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Is there a singular Star Trek game that gives a complete experience, if not, what are the games to play to get one?

angelgrievous

angelgrievous

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Nov 8, 2017
9,142
Ohio
So I started watching TNG recently and now I want to try out some video games in the franchise. I'd really like one game that let's you have the complete Star Trek experience but doing a quick google search leads me to believe this isn't really an option. Most of the games I've seen are limited to a single genre like Space fighter, Bridge Sim, or third person action/shooter.

I don't know much about Star Trek Online or even if it's still playable/active but it could be what I'm looking for. I'm also not familiar with any PC games as I really don't play there (I only have a simple HP Laptop). I don't mind older titles, I know there are some games that go pretty far back so if they are good I'd give them a shot but I'd really prefer something a little more modern if possible.

So, specifically, I'd like a game that has ship piloting/space battles, away mission action sequences, and possibly bridge sim/rpg elements.

If no one game does this, what are the best games to play to get all of that?
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

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Oct 25, 2017
23,519
I guess the old P&C's like Judgement Rites and A Final Unity, but they're heaviest on the away missions, the other stuff is kind of more like window dressing really
 
erikNORML

erikNORML

Member
Oct 30, 2017
1,711
I'm always sad at the failure of Star Trek to have a good game, I think part of the issue is the core of Star Trek in discovery and dialogue, doesn't translate easily into the standard 1st/3rd person sci fi action template. I'd love a mix of like a telltale game with space ship sim.
 
Typhon

Typhon

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Oct 25, 2017
6,123
I'm not sure it will tick all your boxes. But from what I remember, the SNES TNG game would tick most
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,519
erikNORML said:
I'm always sad at the failure of Star Trek to have a good game, I think part of the issue is the core of Star Trek in discovery and dialogue, doesn't translate easily into the standard 1st/3rd person sci fi action template. I'd love a mix of like a telltale game with space ship sim.
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The P&C's were good games though?
 
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angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
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Nov 8, 2017
9,142
Ohio
erikNORML said:
I'm always sad at the failure of Star Trek to have a good game, I think part of the issue is the core of Star Trek in discovery and dialogue, doesn't translate easily into the standard 1st/3rd person sci fi action template. I'd love a mix of like a telltale game with space ship sim.
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I'm sitting here wondering why Star Trek never got the KOTOR/Mass Effect treatment. Seems prime for it.
 
Fisty

Fisty

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Oct 25, 2017
20,252
I remember the Star Trek 25th Anniversary P&C had away missions and space battles. I might go back and revisit that
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
Star Trek Starfleet Academy and Klingon Academy are interesting Space Sim/Interactive Movie games. Showing their age at this point but I mean Shatner, Takei etc. are in them playing their famous Star trek roles.

Star Trek is an underutilized series gaming wise for sure.
 
Argos7

Argos7

Member
Nov 20, 2020
598
Just let me be the captain of a ship and fly around doing missions. How hard is it to make a game like that? I'd get into Star Trek Online if it wasn't a 12 year old game.
 
Ciao

Ciao

Member
Jun 14, 2018
4,871
I just want Uncharted but you play as Ricker with Data and LaForge as AI companion.
 
Quinton

Quinton

Specialist at TheGamer / Reviewer at RPG Site
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Oct 25, 2017
17,298
Midgar, With Love
The SNES TNG and DS9 games are pretty banging. Starfleet Academy and Klingon Academy are fun. The old C&Cs are also good.

There's a 1999 4X game called Birth of the Federation that I loved as a kid. Went back to it as an adult and realized it's not that great. But there's an impressive modding community for it.
 
GenTask

GenTask

Member
Nov 15, 2017
2,668
I remember a friend telling me they enjoyed Star Trek Elite Force but I never got to try it myself. Other than that, I'm honestly surprised there are no truly memorable Star Trek games, there is that Bridge Crew VR game that perhaps could be amusing with friends.

Compare the IP to Star Wars, for example, which has absolute gems in several different genres (fps, rts, rpgs, flight sims).
 
antonz

antonz

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,309
The Best Star Trek games are from a different era is the problem. When Space Sims etc. were huge. Star Trek Online is a pretty great game when it comes to ship stuff. They keep updating the graphics on ships etc. so yes its 12 years old but space is still a blast. It however is much less fun on the ground side of things.
 
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angelgrievous

angelgrievous

Middle fingers up
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Nov 8, 2017
9,142
Ohio
I have very vague memories of playing the SNES TNG game and just being completely confused on what to do in the game. I was young and from watching a few let's plays it seems very menu heavy. Other than that I don't have a lot of experience with the franchises video games.

I might buy the SNES games though. I found a listing for 3 of the games for a good price so I might bight. I'm also looking at Elite Force and Conquest on PS2 and maybe a couple of the P&C games from GOG. I'm also mildly interested in the 2013 Star Trek game from the reboot movie. It didn't review well but I can't seem to find any other 3rd person action/shooter games.
 
Htown

Htown

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Oct 25, 2017
11,320
angelgrievous said:
So, specifically, I'd like a game that has ship piloting/space battles, away mission action sequences, and possibly bridge sim/rpg elements.
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Star Trek Online has that to varying degrees. It's been years since I played it, but the space battles were really fun, the ground/away missions weren't all that great, and the sim elements were limited to picking bridge officers with certain abilities, and assigning duty officers to give some buffs and do minor "missions"
 
LewieP

LewieP

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Oct 26, 2017
18,113
I always kinda wanted a Star Trek game from the makers of FTL. It's pretty close already.
 
Alexandros

Alexandros

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Oct 26, 2017
17,821
For TNG-Era games I would recommend:

Star Trek TNG A Final Unity (point-and-click adventure game with the full TV series voice cast)
Star Trek Starfleet Command 3 (Tactical space battles)
Star Trek Bridge Commander (still tactical, more actiony space battles)
Star Trek Elite Force 2

They're all pretty old at this point but they hold up relatively well. Other than that, your modern options are Star Trek Online and a couple of mobile games. If you are into mods you can also check out stuff like Star Trek New Horizons for Stellaris and Star Trek Armada 3 for Sins of a Solar Empire.
 
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Rhaya

Rhaya

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Oct 25, 2017
888


Yes it is a FMV "game " ( i doubt even if you could find it today , any modern computer could play it today ) but It has John De lancie going absolutly ham and having a blast as Q .
 
nekkid

nekkid

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Oct 27, 2017
21,823
A Final Unity feels about as close to playing a Star Trek episode as you will ever get.
 
Ales34

Ales34

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Apr 15, 2018
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Genesius said:
Remember when Bethesda had the Star Trek rights and we got that bad Legacy game
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Todd said they pitched Star Trek RPG but it didn't work out at the time and they focused on their own IPs. Starfield gives me very strong Star Trek vibes (join "Constellation" sounds like join "Starfleet", and the game seems to have the same theme of exploring where no man has gone before).
 
Corleth the Fey

Corleth the Fey

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,803
Southend on Sea, UK
I remember having a great time playing Star Trek Rebel universe back on my old Atari ST. Made by one of my gaming heroes Mike Singleton.



The Star trek VR game from a couple of years back was pretty good too and also works in non VR now.
 
The Masked Mufti

The Masked Mufti

The Wise Ones
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
3,989
Scotland
Elite Dangerous probably gives me the most Star Trek vibes. But I'm really hoping that Starfield scratches that itch a little, even though we won't be commanding Enterprise level ships.
 
m4st4

m4st4

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Oct 28, 2017
5,505
I wonder if Star Trek Elite Force II is still a good game or is it just my memory from PC days.
 
AquaRegia

AquaRegia

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Oct 25, 2017
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Fisty said:
I remember the Star Trek 25th Anniversary P&C had away missions and space battles. I might go back and revisit that
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This game was great. You started out in a mock space battle then got sent off to your mission. The copy protection was that the in game map was unlabeled, and the wrong star system would pit you against klingons and romulans, i.e. the protection led to a great space battle sim in itself. Once you were done messing around, you'd start the mission investigating some strange happenings on a planet, including multiple ways for your red shirt to die (watch for falling boulders!).
 
Joseph Flemming

Joseph Flemming

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Nov 2, 2017
169
Typhon said:
I'm not sure it will tick all your boxes. But from what I remember, the SNES TNG game would tick most
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came into the thread to suggest this. I rode my bike for miles to purchase this as a kid, and loved that it had a bit of everything in it. Would love to see someone attempt that again, with modern techniques.
 
Messofanego

Messofanego

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Oct 25, 2017
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UK
erikNORML said:
I'm always sad at the failure of Star Trek to have a good game, I think part of the issue is the core of Star Trek in discovery and dialogue, doesn't translate easily into the standard 1st/3rd person sci fi action template. I'd love a mix of like a telltale game with space ship sim.
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Outer Wilds has some of the best sci fi discovery and exploration in a videogame so far. It has so much of what I love about Star Trek. The narrative is fascinating and the atmosphere is very cozy. It's fun to talk to others and get that communal vibe. Rather than being about wars, chosen heroes, and saving the planet. You're just a space explorer and more of a geologist. I wouldn't mind a traditional adventure game that was more focused on the philosophy and ethics of Star Trek, but I don't think you'd find those deeper aspects of Star Trek in a simulation game which is more focused on resource gathering and maintenance systems.
 
Fadewise

Fadewise

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Nov 5, 2017
3,210
I feel like somehow even if you managed to get a game with all of those different genres mashed together it would be a monkey's paw situation where none of them were particularly good representations of the relevant gameplay. Creating a game that does a single genre well is hard enough, trying to cram three or four different ones into a single game is probably a recipe for failure.
 
tomsawing

tomsawing

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Jul 27, 2020
234
angelgrievous said:
I don't know much about Star Trek Online or even if it's still playable/active but it could be what I'm looking for.
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Star Trek Online has a lengthy story that continues the story of the original movie/show timeline taking place mostly after them all but with forays to the past for stories in the TOS and Discovery eras, as well as having some Mirror Universe shenanigans. It still receives content updates as well. The gameplay and graphics are pretty dated but I still enjoy them, and it does have both ship combat and away missions with RPG character and equipment upgrades for both. It also features character creation not only for your captain, but for every main crew member if you desire. So if nobody else gives you a more modern answer, STO is definitely on the table.
 
Kinketsu

Kinketsu

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Nov 17, 2017
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sir_crocodile said:
I guess the old P&C's like Judgement Rites and A Final Unity, but they're heaviest on the away missions, the other stuff is kind of more like window dressing really
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This is what I was going to say, specifically 25th Anniversary and Judgement Rites. You do a little bit ship battling, plotting course and stuff but they are mostly adventure games focusing on (mostly) away missions structured like episodes. However, not much of Star Trek (at least in the classic and TNG area) focused on battles so I would say they are the truest Trek experiences and the original plots are pretty good or at least seem on model from my memory, although I havent played them in years.
 
8bit

8bit

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Oct 27, 2017
5,390
Bridge Commander is pretty good once you get your head around the controls. I imagine it would be great with a few friends if you could do that.
 
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