Few franchises have influenced popular culture more thanStar Trek. As one of the most widely recognized space science fiction series known around the world, it nevertheless boggles the mind that this TV show that started in 1966 withStar Trek: The Original Serieswould still be receiving more adaptations and reboots today. As is usually the case for any popular franchise,Star Trekhas been brought to every medium imaginable; from motion pictures, to merchandise, and even novels. Of course, the franchise has also been adapted into video games, with the latest beingStar Trek: Resurgence, scheduled for release later this year.
What might be more surprising than the critical success ofStar Trekas a brand is therelative obscurity ofStar Trekvideo game adaptations. Unfortunately forStar Trek, eye-catching games have been few and far between. The franchise might have a long list of games under its name, but barring a few exceptions, most have been underwhelming. It’s in this context thatStar Trek: Resurgenceenters the scene in 2022. Appearances can be deceiving, but first impressions of the latestStar Trekvideo game title have fueled the expectation thatResurgencemight truly live up to its namesake for the franchise.
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Star Trek Games Are (Really) Old
Astonishingly, long before the firstPac-Manor the firstDonkey Kong,Star Trekgames were being made. In 1971, programmer Mike Mayfield wrote a text-based strategyStar Trekvideo game in BASIC programming language, on a Sigma 7 mainframe.
Little did he know, the simple game depicting battles between Federation starships and Klingon warbirds would pioneerearly rogue-like RPGs, and randomly generated environments for computer games. The 1971game laid the foundations for exploration, resource management, and turn-based tactical gameplay mechanics. Yet, the most revolutionary aspect of Mayfield’s game was that it was a public domain software that could be installed on any mainframe.
In an era when arcades dominated the video game scene, the concept of downloading and installing a game on a machine was virtually unheard of. From there on,Star Trekwould be receiving almost yearly releases with various programmers trying their hand at video game adaptations on the PDP-10, SCERBI, Atari 800, Apple 1, TRS-80, and every other primitive machine imaginable.
Star Trekeven had several adaptations on the much belovedCommodore 64, starting withSpaceTrek 2in 1982. In fact, video game giant Sega would take interest inStar Trekin 1983, and portStar Trek: Strategic Operations Simulatororiginally for arcade on several consoles includes the Commodore 64, and Atari 8-bit.
The Next Generation of Star Trek Games
Unfortunately, 1983 would also be the year when a massive recession hit the video game industry, which would see 95% of the market virtually wiped out overnight. Western markets would only fully recover almost a decade later thanks to Nintendo, Sega, and later Sony offering fourth and fifth generation consoles on North American and European shelves.
In the meantime,Star Trekwould chain mediocre games on the DOS likeStar Trek: First Contact, andBegin 2, that are entirely forgettable for the most part. It would only be when MicroProse, in collaboration with Hasbro, releasedStar Trek: The Next Generation: Birth of the Federation, that the franchise would see itself pushing the envelope once more.
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The Critical Success of Star Trek: Online
A niche game will always find trouble on its way to critical success. Cryptic’sStar Trek: Onlinefigured out the winning formula for the series. As theStar Trek: Onlinedevelopers stated, “Quality over quantity, gameplay is number one, canon is a close second.” By balancing gameplay with the story,Star Trek: Onlinemanages to craft meaningful narratives, all the while offering solid gameplay.
Star Trek: Onlinealso coordinates with the ongoingStar TrekTV shows, which adds to its importance in the overarching universe. For instance, severalStar Trek: Onlineships were made canon inPicard. IfStar Trek: Onlinehas essentially dominated the Trekkie video game scene since its release, it is still a game that is over a decade old, and starting to show some signs of fatigue. Nevertheless, it’s still quite impressive that the MMORPG is still worth playing to this day, and managed to survive through the ever-changing landscape of the video game industry.
The Significance of Star Trek: Resurgence
Resurgenceis taking the franchise in a new direction, or rather, back to its roots. While some may enjoy the darker turn of recentStar Trekshows likeDiscovery,many have yearned for a return to a time when the show didn’t take itself as seriously; back to a time when Captain Kirk would meet various alien species, or when Captain Picard would debate philosophy with Q. Dramatic Labs, an indie studio staffed by Telltale veterans, seems like the perfect developer for a moreMass Effect-like, story-centricStar Trekadventure game.
The preview and the demo forStar Trek: Resurgencecapture the tone of the earlier series. If the game gives off a nostalgic atmosphere, it might be because it’s set only a few years afterNemesis,the lastStar Trek: The Next Generationmovie. So far, the dialogue, and the story show a lot of promise. If Dramatic Labs can successfullymixStar Treksource material with solid gameplay mechanics, it would usher in a new era ofStar Trekgames, and revitalize the franchise.
Star Trek: Resurgencereleases in Spring 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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