TSJ Reviews STAR TREK: RESURGENCE from Dramatic Labs!

TSJ Reviews Star Trek:  Resurgence from Dramatic Labs!

What a ride!  I had so much fun playing this.  If you are a fan of Trek, and specifically TNG, then I know you will enjoy this immersive and visually-stunning game.

Developer:  Dramatic Labs

Writers: Dan Martin, Andrew Grant, Kevin Bruner

Director: Kent Mudle

Voice acting: 

Krizia Bajos:  Jara Rydek

Josh Keaton: Carter Diaz

Piotr Michael: Spock

Jim Meskimen: Captain Solano

Jonathan Frakes:  William Riker

Platform:  XBox One, XBox Series X/S, PS4, PS5

Release Date:  23 May 2023

Ratings: 72% Metacritic; 7/10 IGN; 93% Google Users; 9/10 Steam Users; 4/5 Gamestop

Star Trek: Resurgence is extremely fun, immersive, exciting, and puts the player right inside Star Trek in the TNG era.  Although not without its faults, the overall environment — including the score, artwork, set design, and voice acting — is so convincing that it’s like being inside an episode of a new TV show, interacting with the characters, and making crucial decisions that actually alter the outcome of the story.  I have played all the Telltale The Walking Dead games, and the format remains the same:  the player is forced to make tough choices, and how you respond to each will dictate the future of the story.  Players are not faced with scenarios as extreme as you might endure in The Walking Dead, but nevertheless, the story is still compelling and the decisions one makes determines major outcomes.  Following your journey, you can check the decisions you made and how they compare with those made by the overall gaming community.

I want to single out the art, the art direction, and the set design.  There is no doubt this is the TNG era.  The consoles, the displays, the controls (even the mechanical ones) are all drawn straight from the TV shows and the movies.  It feels like you are on board a Starfleet vessel.  It’s wonderful.  The art in particular is stellar (literally).  Yes, it looks like a graphic novel at times, but it’s supposed to.  The story is the priority here, but boy does the art add to the adventure.  Resolute, while smaller and less impressive than Enterprise, still has a grand quality to it, and a lot of that has to do with the angles chosen to showcase the vessel.  The backgrounds, especially during the ion storm at the beginning, are majestic.  Here’s the ship as it leaves starbase:

The attention to detail is clear.  The starbase not only resembles those from previous shows, but items are added from the Shatner-era movies and even the JJ Abrams’ films!  And the score takes cues from all of the above as well.  The entire intro sequence, as the new First Officer Jara Rydek arrives at the starbase to board her new ship, is a grand re-entry to this universe.  Even the architecture of the base itself has elements from Starbase Yorktown in Star Trek: Beyond.  And crucially, the score is wonderful!  When Resolute finally departs, there are clear references to the JJ Abrams’ movies.  There are also elements from TNG, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and many other iterations of Trek.  To the makers of this game, I noticed all these additional touches … THANK YOU!

The new First Officer (you) arrives to take her new post on Resolute.  Very quickly, she realizes that she is stepping into a complex situation.  The captain, Solano, caused a disaster on the ship months earlier, and the ship is only now just getting back into service.  Many crew died and there were extensive repairs needed.  This was all due to Solano experimenting with the warp engines and pushing them beyond their limits.  It’s a clever storytelling setup.  Already, right from the beginning, there is tension with the captain.  Shades of Jellico here!

Captain Solano

There are decisions to make within the first thirty minutes of gameplay, setting your path with the Captain.  Will it be an easy relationship, or one with much tension?  It’s up to you, and that’s why this game is so entertaining.  As soon as I finished (after 13 hours), I immediately began another playthrough just to see how my choices had dramatic consequences and what they changed the first time around.

Here you are, facing off with the Captain early on:

You also play another character in Star Trek: Resurgence —  Carter Diaz, an engineer and a member of the “lower decks.”  He is a great addition to this crew and a necessary counterpoint to Rydek.  Diaz will have to do much of the work on Away Teams, and as you play, you’ll flip back and forth between the two in 10-15 minute chapters.

Here’s a scene as Resolute arrives at a planetary system where their adventure begins.

And here’s a scene of the bridge, following a grand pan around the entire ship and then into the forward viewport:

So far my review has been glowing.  But what are the negatives?  There are a few:

  • The story is connected to a rather obscure TNG episode, and really not a very good one either.  It is tied into Season 1, Episode 5:  The Last Outpost.  Those first ten or fifteen episodes took place in the early stages where the characters and producers were still getting their footings and making decisions on the look, feel, and direction of the show.  To connect the game to this episode seems … curious, as Spock would say.
  • The decisions are important, but nothing reaches the level of tension in The Walking Dead.  That’s likely because TNG is not as apocalyptic as that show, but still, as a player, I noticed.
  • The phaser shootouts are janky and I frequently died during these sequences.
  • The game, although only 10 – 13 hours (as advertised) seems longer than it has to be.  I would have been happy with 8 hours.  The story drags a bit.
  • The obstacle/villains are not menacing.  The stakes are not very high in this game.  If the makers create another, the villain should be far more dangerous and I would like to see some crew deaths and serious damage to the ship.

Overall, I loved the game and the $31.00 I paid on X-Box was more than worth it.  To the game developers, I want more!  From a creative standpoint, you nailed it.  Well done.  From a story standpoint, there is room for improvement, as mentioned just above, and I’d love to see a game with a serious villain and some much more dramatic choices.  If you could combine these two elements, it could be a much more compelling adventure.  That being said, I did absolutely love this.  It was a riveting and immersive experience.  Kudos to Dramatic Labs!

TSJ’s Rating:  8.5/10

A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

——

A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

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A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007

———

TSJ’s Awards

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THE WAR BENEATH:  FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister

THE SAVAGE DEEPS:  FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister

FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist

Praise for THE WAR BENEATH

“If you’re looking for a techno-thriller combining Ian Fleming, Tom Clancy and John Le Carré, The War Beneath will satisfy … a ripping good yarn, a genuine page-turner.” — Amazing Stories
“One very riveting, intelligent read!” — Readers’ Favorite
“If you like novels like The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising,
you will certainly enjoy The War Beneath.” — A Thrill A Week
“If you’re here for thrills, the book will deliver.” — The Cambridge Geek
“… an engaging world that is highly believable …” — The Future Fire
“This is a tense, gripping science fiction/thriller of which Tom Clancy might well be proud . . . When I say it is gripping, that is the simple truth.” — Ardath Mayhar
“… a thrill ride from beginning to end …” — SFcrowsnest
“… if you like Clancy and le Carré with a hint of Forsyth thrown in,
you’ll love The War Beneath.” — Colonel Jonathan P. Brazee (RET),
2017 Nebula Award & 2018 Dragon Award Finalist
“Fast-paced, good old-fashioned Cold War espionage … a great escape!” — The Minerva Reader

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