.

The gameplay is fun, nostalgic and user-friendly.

Voice acting is always one aspect that I look out for in a game. The gameplay can be really good but if the voice acting falls short it can be a make or break type situation on whether the game is enjoyable or not. Safe to say ‘Star Trek Resurgence’s’ voice acting is out of this world. Not only do you have a veteran of the ‘Mass Effect’ franchise with Ali Hillis as Lieutenant Araxi Bedrosian but you also have Piotr Michael voicing Ambassador Spock with quite frankly the best and most spot of Leonard Nimoy impression that I have ever heard. There were honestly times when I thought it was Mr. Nimoy as the voice is so much like his.

The only downside to this game is the soundtrack. I was expecting something reminiscent of ‘The Next Generation’ or ‘Deep Space Nine’ given that the game is set around that time period.

However, I just felt like the music didn’t fit some of the scenes at times. Like there would be an action scene where the ship is in peril and the music had more of a light and breezy tone to it rather than a tense musical score.

That being said it did not by any means detract me away from my immersion in the story of the game.

I was playing it late one night around 11 pm and thought, ‘Right, one more scene and then bed’, next minute I knew it was 2am. The story had me so invested that I completely lost track of the time.

So there you have it. If you are a fan of ‘Telltale games’ and have been dying for a new one then this game is for you. If you are a ‘Star Trek’ fan and have been wanting a game with a good story that will get you hooked into the world of Trek, then this is the game you have been waiting for. It’s a love letter to ‘Star Trek’ fans and ‘Telltale Games’ fans.

And that’s why it gets a 10 out of 10!