General:
Okay, I’ve always wanted to be Captain Picard (or in my case, more like Janeway), so of course I had to try this game. Back in the day, I really enjoyed playing Starfleet Academy and I’ve been missing a similar gameplay experience ever since.
The game immediately shines with its presentation once you get past the rather simple main menu. The controls on the bridge are intuitive, and you quickly find your way around. As a Star Trek fan, the Easter eggs are a real treat: I got to talk to Kirk (even though he unfortunately had better things to do at the moment). It also adds a lot to the atmosphere that you can hail other ships that aren’t directly part of the mission. It gives the impression of a living world.
Later on, it would be great to have more decision-making and multiple mission endings! I can also imagine a stylish mission overview menu working really well.
Graphics:
The game looks very good — especially the UI layout contributes a lot to that. The ship and everything inside it look fantastic! The effect when taking off is also really great; I only wish I could see something through the windows — stars, planets, space stations… overall, I think that’s very important. For example, when approaching the wormhole, or when undocking from the space station!
The rumbling during undocking was a great touch — you can feel the attention to detail. In the start menu, a hover effect on the button (visible already when hovering with the mouse) would have been nice.
Music/Sounds:
The sound effects are very good and fit perfectly; only the tones when playing back messages could be a bit lower in pitch, in my opinion. The ship’s hum helps the atmosphere a lot. The intro music is fitting and sets the tone nicely. Overall, I would add music in a few more places to underline the importance of key moments — for example, right when the demo ends…
Theme:
The bridge is a room — so the theme is absolutely met.
Conclusion:
A game strongly reminiscent of Starfleet Command. I would love to keep playing!