Review: Star Trek: Resurgence (Switch)

Star Trek: Resurgence essentially offers an installment of the sci-fi series in an interactive, visual novel format.

While Starfleet combat simulations emphasize phaser confrontations and starship tactics and frequently fail to encompass the diverse elements of the series beyond its symbols, Dramatic Labs intertwines life’s ethical dilemmas, familial and political narratives, as well as the awe of the cosmos throughout this title. Additionally, it includes all the “Shields up, red alert!” and phaser shots you would anticipate from a typical episode of ’90s Trek.

Initially launched in 2023 on PC and consoles other than the Switch, the developer team, comprising Telltale alumni, employs a dual-protagonist storytelling approach to convey familiar (and thrilling for fans) starship missions aboard the USS Resolute. First Officer Jara Rydek and Petty Officer Carter Diaz provide viewpoints across the hierarchy, merging everyday engineering tasks with investigation, political nuance, and tension at the top, until their paths eventually intersect and their tales unite.

This clever method allows for the separation of these two threads without fabricating a singular character to carry the storyline, resolve diplomatic issues, guide team members, beam down on missions, scan anomalies, provide medical aid, and repair the warp core. The crew remains the centerpiece here, even though this is a Rydek/Diaz episode.

Moreover, it’s a solid episode; one that captures the show’s mise-en-scène and writing tone impeccably. Divided into chapters, the titles (all presented in Crillee Italic, naturally) play on previous episode names or memorable quotes from the franchise. We’re situated in the Lower Decks period, timeline enthusiasts; thus, post-Nemesis, roughly a decade after TNG’s television run concluded, with Riker out there on the Titan and everyone sporting the late-season DS9/First Contact uniforms. The Resolute isn’t the gleaming new flagship, though, so there’s a generous amount of vintage 2360s LCARS color schemes and design elements from earlier series (plus some delightful Type 6 shuttles) blended with the more polished, metallic textures of the films.

It’s to this recently refurbished science vessel that Rydek arrives following an event that tarnished not just the ship’s exterior but her new commanding officer’s reputation. Eager to restore his career, Captain Solano requires his next assignment to succeed at any expense. There’s also strain among his crew, as others had been vying for Rydek’s position.

Once again, this is primarily an interactive narrative. Aside from a few instances where you might tilt the left stick to traverse a set path, you have no direct control over your character; each setting presents static images with interactive icons to explore, each initiating a brief scene. Dialogue choices impact your relationships — the classic Telltale ‘X will remember that’ branching storyline setup — and the pause menu includes a summary of each character’s current perception of you.

Beyond dialogue, you get to operate machinery – rearranging isolinear chips, modulating carrier beams, flipping open tricorders and scanning, that sort of task. On a controller, you’re rotating sticks and toggling between icons, whereas in handheld mode, the touchscreen has you sliding controls and selecting prompts. It’s straightforward gameplay, but effectively executed.

Each ‘puzzle’ is generally similar (move the tricorder around and scan across bands to locate three substances, completed), yet they’re quick and enjoyably Trek-y, featuring all the appropriate terminology and sound effects. In other areas of audio, although you won’t hear any of the series’ iconic, booming themes, the soundtrack does a fair job of mimicking the mid-’90s auditory atmosphere of DS9 or Voyager.

Resurgence is unquestionably a budget endeavor. The video quality fluctuates across environments, but the Unreal Engine-driven visuals hold up remarkably well on Switch, although an optimization pass on Switch 2 could enhance the experience, as some elements appeared a bit rougher to my observation. There’s some clever manipulation involved with prerendered videos incorporated alongside rendered scenes (at least that’s the impression I got) and the imagery can be somewhat soft, the video a touch shaky, with awkward delays between selecting an action and awaiting the outcome. Nevertheless, it all nearly holds together, whether you’re in docked or handheld mode.

Regarding aspects that might raise a Vulcan’s brow, Quick-Time Events feel as cumbersome and unnecessary as ever in this context. At another point, a character appeared at their station missing some crucial headwear before it magically reappeared a couple of scenes later. On another occasion, as the camera rapidly panned around the bridge, I distinctly saw a Bolian I had previously overlooked, too.

There’s a bit of roughness around the edges, then – again, this isn’t the flagship. All that being said, Dramatic Labs allocated its resources effectively, 100%. No, you cannot manipulate your characters directly, but that limitation grants the developers complete control over the camera, and nearly every scene and surroundings feels like something that could have been filmed on a Paramount soundstage during the Berman era (including a journey to ‘Planet Hell’), with good depth of field and solid direction grounding the narrative well enough that you don’t dwell on minor technical hiccups or unusual glide-walks.

The facial animations and voice acting are superb, too, conveying feelings accurately in the show’s Shakespearean style, accompanied by writing quality to match. Carter has a relaxed Geordi vibe that complements Jara’s more serious, commanding presence, but both are appealing with the performers delivering exceptional portrayals. It’s a testament to the writers and actors that Spock and Riker don’t seem forced in for the fans, and you would find it difficult to distinguish Piotr Michael’s outstanding performance from Nimoy himself. It’s all exceptionally executed.

Some crew members are more abrasive than expected on a Starfleet vessel, yet I generally grew fond of them – all except for one, who provided only terrible opinions and the worst recommendations. Perhaps other characters might sulk when you shut them down repeatedly, Worf-style, and this one did face personal consequences due to a ‘needs of the many’ decision I made. In a different playthrough, if I tapped into my Mirror Universe persona and made alternative choices, perhaps we could…

be best friends.

Aside from that single officer, however, one of the most appealing aspects of Trek is well showcased here: the enjoyment of witnessing skilled, knowledgeable individuals performing tasks they are passionate about, and proficiently.

It has been some time since I experienced Mass Effect, yet the equilibrium here between negotiation, your personal ethics, and the truth of the circumstances placed me in that mindset. By connecting to a narrative with references to a Season One TNG episode, you receive a hint of TOS flavor as well: whimsical godlike beings, energy crystals, and a delightful, ’60s-style charm. For devoted Trekkies, it’s thrilling, although the conclusion — at least my conclusion — left a substantial plot thread dangling in a way that felt unfulfilling.

Nevertheless, the “seven hours or more” before the credits appeared were thoroughly engrossing. Resurgence does not deliver bland starship resource management or frontier tactics – it centers on the intricate decision-making and ethical dilemmas of genuine Star Trek, in addition to the sporadic excitement of saying “On screen,” “Engage,” or “Energise.” It’s precise enough with terminology universally to please anyone who can distinguish photons from phase inducers, and simply scanning items with your tricorder is exhilarating. It immerses you in an episode, living the fantasy of being a highly capable Starfleet officer, collaborating with varied, intelligent, compassionate individuals towards the collective benefit. And looking smart in a jumpsuit while you’re at it.

Thus, as episodes go, this one is a good one. Not a Best of Both Worlds — not a title you would specifically retrieve the Blurays for — but a solid mid-Season Three entry that’s absolutely deserving of a (re)view.

Conclusion

Star Trek: Resurgence is a humble endeavor, but Dramatic Labs did an exceptional job of encapsulating the essence of the show, particularly its ’90s era, with all its merits and flaws. Like the series, technically, you may observe some rough spots, yet the creators have accomplished remarkable feats with their resources. The visual novel aesthetics here are well-suited to the material, excelling where it counts, with outstanding writing and performances throughout.

Non-Trek enthusiasts won’t derive nearly as much enjoyment from it, and you may not find a reason to return for another playthrough. However, if the current offerings of Trek shows aren’t quite fulfilling your desires, Resurgence effectively transports you back a generation.