Star Trek: Resurgence - narrative adventure game set directly after TNG era

[RobotSquirrel]

I'd prefer it if they just canceled it but they've at least spared us of its terrible in the meantime.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

It's sad because on the one hand you know that if it does bad, they won't bring back a TNG-era game for a long time if ever, but if it does good, we'll get more schlock.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

I'll say what everyone's thinking. Sacrifice this game and bring back Stage-9 as a commercial product.

Still amazed at how much better this looks than anything basically any "gamedev" studio could possibly shit out today. Mostly because they don't even know what people want, partly because their entire studios combined don't have a tenth as much talent as the autist(s?) behind it.

The socialization, commercialization, and feminization of gamedev has been a disaster for video games because it excludes the autistic people capable of making the good ones.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I had completely forgotten about this, and how awful it looks. Pass.

 

[Fictive Cunt]

Ok depending on price and reviews I might play this game if it has a good Star Trek story, but I fully expect it to be some dumb simulation where you pick the MC dialogue but the story is predetermined? Tricorder puzzles...? For a game so close to release it doesn't seem like there's a lot of info.

 

[Infinitron]

lol

 

[Lemming42]

What's even going on here? It looks terrible and it's had no publicity. I'll play this shit anyway though.

 

[Fictive Cunt]

Was the game delayed to offer more environmental play? Will c+c make up for the non "realism" with starship interactions? This game could be cool, but no one really knows yet. I'd gladly trade graphics for immersion and a good story.

 

[Bigg Boss]

I was not aware of this game so a mild interest washed over me until I saw the rundown of...how it all went down. What a waste.

 

[Strig]

This looks dreadful. I'd rather play "A Final Unity", the 3D models seem to be of similar quality, but in the older game they at least used them sparingly.

 

[Lemming42]

A Final Unity is such a great piece of work. Love all the weird non-humanoid aliens, the Chodak, the matriarchal planet ruled by baboons, all that. Really used the medium of videogames well to tell the type of stories and depict the types of aliens that the TV shows would have trouble with. "Star Trek: Generations" by the same dev team showed similar creativity and imagination, a million miles better than the actual shitty film it was based on (albeit with some dodgy game mechanics). "Star Trek Judgment Rites" was a beautiful game too, all kinds of weird far-out sci-fi ideas that you wouldn't be likely to get in the TV series.

It's kind of a shame that Resurgence looks like it's gonna be a bunch of boring Americans in their 20s and 30s running around saying stupid shit on board a starship; videogames could represent some really unusual and exciting possibilities for the franchise if handled right. We know there's all kinds of deeply weird shit in the Star Trek universe and countless aliens who are completely unlike humans (Medusans, Horta, Tzenkethi, Tholians, etc), Star Trek videogames should be about putting Starfleet crews in the most batshit psychedelic scenarios possible.

I dunno though, they've barely revealed anything about this game at all so maybe it'll have some nice surprises.

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamer.com/star-trek-resurgence-review/

STAR TREK: RESURGENCE REVIEW​

Tkon the piss.​

"The first duty of every Starfleet officer is to the truth" is one of Captain Picard's most iconic lines, and the team at Dramatic Labs—a bunch of self-confessed diehard Trekkies—have embodied that mantra in their Telltale-esque adventure, Star Trek: Resurgence. The story is the perfect mix of everything Star Trek and Telltale's classic choice-based narrative: silly humour, gentle moments that focus on care and affection, and dramatic phaser fights with lots of unnecessary diving around.

The Telltale formula of a strong narrative combined with morally ambiguous decision-making—and plenty of QTEs—seems to fit the Star Trek storytelling style perfectly. But Dramatic Labs offers something more: complicated puzzles, stealth sequences, time-sensitive exploration objectives, better cinematics, and an overall departure from the Telltale default of feeling like you're watching an interactive movie. Resurgence isn't an episodic tale, at least not in the traditional Telltale sense. Rather than having five distinct acts or episodes that arrive separately, you'll get to play it all at once as you swap between the two player characters, who each get their own uniquely titled episodes, much like you'd see in The Next Generation.

Star Trek: Resurgence is meant to represent roughly three full-length films and ties in nicely to the post-TNG era series and movies. It's set in 2380, right after the events of Nemesis and 16 years after the beginning of The Next Generation. Also, everyone is wearing DS9-style uniforms, so you know it's going to be good. It brings together a balanced mix of bridge crew antics—a well-established Star Trek approach—and the inspiring, comic-relief side of the lower decks, which we've seen in the newest animated series. Only, the lower decks characters become the real heroes and villains in this story, showing that wearing three pins on your uniform isn't the be-and end-all.

I have principles​

You switch between playing as First Officer Jara Rydek and Petty Officer Carter Diaz. Both are loyal Starfleet officers and aside from a few snide comments, there's no real option to go rogue. With Jara, you can choose to be a by-the-book type who's loyal to her captain or more of a character who plays fast and loose with the rules. She's a Kobliad, an endangered race who rely on Deuridium infusions to survive. Star Trek captains often make difficult decisions that trickle down to the rest of the crew, sometimes involving sacrifice for the greater good. Resurgence opens with that theme, with the Resolute having just been repaired after a catastrophic "malfunction" at the hands of Captain Solano. Jara joins the Resolute as an outsider and is made aware straight from the off that she'll need to work twice as hard to gain the crew's trust, but not before the captain demands absolute loyalty from her. Not being one to bend the knee on demand, I opted for a more "sure, but my loyalties are with Starfleet" approach—needless to say, the captain wasn't pleased.

The other player character, Carter, has a gentler introduction; he's part of the engineering team under Engineering Chief Chovak, an ultra-sarcastic Vulcan. He chums along with fellow petty officer Nili Edsilar, an unjoined Trill, and is a talented young engineer. I opted to keep a happy-go-lucky attitude with Carter, with the greater good vibe of Starfleet as his morality meter, although I did choose to start a romance with another officer which… well, I'll get back to that. At first, it seems his character will be the jokey one who'd find himself in sticky yet hilarious situations, but he quickly proves himself to be one hell of an officer and makes bridge-level life-or-death decisions. His is by far the more engaging and exciting storyline and without him, Resurgence would have just been another retelling of an XO making one morally grey choice after another. That being said, Jara's story is still a complicated one that challenges leadership and loyalty, and she has to make some life-altering decisions, like whether or not to commit genocide. Twice!

While Resurgence gives you the freedom to take a variety of approaches, there's no real option to play a renegade version of a Starfleet officer here. While some decisions appear more neutral or non-committal, the majority exist as canon Starfleet options—you can choose to take the advice of your fellow officers in an emergency, do exactly as your captain tells you, or you can just go your own way. Either way, Jara and Carter remain dedicated to Starfleet's principles.

Made up​

Resurgence introduces two new species: the hotari, a rocky-faced, hardy, and previously subservient species who mined on their planet's moon, Tau, and the alydians, a tall Kelpian/Kaminoan-looking species who are staunchly militaristic and who once seemed to control the hotari by forcing them to work in the mines that they technically owned. Jara and the crew of the Resolute are tasked with arbitration between the two races as they each seek control of the mines and the Dilithium within. Only, there's ancient, advanced Tkon technology and trickery at work here, and not everyone is who they say they are.

To catch you up, the Tkon is an ancient civilisation first mentioned in The Last Outpost in Season 1 of The Next Generation which, for the uninitiated, is the season with a beardless Riker who has a unique way of sitting on chairs. In it, Riker is challenged by a Tkon guardian, Portal 63, who releases the Enterprise and a Ferengi ship from its grasp once Riker defeats Portal's riddle and proves humanity's worth. The episode ends with Portal stating: "I will sleep until I'm needed again" which, for an episode that came out in 1987, was a hell of a foreshadowing.

While it's always fun to see familiar faces in Star Trek, I was very excited to see the two new species specifically created for Resurgence. Coming up with a species name is one thing, but how do you create two races that slot seamlessly into the Star Trek universe—especially when the bulk of Star Trek's alien appearances were the result of heavy use of prosthetics? In lieu of prosthetics, we've got detailed alien faces courtesy of the Unreal Engine, but while the facial animations for the Aldyians and hotari are certainly emotive and dynamic, the human faces have a big Mass Effect 1 stray eyebrow energy and everyone constantly looks mildly confused and slightly annoyed. Fortunately, it takes a little more than a bombastic side eye to put me off a Trek game. Though the final frontier can look lovely, Resurgence has a definite last-gen look and has some off-putting low-quality textures appear throughout the environments. The running animation in particular is pretty awkward, not to mention slow as hell.

With the help of a hotari, Tylas, Jara uncovers a terrible secret—the hotari discovered a Tkon artifact and used it to seize control of the mines, but not before their minds were replaced by Tkon via a process called bioforming. And now everyone's at risk of becoming a Tkon, whether they are hotari, alydian or from Starfleet. If you think this sounds a lot like the Borg and their attempts to assimilate everyone, you'd be right—the word "futile" is uttered by the Tkon host leader, Galvan, more than once.

Petty (officer) squabbles​

Along with saving the galaxy, there are several interpersonal challenges Jara and Carter must overcome. Jara has the unenviable task of winning over her crewmates and choosing who lives, dies and gets promoted. Meanwhile, Carter gets to decide if he's going to shoot his girlfriend, put his best friend in the line of fire (several times) and make the good old Telltale-like choice of "Do I bother saving this person?" Standard Trek storytelling, then. Big decisions crop up everywhere, whether it's during a shootout or a meeting of bridge officers. In the corner, a little box with a character's face will glow grey, red or green to indicate whether they like what you said or not, and you can follow your choices from the main menu.

As it's based on the post-TNG era, you can expect many easter eggs. Spock obviously makes an entrance in his role as ambassador, setting the tone for much of the opening half, but as the plot thickens and deciding who to trust becomes more of a challenge, Resurgence transforms into a real Star Trek story. And by a real story, I obviously mean it features a cameo from Jonathan Frakes, who reprises his role as Commander Riker, except he's captain of the Titan now as per the canon. I also got to throw in a cheeky "Engage!" when commanding the helm to take flight and you'll issue that command any time you're in charge of the Resolute, which obviously made the Trekkie in me very happy.

Push the button​

What lets Resurgence down is the overuse of QTEs. In some sections, you'll be absolutely bombarded with them every few steps you take, and a lot of them are incredibly mundane, like simply pressing a button. And when a failure leads to a game over screen, you'll have to replay the entire section again, without the ability to even skip dialogue. While the QTEs undeniably add more tension, even when simply climbing a ladder, I would have liked the opportunity to do a little more wandering around. The phaser battle scenes had clunky controls, but if you keep dying like I did, you have the option to play in story mode which negates any damage, which was a welcome relief. Not every failed QTE results in a game over, though, as I learned during a few crucial moments, where I had to live with the consequences of my indecision.

In saying that, there's an exciting mix of dialogue choices, QTEs, transporter puzzles, shuttle flying and the phaser fights are quite arcade-like, but they are all a bit janky. The shuttle flying is boring and a little too simplistic, with a laborious flying through the ring sequence. Trying to aim with the phaser during shootouts was also a pain, thanks to the sluggish controls. There is no option to adjust the mouse or controller sensitivity and, all too often, panning the screen or aiming was too slow and time-consuming. The stealth sequences, however, are actually a lot of fun, and progression is saved at the right points so there were fewer do-overs—I'm looking at you, Hogwarts Legacy's forbidden section of the library.

While Star Trek often has a superb musical accompaniment, Resurgence's soundtrack leaves something to be desired—it sounds a lot like midi tracks you'd find on a mid-2000s mobile phone, which is a bit of a disconnect from the usual orchestral backing from the shows and films. It did get a little frustrating hearing the same melodies on repeat as I had to redo failed sections, but that says more about me needing to get good at games than it does about whoever wrote the score.

Disappointingly, there are no real options to set up Resurgence to your own liking. There are no accessibility options—not even sensitivity as I mentioned—and screen resolution options are extremely limited. There's no option to rebind controls or turn off the motion blur which, at times, gave me a little motion sickness at times, and neither is there an option to unlock frame rate. While past Telltale games also had this lack of personalisation and accessibility options, it's frustrating to see that Dramatic Labs chose not to include these as it would have made the experience that much better.
The complement of the USS Resolute may not be the finest crew in Starfleet—not when Captain Riker is out there commanding the Titan—but Carter especially is now one of my most-loved Trek characters. It would have been easy to have you roleplaying as a well-established captain or officer, but in focusing on new characters and lower decks antics, Dramatic Labs have created something special. Resurgence takes the best of Telltale's flavour, makes it better and smashes it together with an excellent Star Trek story to create something that's fresh. Yes, characters unavoidably die and the story takes a few hours to really take off, but it's worth it—I haven't cried as much at a Star Trek story since Data sacrificed himself in Nemesis, so read into that what you will.

THE VERDICT
73

STAR TREK: RESURGENCE
Resurgence is the perfect mash-up of dramatic Star Trek storytelling and Telltale-style decision making, but with too many QTEs.

 

[ind33d]

If it's a video game, why are the only non-humans in the crew human with ears and human with makeup markings? That shit is barely tolerable in live action because budget and effect limits, but stupid in animated sci-fi.

are you really complaining that other species in the galaxy would be bipedal? that's your line in the sand?

 

[Lemming42]

I think it's a legitimate criticism, the medium of videogames frees the writers from the realities of live action so there's no reason not to do something fun. The Enterprise-D had (unseen on screen) Psychic Dolphin crew members who were contained in a big aquatic room. TOS also loved to play around with non-human aliens - the Horta, the Melkotians, the Medusans. Non-humanoids are part of the setting and always have been, the galaxy is meant to have rich biodiversity and all kinds of different types of sapient life. In the TV shows, I always took the mostly-human crews as simply a production reality, with the viewer intended to understand that there were all kinds of different aliens aboard (some of whom are mentioned from time to time, like the bird guy who keeps laying eggs or whatever in DS9, or the guy with the transparent skull who freaks Dax out). Every time Trek has gotten the opportunity to do more, it usually has done - the novels are replete with non-humanoid crewmembers, The Animated Series added a few more interesting-looking humanoids like M'Ress and that orange prat with three arms, etc.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

If it's a video game, why are the only non-humans in the crew human with ears and human with makeup markings? That shit is barely tolerable in live action because budget and effect limits, but stupid in animated sci-fi.

are you really complaining that other species in the galaxy would be bipedal? that's your line in the sand?

Responding to a year-old post, but Trek has an in-universe explanation for this: there was a race of humanoid progenitors that seeded all humanoid life in the galaxy. It was covered in the TNG episode with the Kurlan naiskos.

Speaking of the Kurlan naiskos, I found a download link for Stage 9 and they actually put a Kurlan naiskos in Picard's ready room that you can open.

 

[Infinitron]

https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/star-trek-resurgence

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

I'll have to wait and see how the gameplay looks on this.

 

[Non-Edgy Gamer]

Already getting ripped on for its graphics.

The story doesn't look too bad though. But maybe my standards have been lowered by Nu Trek. Interesting that they'd reference a season 1 TNG episode.

 

[negator2vc]

so... another "modern" star trek full of crew's insubordination
I miss old star trek

 

[Tyranicon]

Speaking of, anybody who bothered to buy this, is it more old trek or nu-trek?

I'm pretty sure I can lean one way due simply to what year it is, but you never know.

 

[Monk]

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

so... another "modern" star trek full of crew's insubordination
I miss old star trek

You just described what one of the things was that annoyed me while I was watching a longplay video; crew members being insubordinate. Only in one scene it made somewhat sense.
But in many other occasions characters felt that they had to interject their opinion after the commanding officer had made a decision, and had to add that they would hold what upset them against their superior officer.
That honestly makes me question what such persons do in an organization like Starfleet. Voice your doubts and concerns when asked, but when a commanding officer makes a decision you stick with it unless the competence/capability of the commanding officer is questionable because of reasons.

Speaking of, anybody who bothered to buy this, is it more old trek or nu-trek?

I'm pretty sure I can lean one way due simply to what year it is, but you never know.

It is a mix of both.
It tries to be TNG but you see elements of ST Picard and Discovery (how crewmembers act and behave) creep into this.

 

[mindx2]

It tries to be TNG but you see elements of ST Picard and Discovery (how crewmembers act and behave) creep into this.

This! Also, the way Strange New Worlds Enterprise crew interact on the bridge like it's a social gathering and everyone is bantering back and forth like their on a party boat. Every time I see clips of that show I think, "Kirk, Picard or Sisko would never let that kind of behavior onto their bridges!"

 

[The Dutch Ghost]

It tries to be TNG but you see elements of ST Picard and Discovery (how crewmembers act and behave) creep into this.

This! Also, the way Strange New Worlds Enterprise crew interact on the bridge like it's a social gathering and everyone is bantering back and forth like their on a party boat. Every time I see clips of that show I think, "Kirk, Picard or Sisko would never let that kind of behavior onto their bridges!"

I don't think I need to link that TNG clip Major Grin on Youtube made regarding how Data and Worf interacted when Data was temporary in command.
I have a feeling crewmembers would freak out if they were addressed on how they behaved on the bridge in front of their fellow officers and possibly alien representatives.