opinion: Spock, diplomacy, the old uniforms: A new Star Trek game could cure Peter’s frustration with how the brand is being handled.
What’s cooler, lightsaber or phaser? I can answer this eternal question between Trekkers and Star Wars fans once and for all: the lightsaber, of course. But Star Trek is not supposed to be as cool as Star Wars, at least in my mind: Gene Roddenberry’s science fiction universe is not a happy-ending fairy tale, but, for all its silliness, has always asked the really big questions, has focused on values like tolerance, peace and international understanding.
What modern adaptations like “Star Trek: Discovery” do not understand: Behind the tractor beams and photon torpedoes, behind the transwarp lizards and holodeck disasters, there was always a deeper thought somewhere, a vision of a better future in which diplomacy is more powerful than weapons power. Star Trek is a world that uses the unknown and the fantastic to probe less the mysteries of the universe than the innermost complexities of human existence.
This is precisely where Star Trek: Resurgence comes in, one of the most exciting games of all for me at the moment. Because its developers were brave enough to do without hot phaser action in the first longer gameplay video of their project.
Instead, Dramatic Labs has put exactly what I love about Star Trek (besides Ferengi ears and Riker humour) in the foreground: dialogue, diplomacy and dilemmas. One character from Star Trek represents all three like no other: Mr. Spock. Good thing he’s also on board in Resurgence.
Finally Star Trek again
Lest we misunderstand each other: I like shooters as much as the next gamer and Elite Force was one of my favourite Trek games. But since then I’ve been waiting for a game to build on that universe and not just give me hot phaser action.
Exciting moral quandaries, everyday life on a spaceship, exploring alien worlds – there hasn’t been anything gripping for so long. For cool Star Trek games, I almost have to travel as far back in time as Kirk and his crew in “Star Trek 4”: DS9: The Fallen, Armada, Bridge Commander – it was nice with you!
So now, in the new seven-minute video from Star Trek: Resurgence, an amazingly good Leonard Nimoy impersonator as Ambassador Spock outlines the conflict at the heart of the plot. And it shows: Star Trek doesn’t always have to be about saving the universe!
Two alien races are fighting over dilithium (the oil of Star Trek) and the Federation itself has an increased interest in resolving the dispute, because its ships also need dilithium. As First Officer Jara Rydek, I am to ensure peace and the undisturbed movement of goods. The spi… Dilithium must flow!
Gameplay-wise, Star Trek: Resurgence is strongly reminiscent of Telltale games like The Walking Dead. Not surprising, after all, the developers used to work at Telltale, pre-bankruptcy. Being used to the TV series, I think this format of long cutscenes and multiple-choice dialogue is perfectly suited for a Trek game. The way the dramatic camera movements in the video set the scene for a simple meeting in an exciting way reminds me of the great moments of “Next Generation” and “Voyager”.
After all, that’s exactly what I’ve been wishing for for 20 years: more stories from the same universe. And that’s something that the current Star Trek series, despite promises to the contrary, deliver inadequately.
Everything the same
From the characteristic background hum of the spaceship to the design of the uniforms to the design of the on-screen displays: Resurgence provides me with the much-missed nostalgia bonus that I increasingly miss when streaming “Discovery” and “Picard”.
The game builds on the time period of the next-generation films, ignores J.J. Abrams’ remake and delivers the continuation of the familiar series I’ve always wanted. No longer a simple regurgitation of familiar content, but an attempt to actually wrest something new from the template. If this works out, Resurgence could actually be a small dream come true for me. Tell me yourself, don’t these screenshots scream Star Trek to you?
According to first impressions, Star Trek: Resurgence doesn’t feature implausible hologram interfaces, “lazy writing” personal transporters or the unspeakably stupid spore drive.
Instead, the game builds on the established logic of yesteryear: Warp, shields, Trill symbionts and, for my sake, omnipotent Q superbeings. To all appearances, it doesn’t throw the last remnant of science fiction logic overboard like the newer streaming series and seems to be made for old fans like me who are struggling with the new direction of the universe.
There (i.e. in “Discovery” and Co.) there has long since been no room for the small stories. Everything always has to run up to a gigantic threat and apart from a few main characters the crew of the spaceship remains intangible and impersonal. I hope Star Trek: Resurgence doesn’t fall into the same trap.
Fascinating! But …
Now, of course, it’s far from clear whether Star Trek: Resurgence will really be as great a licensed game as it currently looks. Theoretically, a mess like the simply titled Star Trek co-op crime from 2013 could also come out. I played through that one at the time, by the way, so desperate and starved for new Trek games was I. Nice and dumb.
But Resurgence already makes a much better impression than the Star Trek of that time in the finished version – and the developers also circumvent a major flaw of the Telltale games. Because Star Trek: Resurgence will be released in one piece as a complete game, it does not rely on an episode structure. Instead of waiting months for the next story chunk, I can play through the whole thing in one go.
The release is scheduled for sometime in 2022. Until then, I’ll keep watching “Picard” for now. In Season 2, the series is again more “Next Generation” than “Discovery” and only occasionally causes me physical pain while watching it due to hare-brained twists. I guess that’s progress that Resurgence can build on.
