Reviving the Final Frontier: A Review of Star Trek Resurgence

The Star Trek franchise is instantly recognizable to almost anyone, thanks to its iconic status. Known for exploring social themes and offering a positive outlook on hope and diversity, the series' science fiction setting has always been used to develop complex characters through their political and personal relationships. However, while Star Trek: Resurgence touches on these familiar themes, its gameplay and mechanics feel outdated and reminiscent of games from past generations.

In Star Trek: Resurgence, players take on the roles of two protagonists: First Officer Jara Rydek and Petty Officer Carter Diaz, an engineer aboard the USS Resolute. Rydek is a new addition to the crew and must earn the respect of her more experienced colleagues, while Diaz is determined to make a name for himself in the vast expanse of space. This interactive narrative adventure offers a unique opportunity to explore the Star Trek universe in a new and exciting way.

In principle, the setup should offer players the chance to experience two fascinating perspectives on the Federation, all while forming meaningful connections with a diverse group of characters. The key to a successful interactive narrative lies in the ability to craft a fully immersive world, relying on strong writing, compelling character performances, and tough moral choices. Unfortunately, Resurgence seems to place more emphasis on clunky gameplay mechanics than on developing its story.

The game's tense galactic situations are frequently interrupted by the outdated and tedious gameplay, hindering any momentum the narrative builds. For instance, the player often spends time wandering around the Resolute or new planets between narrative beats, investigating potential solutions to the current Starfleet problem. Unfortunately, this mostly involves walking in a certain direction until prompted to use the tricorder to scan random objects for information. The camera switches to a first-person perspective when using the tricorder, but the limited zoom makes it difficult to identify items or chemical leaks. The clunky and imprecise character controls, combined with frustrating mechanics such as poorly-designed flying, means a significant portion of the experience is spent struggling against the game's own limitations.

The constant need to use the tricorder and the repetitive task of highlighting a single object for story progression often leads to a disconnect between the player's actions and the narrative Resurgence is trying to convey. If the gameplay mechanics were less tedious and the objectives were more varied, this issue may not have been as prominent.

The implementation of stealth in Stealth is lackluster, as the player can easily bypass enemies and proceed to the next cutscene. Resurgence seems to have included stealth situations frequently, but they do not seem to have put much effort into making them proficient. Moreover, the cutscenes often show the character model standing up right after crouching and facing enemies, which breaks immersion and can look awkward. This happens even when the enemies are still present in the same room. In fact, there is one situation towards the end of the game that seems particularly illogical.

Great graphics are not essential for an engaging interactive adventure, but poor graphics can detract from the overall experience. Unfortunately, in Star Trek: Resurgence, the character models lack life and their expressions often do not align with the mood of the scene.

The game's cutscenes were often disjointed, with dialogue being cut off prematurely or repeated excessively, making it difficult to fully understand the conflicts at hand. This, in turn, made critical decision-making a challenge. It's worth noting that while the game did experience two hard crashes during review, this was on the PS5 and may not be as prevalent on other platforms. Despite these flaws, Resurgence manages to offer some redeeming qualities, particularly in the form of intriguing scenes and challenging moral dilemmas, such as the player's role as Jara Rydek in mediating a dispute between two opposing factions on a foreign planet.

Rydek's unique half-Kobliad heritage requires her to rely on daily doses of Deurideum to stay alive. Unfortunately, the Kobliad race is dwindling due to the scarcity of Deurideum in the universe, prompting the Federation to negotiate for the precious resource. While the game could do more with this dynamic, players will find themselves in challenging situations where they must make tough decisions and prioritize certain groups over others, all while recognizing the crucial role Deurideum plays in their own survival.

Star Trek: Resurgence boasts some beloved characters that fans will appreciate, but unfortunately, the game's flaws cannot be overlooked simply because of the franchise's name. Despite some promising story elements, the game's focus on frustrating puzzles and clunky mechanics detract from the immersive experience essential to the genre. Regrettably, the poor visuals, controls, and bugs overshadow any potential highlights in the game.

Get ready to immerse yourself in the Star Trek universe with the upcoming release of Star Trek: Resurgence. This interactive narrative video game offers an original story that takes place in the era shortly after Star Trek: The Next Generation. Fans of the franchise will be able to explore new worlds and encounter familiar characters in a fresh and exciting way. Set to release on May 23, 2023 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, Star Trek: Resurgence is one game that fans won't want to miss. As a reviewer, Game Rant was lucky enough to receive a PlayStation code for this highly anticipated game.