"Star Trek Voyager" played: Survival in the Star Trek universe
"Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown" sends Captain Janeway and crew on a survival mission in the Delta Quadrant.
(Image: Daedalic)
No way back. That was roughly the starting situation for the U.S.S. Voyager and its crew in the television series of the same name in the late 1990s. Since then, there have been occasional video game adaptations like the first-person shooter "Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force". With "Across the Unknown", Gamexcite is now taking a step back. Instead of quick fingers, grey matter is required – planning, tinkering, surviving.
Boldly go …
The starting situation is the same: While hunting a rebel ship, the U.S.S. Voyager gets stranded 70,000 light-years away in the Delta Quadrant. Truly where no one has gone before, the crew struggles with new alien species and mysterious superhuman beings. However, those hoping for a faithful adaptation will be surprised. While there is a reunion with many familiar characters like Captain Janeway, Chakotay, or Neelix, their fates sometimes take a different, tragic turn.
In "Across the Unknown", ruthless survival strategy from „Frostpunk“ meets the "Star Trek" universe. Players are constantly searching for vital resources, aliens are constantly hindering the return journey, and Captain Janeway is constantly fighting against the frustration of her crew. If the fuel runs out or morale drops to zero, it's a sober Game Over. The game only saves automatically; if a main mission fails, the entire sector must be restarted.
„Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown“ angespielt (5 Bilder)
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)The implementation is complex from the start: repair the ship, scan planets, collect resources. To use a room on the ship, the life support must first be switched on. For that, we need resources, which we can only get if the sensors are installed. For that, we need a functioning laboratory where we can research new technologies and a workshop where we can then manufacture the devices. Everything is logically structured, but also very granular.
In this way, players must traverse twelve randomly generated sectors with as many main missions on their way to Earth. Each round is a cycle that consumes resources accordingly. There are ten of them, all used for energy, research, or expansion of the individual ship rooms.
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Demanding Survival Adventure
At the beginning, players have a few resources in stock, but by the second mission in a new system at the latest, the search for resources becomes tedious. As is common in the survival genre, resources are constantly scarce, and side tasks, in which we have to keep the crew's morale up over several rounds, cause stress.
"Across the Unknown" is not a game for in-between. If the power goes out, important rooms automatically shut down. Once a few resources have been collected again, players have to laboriously reactivate the individual areas. Why not a master switch to turn everything back on? It takes a few hours for all game mechanics to interlock cleverly.
When players are not busy with energy management, they can engage in some spaceship battles. First, individual posts are staffed with experts. Vulcan Tuvok ensures precise attacks, ex-rebel Paris evades shots with daring maneuvers. The combat itself is unspectacular. While players can issue commands to attack enemy shields or propulsion, there is no hit feedback or spectacle. Eventually, the battle is over, and the Voyager has won or lost.
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The away missions typical for "Star Trek" proceed similarly to a gamebook. Many are randomly generated, some are based on series episodes. Here too, players first choose their heroes. If the team then encounters aliens or other problems, character stats and abilities decide. Upon successful return, some resources or technologies are awarded. Important: The game doesn't forget. Some decisions and behaviors have consequences for the further course of the game. Thus, it can happen that an important crew member dies during a mission.
While the gameplay concept works, the audiovisual implementation is disappointing. Although the Voyager resembles the original and the original score sounds from the speakers, the animations of the familiar characters appear stiff and lifeless. Voice output is rare. This results in a few minus points, but they hardly detract from the otherwise successful gameplay implementation of the television series.
Interim Conclusion
"Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown" offers not a perfect, but a motivating and challenging survival strategy. None of the individual game elements are implemented outstandingly well, but in sum, the game offers an exciting and challenging journey through the Delta Quadrant.
Deductions are made for the unnecessarily granular micromanagement and the unspectacular presentation. Should this deter "Star Trek" fans? Absolutely not. "Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown" hides a successful "Star Trek" survival adventure behind its unattractive exterior.
"Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown" has been released for Windows, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch 2. It costs approx. €35. USK rating from 12. For our preview, we played the Windows version for a few hours.
(mki)
