Forget the TV Show, Write Your Own Disastrous Timeline in Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown
I've seen so many licensed games that I usually go into previews with my expectations set somewhere around "pleasantly surprised if it doesn't immediately crash." But let me tell you, after seeing Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown at Gamescom, I walked away genuinely hyped. This wild genre-mix from developer Gamexcite and publisher Daedalic Entertainment isn't just some lazy cash-in; it's an ambitious and shockingly cool-looking survival strategy game that might be exactly what the franchise needs.
Credit: Star Trek™: Voyager® - Across the Unknown
Your Ship, Your Choices, Your Funeral
Forget a simple retelling of the show's seven seasons. Across the Unknown hands you the keys to a "what if?" sandbox of galactic proportions. The game kicks off right after Voyager gets flung into the Delta Quadrant, forcing you to take command and make the brutal calls Captain Janeway wrestled with. You can absolutely embrace Borg technology for a speedier trip home or tell Neelix to take a hike at the first opportunity. The story you forge will be your own.
The developers are injecting rogue-like elements into the mix, which means every playthrough throws new dangers and opportunities your way. The best part? Your crew is utterly expendable. From what I saw, besides Janeway, any member of your crew can meet a grim end in the cold vacuum of space if you make a bad call. Finally, a Star Trek game with some goddamn stakes.
An Architect in the Delta Quadrant
The gameplay goes far beyond simple dialogue choices, dropping a full-blown construction and management sim right onto Voyager's battered hull. The ship is a wreck when you start, with entire decks unfinished. You decide how to rebuild, choosing between essential crew quarters, more phaser arrays, or maybe even a second holodeck to keep morale from tanking.
Where you place these rooms is a strategic puzzle in itself. It might seem smart to group all your living quarters on one deck, but that deck becomes a mighty tempting target in a firefight. Suddenly you've got a homeless, pissed-off crew, and that's a whole new crisis to manage. It’s a constant, fascinating balancing act, fueled by resources you have to find by taking risky detours across the quadrant.
Credit: Star Trek™: Voyager® - Across the Unknown
Diplomacy, Phasers, and Paperwork
When you're not playing starship architect, you're managing your crew on perilous missions. Away missions are handled from the command chair, focusing on your decisions rather than direct control. You’ll assemble your team based on their skills and then guide their actions through the crisis at hand. The game even features a crew exhaustion system, forcing you to rotate your staff instead of just sending your A-team out to die every single time.
And when diplomacy fails, the space combat looks fantastic, feeling ripped straight from the show. From the bridge, you'll give the orders, divert power between weapons and shields, and target specific enemy systems, hoping your patchwork hull holds together. A victory might let you salvage the enemy's wreckage for precious resources, opening up different playstyles, from a diplomatic explorer to a resource-hungry pirate.
Walking out of that showcase, I was buzzing. Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown isn't another licensed cash-grab. It’s an ambitious, brilliant mix of genres that seems to perfectly understand what makes Voyager’s predicament so compelling. This isn't just a game for Trekkies; it's shaping up to be a must-play for any fan of survival strategy games. Keep this one on your damn scanner.