Star Trek: Resurgence presents, basically, an episode of the sci-fi present in interactive, visible novel type.
The place Starfleet fight sims concentrate on phaser battles and starship technique, and infrequently wrestle to seize the numerous sides of the present past the iconography, Dramatic Labs threads life’s ethical quandaries, familial and political themes, and the sheer marvel of the universe all through this sport. Plus all of the “Shields up, purple alert!” and phaser hearth you’d anticipate from a regular episode of ’90s Trek.
Initially launched in 2023 on PC and non-Change consoles, the dev workforce of Telltale veterans makes use of a two-protagonist narrative to ship acquainted (and, for followers, thrilling) starship actions aboard the USS Resolute. First Officer Jara Rydek and Petty Officer Carter Diaz provide you with views spanning the ranks, combining day-to-day engineering and office shenanigans with investigation, political intrigue, and stress on the prime, till the 2 characters ultimately meet and their tales converge.
It is a sensible strategy to separate these two strands with out contriving a single character to hold the narrative, clear up diplomatic crises, counsel colleagues, beam down on away missions, scan anomalies, administer medical assist, and repair the warp core. The crew remains to be the star right here, regardless of this being a Rydek/Diaz episode.
And it is a respectable episode, too; one which nails the present’s mise-en-scène and writing type. Break up into chapters, the titles (all offered in Crillee Italic, naturally) riff on outdated episode names or notable traces from the franchise. We’re within the Decrease Decks period, timeline followers; so, post-Nemesis, round a decade after TNG’s TV run ended, with Riker on the market on the Titan and everybody carrying the late-season DS9/First Contact uniforms. The Resolute is not the glowing new flagship, although, so there’s loads of outdated 2360s LCARS colouring and design language from the sooner reveals (plus some pretty Kind 6 shuttles) combined in with the sleeker, metallic sheens of the films.
It is on to this freshly refitted science vessel that Rydek arrives following an incident that tarnished not simply the ship’s hull however her new CO’s status. Anxious to rehabilitate his profession, Captain Solano wants his subsequent mission to succeed at any price. There’s stress amongst his crew, too, as others had been eyeing Rydek’s put up.
Once more, that is basically an interactive novel. Past a few moments the place you may push the left stick ahead to stroll alongside a prescribed path, you may have zero direct management of your character; every setting presents static pictures with interactable icons to research, every initiating a brief scene. Dialogue choices affect your relationships — the basic Telltale ‘X will do not forget that’ branching narrative setup — and the pause menu incorporates a abstract of every character’s present opinion of you.
Past conversations, you get to function tools – reordering isolinear chips, modulating provider beams, flipping open tricorders and scanning, that type of factor. On a controller, you will be rotating sticks and pushing between icons, whereas in handheld mode the touchscreen has you pushing sliders and hitting prompts. It is easy stuff, however nicely applied.
Each ‘puzzle’ is broadly related (transfer the tricorder round and scan throughout bands to search out three substances, job finished), however they’re brisk and pleasantly Trek-y, with all the correct terminology and sound results. Elsewhere within the audio division, though you do not get any of the reveals’ recognisable, roaring themes, the rating does a good job of approximating the mid-’90s auditory atmosphere of DS9 or Voyager.
Resurgence is certainly a finances manufacturing. The video high quality varies between environments, however the Unreal Engine-powered visuals maintain up surprisingly nicely on Change, though it might use an optimisation move on Change 2, the place issues appeared a bit of rougher to my eye. There’s some sleight of hand occurring with prerendered video combined in with rendered scenes (not less than that is what it looks like) and the picture could be a little gentle, the video a bit of uneven, with awkward pauses between choosing an motion and awaiting the consequence. Nevertheless it all nearly hangs collectively, whether or not you are taking part in docked or handheld.
On the subject of issues that will increase a Vulcan’s eyebrow, Fast-Time Occasions really feel as clunky and pointless as ever right here. Elsewhere, a personality appeared at their station lacking some important headwear earlier than it magically materialised a few pictures later. One other time, because the digital camera whip-panned across the bridge, I swear I glimpsed a Bolian I would beforehand dismissed, too.
There’s a bit of jank across the edges, then – once more, this is not the flagship. All that stated, Dramatic Labs spent its sources in the correct locations, 100%. No, you possibly can’t management your characters straight, however that restriction provides the devs whole management over the digital camera and practically each scene and setting feels like one thing that might have been shot on a Paramount soundstage within the Berman period (together with a visit to ‘Planet Hell’), with good depth of subject and powerful route grounding the story nicely sufficient that you do not get hung up on minor tech hiccups or uncanny glide-walks.
The facial animation and voice work are wonderful, too, conveying feelings precisely within the reveals’ Shakespearean type, with writing high quality to match. Carter’s received easygoing Geordi vibes which work nicely in opposition to Jara’s extra sober, commanding presence, however each are likeable with the actors delivering nice performances. It is a testomony to the writers and performers that Spock and Riker do not feel shoehorned in for the followers, and you would be hard-pressed to inform Piotr Michael’s wonderful rendition from Nimoy himself. It is all very nicely finished.
Some crewmembers are extra prickly than you’d anticipate on a Starfleet vessel, however I typically warmed to them – all besides one, who supplied solely horrible takes and the worst suggestions. Maybe different characters go into full-on sulks once you shut them down repeatedly, Worf-style, and this one did undergo personally because of a ‘wants of the numerous’ determination I made. In one other playthrough, if I channelled my Mirror Universe self and made completely different decisions, maybe we could possibly be greatest buds.
Past that one officer, although, some of the enticing components of Trek is nicely represented right here: the competence porn of seeing skilled, clever individuals doing jobs they get pleasure from, and nicely.
It has been some time since I performed Mass Impact, however the stability right here between diplomacy, your personal ethical integrity, and the truth of the state of affairs put me in that way of thinking. By tapping right into a story with callbacks to a Season One TNG episode, you get a bit of TOS flavour, too: capricious godlike creatures, vitality crystals, and a few nice, ’60s-style hokum. For dyed-in-the-wool Trekkies, it is exhilarating, though the ending — not less than my ending — left a big plot thread hanging in a manner which felt unsatisfying.
Nonetheless, the “seven hours or extra” earlier than the credit rolled had been solidly partaking. Resurgence would not serve up dry starship useful resource administration or frontier technique – it is all in regards to the advanced determination making and ethical quandaries of precise Star Trek, plus the occasional thrill of claiming “On display screen” or “Have interaction” or “Energise”. It is correct sufficient with terminology throughout the board to fulfill anybody who is aware of photons from part inducers, and simply scanning crap together with your tricorder is a thrill. It places you in an episode, dwelling that dream of being a hyper-competent Starfleet officer, working with numerous, intelligent, empathetic individuals in direction of the better good. And looking out fetching in a jumpsuit whilst you’re at it.
So, as episodes go, this can be a good ‘un. Not a Better of Each Worlds — not one thing you are going to dig out the Blurays for particularly — however a stable mid-Season Three-er that is completely price a (re)watch.
Conclusion
Star Trek: Resurgence is a modest enterprise, however Dramatic Labs did a stellar job of capturing the qualities of the present, particularly its ’90s period, with all of the strengths and weaknesses thereof. As with the present, technically, chances are you’ll discover some tough edges, however the creators have labored wonders with their sources. The visible novel stylings right here swimsuit the fabric, and it is received it the place it counts, with wonderful writing and performances throughout the board.
Non-Trek followers will not get half as a lot out of it, and also you will not be tempted to return for a second playthrough. But when the present crop of Trek reveals is not fairly scratching your itch, Resurgence does a fantastic job of transporting you again a era.
