Star Trek: Resurgence introduces series fans to a memorable new crew

Star Trek has followed several different ship captains across many different series. What started with James T. Kirk soon gave way to Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Kathryn Janeway, and a slew of other memorable leaders. The key component to a successful Star Trek project is often a crew. A show and the stories within in are usually as good as the show's crew. That's a principle that the team at Dramatic Labs appears to be taking with the upcoming Star Trek: Resurgence.

Shacknews had the opportunity to take an early look at this upcoming adventure from this studio of former Telltale developers. Those who remember our hands-on preview from last year have a general idea of the game's story. There are civilizations on the brink of war and it's up to the crew of the U.S.S. Resolute to find out what's happening, how to prevent it, and who is moving these figurative chess pieces behind the scenes. However, that was just one piece of Resurgence's formula on display. To get an idea of what lies ahead, Shacknews started this story from the beginning. Our most recent playthrough introduced us more intimately to the game's two key characters: First Officer Jara Rydek and lower decks (not to be confused with those Lower Decks) Petty Officer Carter Diaz.

Rydek is about to begin her tenure with the U.S.S. Resolute and is meeting her fellow bridge crew for the first time. In grand Star Trek tradition, Rydek is a member of an alien race known as the Kobliads and, as such, requires a steady supply of deuridium in order to keep her cell structure stable, which becomes a key character trait and plot point down the road. Dramatic Labs retains much of its Telltale DNA in that a major component of Resurgence's gameplay involves making difficult choices and dealing with any effects they may have on relationships with other crew members. As the story goes along, players will learn more about individual bridge crew members and their backstories, which offer a general idea of how decisions will ultimately affect how they view Rydek. The U.S.S. Resolute is embarking on one of its first missions since a major tragedy affected Captain Solano and it has had immense ramifications on the crew, how they see one another, and how they see Rydek.

Diaz's role in the story is a little less complex, as he's simply a Petty Officer helping do the major legwork from the lower decks. Many of Resurgence's action scenes played out with him early on, as an energy storm threatened to devastate the Resolute. Players had to help clear the way through several quick-time events, but there was also a sequence that involved clearing a path back to a nearby hatch using a phaser. This is where it becomes clear that there are fail states in this game and players should pay at least a little bit of attention to events playing out before them.

I touched on Dramatic Labs being filled with former Telltale developers and that DNA is certainly present in Resurgence. While this game doesn't use that old Telltale signature "(X) will remember this" text, it instead opts for character portraits and a colored highlight. Green, gray, and red will correspond to how characters see either Rydek or Diaz in the moment. A handy feature allows players to check the pause menu and see individual relationship entries, which will helpfully recap some of the player's choices that have led to a specific character's feelings towards them.

Trekkies will soon get to experience the story of Star Trek: Resurgence and witness a new chapter of the franchise unfold. It's set to come to PC (via the Epic Games Store), PlayStation, and Xbox on May 23.

This preview is based on a pre-release standalone copy of the game issued by the publisher.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?