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01). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: Hasbro Interactive | 1999
Verdict: Timeless
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, abandonware, free Windows 10 compatible download at ArmadaFleetCommand.com
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity, nevertheless really faithful in spirit
Star Trek: Birth of the Federation (or BOTF), is one of the best 4X space games ever created, largely due to how well it replicates the experience of exploring and colonizing new worlds in Star Trek. It contains five major empires; The Federation, The Klingon Empire, The Romulan Empire, The Cardassian Union and The Ferengi Alliance. Many minor alien civilizations can be discovered, such as Vulcans, Andorians, Anticans or Selay; they can be persuaded to join you, or conquered by planetary invasion, and they will react to your faction according to their cultural ideals.
The game is explicitly non-canonical, since you are unfolding an alternative history of the major political entities of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, and certain starships specific to the 23rd or 24th century will be present earlier in the scientific development of your civilization. However, considering all that, the general tone and aesthetic is absolutely dedicated to the source material. Right down to the names of buildings, computer descriptions of major scientific breakthroughs and acts of espionage. It is spectacularly faithful, considering it presents an alternate history.
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02). Star Trek: Judgement Rites (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1993
Verdict: Timeless
Availability: Originally released on floppy disk and CD-ROM, currently available on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
The best point-and-click adventure game I have ever played. Star Trek: Judgement Rites was the last video game to feature the entire Original Series cast reprising their roles as voice actors. It's hard to convey to someone who may have never played a point-and-click adventure game, how good this game is. Judgement Rites is utterly faithful to the source material. Not only that, but the puzzles are actually quite logical, as long as you take time to absorb evidence and investigate; they can be solved using reason, logical hypothesis and previous experience. It's a better RPG than most RPGs.
You can scan, investigate or observe almost every object in the game, and an appropriate description will be presented. In a long tradition with Star Trek games, there is even an entire in-game ship's library that could serve as a reasonably complete Star Trek encyclopedia in it's own right, including plausible additional information never seen in the show. The premise of each mission is so appropriate and thematically true to Star Trek, that you will feel like you are playing a lost season of classic television, which is the highest compliment that you can give to a Star Trek game, or any licensed game.
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03). Star Trek: Klingon Academy (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000
Verdict: Timeless
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, recently patched to Windows 10 with an installer at KlingonAcademy.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: Klingon Academy is regarded as the pinnacle of Star Trek space sim games. The game was actually pretty advanced for it's time but overlooked by many gamers due to the company's demise. It featured damage maps allowing you to blow pieces off ships, exposing decks to space, which might have been the first such instance in a 3D flight sim. What really sets this game apart however, is the sheer lengths the developers took to make this game an immersive depiction of Klingon society.
Oh boy, Christopher Plumber reprising his role as General Chang, and David Warner as the soon Chancellor Gorkon. A Klingon Opera soundtrack by Inon Zur, composer of Baldur's Gate. Star Trek: Klingon Academy is yet another game so ambitious by the standards of today that it shames modern tie-ins, in an age where video games rarely attempt such a deep dive.
It is a decent enough space flight sim, elevated to legendary status by the writing, story, and full motion videos of Klingons teaching battle tactics and thoughtful galactic geopolitics to the students under their command. Feel what it means, to decloak your bird-of-prey, rain terror upon the enemy, and uphold lurDech.
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04). Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity (PC)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: MicroProse | 1995
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, abandonware, requires DOSBox
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity was the Next Generation's own point-and-click adventure game in the style of Interplay's two legendary adventure games, 25th Anniversary and Judgement Rites. It lacked some of the detailed design features of the Interplay games, so that the environments are generally less interactive, but remains the most faithful reproduction of the Next Generation era, and has a very cool plot.
The story begins with the near-Romulan offshoot known as the Garidians, who are a protectorate of the Romulan Empire; they are after several dissident archeologists from a religious minority, who believe they can prevent civil war on Garid by discovering ancient artifacts. Gradually over the course of the game, you uncover more evidence and learn about a massive alien structure, which was created by a lost ancient civilization. Events escalate dramatically.
The entire Next Generation voice cast are present, and as usual deliver a great performance as the characters they have played over years of their career. The game features a surprisingly extensive star map, with probably hundreds of systems, however most of the systems are empty aside from descriptions of planetary characteristics (it is still impressive when developers take the time and care to add all this optional detail).
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05). EGA Trek (PC)
Developer: Arcanum Computing | Publisher: Sofsource Inc | 1988
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally shared on floppy disk, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, requires DOSBox, licensing issues mean only the later non-Star Trek re-skin is officially shared
Canonicity: Not aiming for canoncity, nevertheless really faithful in spirit
A 1988 update of the 1971 classic text-based Star Trek war game; this version added graphics. The original starship simulator started Star Trek gaming with an amazing level of detail and quality. This ultimate version was created by Nels Anderson in 1988. It was shared widely by geeks across the world, passed around at work, and was remarkable in it's scope. This game will be a tough sell to modern audiences because of the graphics, but is actually still brilliant in conception; trust the simulation and content over the old graphics. It would make for an incredible official remake, simply graphically updating the warships, but left 100% identical in specifics.
The premise of the game is that war has broken out between the United Federation of Planets, and the Klingon Empire. You are debriefed on the situation and the capabilities of a Constitution-class starship. During the debrief in which you are presented with the latest intelligene reports, you learn the main keboard controls, such as raising or lowering shields, and engaging warp drive. You can dock at starbases, land away teams on planets by either shuttlecraft or transporter, and must defeat hostile starships throughout an eight by eight grid of subsectors. Difficulties range from Lt. Commander, Commander, Captain, Commodore to Admiral, adding additional hazard.
Note that only version 1.0, 2.0 and 2.31 of EGA Trek are Star Trek games, before the names and visuals had to be changed to comply with licencing. The re-skinned version replaces the Federation and USS Enterprise with a generic science fiction setting and USS Lexington.
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06). Star Trek: 25th Anniversary (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1992
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally released on floppy disk and CD-ROM, currently available on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is the direct predecessor to Star Trek: Judgement Rites, one of the best sci-fi games I have played. Again, you control the starship Enterprise on it's five-year mission to explore strange new worlds and seek out new civilizations. Engaging in ship operations on the bridge, and then beaming down on away missions to planets, asteroids and space stations.
Why does this game, Judgement Rite's direct predecessor, which features almost identical graphics, usually score a little lower than it's sequel? The reason is that it while is still good, it is a slightly less polished game, with writing that was not yet as refined as it's sequel. While still of huge interest, with unique scenarios in the Star Trek universe, like a visit to a Klingon colony, the game is shorter and more variable in the quality of it's missions.
One area where it falls short of it's sequel is interactivity and puzzle design. Judgement Rites puzzles are logical, but some in 25th Anniversary resort to trial and error, with slightly less detailed or interactive elements, and in general the missions are shorter. However I don't wish to under-sell what is still a great point-and-click game.
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07). Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (PC)
Developer: Interplay Entertainment | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1997
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy was the first of Interplay's two great starship flight sim games, featuring full-motion video cutscenes, with interactive dialogue choices, which were filmed in remarkable quality nonwithstanding budget, with correct costumes, and pre-rendered backgrounds similar to Westwood's Dune games. The game and it's expansion pack feature William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig reprising their roles as Captain James T Kirk, Captain Hikaru Sulu, and Commander Pavel Chekov as they instruct a class of Starfleet Academy students in simulated missions, while a terrorist threat to the Federation looms.
Interplay again managed something special. Like it's sequel Klingon Academy, this game is essentially a lost movie between the Original Series films, featuring a plausible story that could easily be fully canonical to the TV shows and movies. It even depicts an Andorian crewman in your class, which was the only live-action portrayal of one after Star Trek: The Original Series until Star Trek: Enterprise, a gap of 34 years.
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08). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1998
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, abandonware, may require some tweaking, or a Glide wrapper such as dgVoodoo to work
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard is an amazing concept given life as a game; to play as an alien soldier from one of Star Trek's many non-human empires, in an Unreal-like boomer shooter, with not a single human character present in the entire game. The premise, is that you play as an elite warrior on a quest to prevent an evil faction taking control of the Klingon Empire, after an assassination attempt on the Chancellor. During these missions you will find yourself on the surface of planetoids like the asteroid gulag Rura Penthe, or seedy Qualor II, hunting down Andorian starship commanders and fighting alien mercinaries.
Fans of shooters may find that the gameplay does not quite live up to the timeless greats of the genre like Quake and Unreal, but considering the game is a licensed product set in an imaginative corner of the Star Trek setting, it gains additional points for fascination, and any gameplay shortcomings are more forgivable. There are quite a lot of interesting creatures and planetary environments, such as the rat-sized Tar Chop, which seems to be the main pest animal across Klingon space. As you cut through your foes with disruptor rifles and a bat'leth, the protagnoist will occasionally yell things like "I am the Hand of Kahless! I am Death!"
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09). Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force (PC)
Developer: Raven Software | Publisher: Activision | 2000
Verdict: Great
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
The premise of Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force is a little harder to fit into on-screen canon than some of the earlier games in this list. You play as a new special forces team formed by Captain Janeway and Lt Commander Tuvok to deal with serious threats while in the Delta Quadrant; they are known as Hazard Squad. Since no force of this kind is ever seen in the show, despite some situations where such a team being onboard the USS Voyager would have been useful, the game is one that I would rate as slightly lower in terms of canonicity than most of those mentioned above. However, now that far worse has been done to Star Trek's internal logic in the years since Star Trek: Voyager ended, this seems like a minor complaint.
What Elite Force represents is either the best, or second-best first-person-shooter created within the Star Trek setting. Some may prefer Klingon Honor Guard, or may not be able to play that game, which is harder to run today on modern Windows 10 systems. Where Elite Force shines is again it's faithfulness to Voyager, and interesting environments, including experiencing what it's like to move through a Borg ship, where drones will ignore you until you present a threat. Every game on this list so far, was clearly a labor of love. Initially the only voice cast missing was Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine, but she was patched in subsequently, and is available in the GOG.com release.
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10). Star Trek: Generations (PC)
Developer: MicroProse | Publisher: MicroProse | 1997
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com, abandonware, difficult to run on modern systems, but not impossible
Canonicity: Low to medium potential canonicity
How can I convey that a Doom clone from 1997, which is virtually forgotton, is actually a really good overlooked Star Trek game, worth playing by fans today? It sounds like some kind of blind nostalgia, but let me justify it shortly. First, a little bit of background: This game was intended as a tie-in for the film Star Trek: Generations, but over-ran it's schedule so much, that it wound up being released around the time of the sequel Star Trek: First Contact. The fact that it tied into an old, averagely-liked film, is probably a big reason why it was forgotten. However although the basic plot of Dr Tolian Soran wanting to re-enter a paradise dimension known as The Nexus remains, the plot is expanded hugely beyond the film, adding missions on multiple planets, and expanding Soran's interaction with the Romulan Empire and Klingon renegades.
The reason this game is really interesting, is that it is almost like a point-and-click adventure game in first person; it has an inventory system, puzzles, a star map, multiple planets, space combat (albeit rudimentary), and although theoretically an adaptation of the movie, it is more like it's own mini-series. You can infiltrate a Romulan base, infiltrate a Klingon air-field full of bird-of-prey starships, visit a living planet, or archeological ruins. It is more a sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity, MicroProse's previous game, than a tie-in game. The entire voice cast are present again, and as usual this elevates the game a huge amount. It is of course very hard to fit into screen canon, however this was a really faithful game from MicroProse, even though this is the first game on the list which perhaps explicitly contradicts established events.
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11). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen (PC)
Developer: The Collective | Publisher: Simon and Schuster | 2000
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen is based upon the trilogy of DS9 novels known as the Millennium series by long time Star Trek authors Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The three protagonists of the game, Kira, Sisko and Worf, sort of serve as a difficulty setting, with Kira generally being seen as the easiest, and Worf as being the most combat heavy. Each of the three paths through the game have different missions, and visit locations in a different order, which include the space station, the planet Bajor, and USS Defiant. Most of the cast reprise their roles with great performances, except Avery Brooks as Sisko, which is disappointing as he is one of the three playable characters.
The Fallen is more of an adventure game than a shooter, with elements of light platforming, swimming and climbing in addition to third person shooting and use of the tricorder. It is a solid game, but perhaps not quite as packed with extras as the higher games on the list, such as the ability to read extensive lore entries in a codex. The main enemies include the Grigari, an alien race from the fringes of known space who want a Bajoran orb, and the Cult of the Pah-Wraiths, who believe the Bajoran prophets are false gods. In general The Fallen is regarded as one of the stronger Star Trek games, but is only 11 on the list, due to the added imagination and verisimilitude of those mentioned earlier.
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12). Star Trek: Starfleet Command (PC)
Developer: 14 Degrees East & Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 1999
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity
Star Trek: Starfleet Command is a wargame based on the popular Star Fleet Battles tabletop system invented in 1979. It does not feature a full story campaign, but rather just lets you battle as a starship from one of six factions, the Federation, Klingons, Romulans, Gorn, Hydrans and Lyrans, performing randomized missions. The latter two civilizations were invented for the Starfleet Command games, and re-appear in the sequels, as middle powers situated between the major empires. The game focuses upon ship-to-ship starship combat. It is mouse-driven, involving using novel weapon powers like mines at the right time, akin to a sailing ship simulator (as opposed to a flight sim in the Starfleet Academy series), and allows you to conquer different systems on a hexagonal grid map by winning battles. Clicking on a star system will yield different mission types like patrols or open battles.
Starfleet Command games were a fairly popular Star Trek game their day, but they were less interesting to me personally at the time, due to lacking a strong narrative, to give you a reason to play or invest in the outcome of your ship's actions. Their intent was more to provide a combat sim with infinite missions. The story is that the Organians have disappeared, rendering the Organian Peace Treaty, negotiated between the UFP and Klingon Empire after TOS "Errand of Mercy" invalid. This leads to the return of open hostilities between the major empires.
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13). Star Trek: Starfleet Command II - Empires at War (PC)
Developer: Taldren | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2000
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity
There isn't much to add regarding this game that separates it from it's predecessor as an adaptation of the Star Fleet Battles wargame, except to say that this one had more of a story, an intro cutscene featuring the voice of George Takei as Captain Sulu, and expanded with new factions. For some reason Starfleet Command II is unavailable online. Yet Starfleet Command III, which was an attempt at continuation by Activision, is fairly widely available on platforms like GOG.com, perhaps due to some licensing issue, or technical compatibility issues.
The story involves the return of the Organians after their prior disappearance in the first Starfleet Command game, with a political superpower called the Interstellar Concordium, from elsewhere in the galaxy, brought in almost like military contractors, to subjugate the major powers of the alpha and beta quadrants, and impose peace upon all factions through military force. All factions resent having their freedoms, self-determination and foreign policy dictated by the Organians, and prepare for war.
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14). Star Trek: Starfleet Command - Orion Pirates (PC)
Developer: Taldren | Publisher: Interplay Entertainment | 2001
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity
Stand-alone expansion pack for Starfleet Command II: Empires at War, which adds campaigns for 12 different Orion Pirate cartels. It has no campaigns specific to the major political powers such as the Federation and Klingons, just a generic one against pirates. Some people consider it to be the definitive way to experience Starfleet Command II, because it has the most starships, and is the final Star Fleet Battles adaptation set in the classic era.
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15). Star Trek: Starfleet Command III (PC)
Developer: Taldren | Publisher: Activision | 2002
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Despite an unusual change of publisher mid-series, Starfleet Command III is considered another solid entry in the series of Star Fleet Battles adaptations. This time the game decided to take the rules of the previous games and apply them to the TNG era. I prefer the TOS motion picture setting, so was less fond of this one, but it was praised for a well-written story, and RPG-like progression. The game's story is closely related to Star Trek: Nemesis. A joint peace station, Unity One, is created by the Federation and Klingon governments. It is targetted by their enemies as a means to drive a wedge between the Federation-Klingon Alliance. You play a campaigns as a Klingon, Romulan and Starfleet captain. Like many games of the era, it features the voice of Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
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16). Star Trek: Bridge Commander (PC)
Developer: Totally Games | Publisher: Activision | 2002
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
In Star Trek: Bridge Commander, you play an inexperienced starship captain, who is elevated to a command position onboard the USS Dauntless after the previous captain is killed when on a space station whose star goes supernova. The Cardassians are suspected of involvement, and together with the crew of the Dauntless, it's up to you to follow leads and undertake a variety of missions, being promoted across your career, and talking to other commanders on the viewscreen. It is a very faithful representation of bridge operations in Star Trek's 24th century. It also again features cameos, this time by Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard and Brent Spiner and Lt. Commander Data.
Bridge Commander has quite a good reputation online, and it is undoubtedly the best starship simulator released after Klingon Academy, but I think that some of it's reputation is enhanced due to how it was for a long time, the only starship simulator game that ran on modern systems easily, with many of the earlier games, particularity Klingon Academy, being completely unavailable or incompatible for a long period in the 2000s and 2010s, and launched on an unwieldy six CD-ROMs. It was relatively easy to acquire and run, so perhaps was remembered better.
It is quite narrowly focused on simulating just a few aspects of starship operations, without say the ability to explore the ship, look up lovingly written lore entries in the computer, or land anywhere as part of an away team (which would have elevated it to greatness, and was much more technically possible by this time). Those are just minor regrets, and the game can't be faulted otherwise.
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17). Star Trek: Legacy (PC, XB360)
Developer: Mad Doc Software | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | 2006
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on DVD, currently unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
I would say that Star Trek: Legacy was the only decent game to come out of the post-2003 dark age in Star Trek gaming. Essentially it was a Starfleet Command style game, but created for console with the Xbox 360 in mind. The 360 version played significantly better than the PC port, although I hear that the PC one may have been modded well in recent years. It was probably the best looking Star Trek game, owing to being one of the last major single-player releases that the franchise ever got, and the only major release in the seventh console generation (Xbox 360 and PS3).
The story revolved around a plot occurring over all ENT, TOS and TNG eras; the 22nd, 23rd and 24th centuries. It perhaps played a little looser with continuity than earlier, more faithful, games. Where it shone however was a very impressive roster of ships, and many interesting scenarios. The ENT era campaign featured a speculative view of the Romulan War for example. It is notable for having united all the captains in one game.
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18). Star Trek: Elite Force II (PC)
Developer: Ritual Entertainment | Publisher: Activision | 2003
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: High potential canonicity
After the end of Star Trek: Voyager, the Hazard Squad formed in the first Elite Force is dismissed, as Voyager's crew return home, or are reassigned, or await Voyager's next mission. However Starfleet, and Captain Picard, recognize that the squad would be ideal for assignment for special missions onboard the Enterprise E, and the game picks on in the time after Star Trek: Nemesis. Soon they find themselves facing a living biological weapon; the Exomorphs.
While the first Elite Force game is one of the ten best Star Trek games, and one of the last good Star Trek games after Activision took over the license (with Bridge Commander being another), the sequel was a bit of a step down, while remaining very playable today. They were both re-released on GOG.com weeks ago. On the one hand, it's a decent plot that you will enjoy as a fan, but it had annoying and repetitive enemies, a common problem in some shooters from the 2000s, as well as some other gameplay letdowns. Personally, I dislike non-sentient bug-like enemies in games, and prefer facing intelligent foes, so missions with other enemies are far more enjoyable. If you have played the first, it is still definatly worth a playthrough however.
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19). Star Trek: Armada (PC)
Developer: Activision | Publisher: Activision | 2000
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
Set just after the end of the Dominion War in the 24th century, Star Trek: Armada's story is about different factions, including the Borg, trying to obtain the Omega particle, a vastly dangerous power source that Starfleet wishes to prevent being used due to it's potential for devastation. There is a Federation, Klingon, Romulan and Borg campaign. The voice cast includes the return of Denise Crosby as Commander Sela, one of The Next Generation's primary antagonists.
However, one problem I have with Armada is that the RTS genre does not really fit Star Trek's setting well, i.e. it's internal logic. Activision attempt to paste Command & Conquer style gameplay into Star Trek, turning starships into disposable units. A starship like the Enterprise E, is crewed by hundreds, and probably takes months to build in a drydock. People serve on them for years, they become a home. In the game, you can print vessels like cars, fling them into combat, and get them destroyed minutes into their career. This is why I have ranked neither game that high on the list, despite their decent gameplay, which might be fine if they were an unrelated science fiction.
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20). Star Trek: Tactical Assault (DS, PSP)
Developer: Quicksilver Software | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | 2006
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on DS and PSP cartridge, unavailable on Nintento eShop or PSN
Canonicity: High potential canonicity
This game is really the closest thing to a Starfleet Command spiritual sequel that you can get, and basically feels like a spinoff of the Starfleet Command series, but with more story features than in the mainline series, such as little cartoon avatars of different characters speaking, as in a JRPG. You may also have noticed it is developed by one of the original developers of Starfleet Command series from 1999. The only decent Star Trek game available on a handheld console, it can be purchased second hand for Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS or Sony PSP owners who are Star Trek fans.
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21). Star Trek: Invasion (PS1)
Developer: Warthog Games | Publisher: Activision | 2000
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on PS1 disk, unavailable on PSN
Canonicity: High potential canonicity
In Star Trek, capital ship combat is the main focus of the setting, with big warships pummeling each other with phaser fire, or photon torpedos, making slow and deliberate tactical decisions, hiding in asteroid fields, and waiting each other out like submarines. The setting isn't that well known for fighter combat, which is more Star Wars's speciality. However, several episodes, like DS9's 'Sacrifice of Angels', during which wings of attack fighters were seen being used during "Operation Return" to retake Deep Space Nine from the Dominion, show that small shuttlecraft-sized fighters do exist, and are used in a few limited roles.
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22). Star Trek: Klingon (PC)
Developer: Simon & Schuster | Publisher: Simon & Schuster | 1996
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: High potential canonicity
The next two games on this list were hard to place, as they are essentially visual novels, made with full motion video, featuring appearances by some of Star Trek's most famous guest stars. In this case, Robert O'Reilly's Gowron appears in a holodeck program designed to teach the player Klingon culture, through immersion studies. The game may be of particular interest to people fascinated by the extensive fictional culture of the Klingon species.
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23). Star Trek: Borg (PC)
Developer: Simon & Schuster | Publisher: Simon & Schuster | 1996
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: High potential canonicity
Star Trek: Borg is the other interactive movie, or visual novel type game aside from Star Trek: Klingon. The game features John de Lancie as Q. Cadet Qaylan Furlong is given the chance by Q, to go back in time to the famous Battle of Wolf 359, where Starfleet was devastated, and save his father dying at the hands of the Borg. You get to experience the events of that time from the perspective of an out of his time Cadet, with Q providing humor and commentary periodically.
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24). Star Trek: Resurgence (PC, PS4, PS5, XB1, XBSX)
Developer: Dramatic Labs | Publisher: Bruner House | 2023
Verdict: Good
Availability: Currently available new on blu-ray, or as a download on PSN, Xbox Games Store and Epic Games Store
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
This is the first story-driven single-player Star Trek game of note in about 20 years. It is a Telltale visual novel type game, which should give you an idea of what to expect, if you have ever played those. It consists of dialogue choices, episodes of cutscene-driven story, interspersed with simple puzzles, QTEs and occasional shooting.
The game is set in 2380, roughly one year after the events of 'Star Trek: Nemesis', the same year as 'Star Trek: Elite Force II', making it the furthest Star Trek game in the timeline other than 'Star Trek Online'. It takes place on the Centaur-class USS Resolute, a science vessel. You control two members of the crew; newly appointed First Officer Jara Rydek, and engineering crewman Carter Diaz. The Resolute is ordered to proceed to Hotari Prime, to negotiate a peace between two contending alien species, the Hotari and Alydians. Along the way, myteries unfold, as an energy field suspends all starship travel in the vacinity of the planet. The plot heavily features the long dead Tkon Empire, from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Last Outpost", which flourished 600,000 years before the rise of the United Federation of Planets. Ambassador Spock and Captain William T Riker make tasteful appearances.
Some people may find Telltale-style games, with their abundance of Quick Time Events annoying. As ever, a person's tolerance for gameplay deficiencies may depend entirely on how much they crave new Star Trek stories.
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25). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Harbinger (PC)
Developer: Stormfront Studios | Publisher: Viacom New Media | 1996
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently unavailable on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
An envoy called Bannick is sent to the Gamma Quadrant, to make contact with a newly discovered alien race. Upon return, he finds that Deep Space Nine has been evacuated due to a plasma storm, leaving only the command staff, after he is attacked by hostile drones, forcing a crash landing. The game features the entire voice cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and is well regarded. It is perhaps just a little less famous than the other classic Star Trek adventure games, 25th Anniversary, Judgment Rites and A Final Unity.
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26). Star Trek: The Promethean Prophesy (PC)
Developer: ***** Fiction Systems | Publisher: Simon & Schuster | 1986
Verdict: Good
Availability: Originally released on floppy disk, abandonware, may require DOSBox
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
On a mission to the Prometheus system, the USS Enterprise under the command of James T Kirk, encounters a Romulan bird-of-prey, which launches an attack. Damage from the battle depletes the ship's reserves of organic matter, far from Federation territory, necessitating that Kirk investigate the system's sole habitable planet for food and supplies. The Captain orders an away team beam down to Prometheus IV, the M-class planet.
Of all the early Star Trek games that didn't yet have a graphical interphase, and were text-based, The Promethean Prophesy is the one I most frequently hear was the best. It was a little before my time as a gamer, so I haven't played this one. Obviously, some players of modern games are going to be put off by the lack of visuals. However as anyone mature knows, text can often convey more in the mind's eye than a poorly conceived visual.
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27). Star Trek: Armada II (PC)
Developer: Mad Doc Software | Publisher: Activision | 2001
Verdict: Acceptable
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Moderate to high potential canonicity
In Armada II, Species 8472 finally make their move, with an invasion of Federation space. Unfortunately the sequel to Armada was considered the worst of the two, feeling rushed, somewhat bland and low effort. Some people may wonder why I am rating the Armada games so low on the list, when they have their fans among the RTS genre. I have explained why in greater detail above, but essentially I feel that while the gameplay is fine enough, an RTS is not really the best match for the Star Trek setting. Since Star Trek's battles are like hours-long exchanges between warships, with crewmen fighting fires, and engineers desperately fixing systems, a game featuring fewer vessels being carefully sheparded between engagements would make far more sense. Something where individual combatants are fighting, or featuring smaller fleets that are not disposable like 'Battlefleet: Gothic - Armada' or 'Battlestar Galactica: Deadlock'.
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28). Star Trek: Away Team (PC)
Developer: Reflexive Entertainment | Publisher: Activision | 2001
Verdict: Acceptable
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
This game was an interesting attempt to create a Star Trek experience similar to Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, which sounds amazing as a concept, but was perhaps not the best fit for a Star Trek game. You control a deniable spec ops team aboard the USS Incursion, embarking on a variety of missions across space, featuring the Borg, Romulans and Klingons. The plot revolves around countering an alien faction known as the wardens, who have attacked Federation, Klingon and Romulan settlements. This is another one that I am only familiar with second hand, through reputation. It may be worth revisiting, as it was also just re-released on GOG.com.
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29). Star Trek Online (PC, PS4, XB1)
Developer: Cryptic Studios | Publisher: Atari, Perfect World Entertainment & Gearbox | 2010
Verdict: Acceptable
Availability: Originally released on DVD and download, also released on Steam, PSN and Xbox
Canonicity: Low to moderate potential canonicity
I don't personally like MMOs for a whole host of reasons. They are catered toward groups of people, so are limited in a whole variety of ways that tailoring a game toward a single player experience is not. For example, the average MMO communal area is full of wide paths, flat spaces, because they need to host groups of people. Genuine verticality, or anything other than plains would make group gameplay difficult. For a single player, you can craft a world full of environmental storytelling, and there is no time pressure to take it in.
The game has, on occasion, some great narrative. It also has on many occasions, terrible gameplay. Endless waves of starships fighting over trivial things. The game's whale-hunting financial nature, means it takes huge liberties with canon and continuity, placing 200 year-old retired starships back into active service, just because they make recognizable consumer products for monetization. Some credit must be given, where it is due, and what can be said postivively is that writers attempted to present genuine extensions of the Star Trek universe as it might have unfolded after Star Trek: Voyager ended and Star Trek: Nemesis took place.
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30). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars (PC)
Developer: Gizmo Industries | Publisher: Simon & Schuster | 2001
Verdict: Acceptable
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently unavailable on Steam and GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
This game had a lot of good things going for it, including mission briefings for the Dominion and Federation being given by real actors from the show such as Marc Alaimo as Gul Dukat, Jeffrey Combs as Weyoun and Berry Jenner as Admiral Ross. You could select your fleet, and take it into battle, making it similar to say Battlefleet Gothic: Armada or Battlestar Galactic: Deadlock. What held the game back was deemed to be overly-complicated controls, huge numbers of bugs, crashes, save game issues, and a campaign that some players found bland. The idea of setting a tactical game during the Dominion War is a solid conceptual plan. The game always looked good to me from screenshots, but I also seem to remember it being plagued by instability when I tried to play it.
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31). Star Trek: Bridge Crew (PC, PS4)
Developer: Red Storm Entertainment | Publisher: Ubisoft | 2017
Verdict: Acceptable
Availability: Originally released on blu-ray for console and download, available on Steam, available second-hand
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
Star Trek: Bridge Crew, which was recently pulled from sales on some platforms last year, is a VR game in which you simulate bridge operations on a starship. While you could theoretically play solo, the idea was really to gather friends and pretend to be the bridge crew together online, in a VR environment, probably inspired by 'Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator'. I personally don't find multiplayer appealing.
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32). Star Trek: Hidden Evil (PC)
Developer: Presto Studios | Publisher: Activision | 1999
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, currently available on GOG.com
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
This was the last major attempt to create a Star Trek adventure game in the style of Interplay and MicroProse classics. Sadly, it wasn't a good game. The problem was it's gameplay, rather than it's conception. The game was rushed out in one year of development, but even so, the choices made by the developer are really baffling, like they just didn't know what worked from past gaming experience. The developer chose to use Resident Evil style tank controls, but made combat extremely annoying, and even pressing switches requires you to equip your hands like an inventory item. Thankfully the story is only around 4 hours if you want to experience it's narrative and lore.
The story is a direct sequel to Star Trek: Insurrection, in which Picard and Data embark on an archeological expedition on the Ba'ku planet, newly settled by the remnants of the Son'a. They find that it was once inhabited by another ancient civilization, billions of years before the Ba'ku migrated there. This civilization either utilized or was responsible for the life-giving metaphasic energy the planet is known for, responsible for it's 'fountain of youth' properties. It is strongly implied that this primordial civilization was the same 'First Humanoids' from Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Chase".
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33). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Echoes From the Past (SMD)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: Sega | 1994
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on cartridge, not available officially online, available second-hand
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
Here is a console release that wasn't simplified into something like an arcade shooter. The majority of Star Trek console games have been very poor; this early one at least attempted to do something ambitious, but didn't succeed too well. Something more RPG-like akin to Shadowrun, might have been better.
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34). Star Trek: The Next Generation - Future's Past (SNES)
Developer: Spectrum HoloByte | Publisher: Spectrum HoloByte | 1994
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on cartridge, not available officially online, available second-hand
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
The SNES counterpart to 'Star Trek: The Next Generation - Eches of the Past' on Sega Megadrive/Genesis. They are different enough that they deserve separate entries, but sadly I can't reccomend them despite Spectrum Holobyte's later excellent work on 'Star Trek: The Next Generation - A Final Unity', one of the best Star Trek games of all time.
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35). Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Crossroads of Time (SMD)
Developer: Novotrade International | Publisher: Playmates Interactive | 1995
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on cartridge, not available officially online, available second-hand
Canonicity: Very high, practically canonical
A Star Trek platformer, like the SNES Star Wars games. It had clunky gameplay, but nice graphics. It does have a story, featuring a description, in the manual, of tensions on Bajor, and a Cardassian warship visiting the station. However, I haven't ever watched all the cinematic screens, so don't know how this develops.
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36). Star Trek: New Worlds (PC)
Developer: Binary Asylum | Publisher: 14 Degrees East | 2000
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
In 2287, a spacial rift opens up a new star cluster rich in resources, called the Tabula Rasa. The Federation, Klingon Empire and Romulan Star Empire rush to exploit, colonise and claim the planets within before the other empires can gain this strategic boon. You are tasked with building the colony's structures, and defending them with ground forces including tanks (pretty much never seen in Star Trek).
Prior to 'Star Trek: Armada', this was the only Star Trek RTS. Arguably a Command & Conquer style game isn't that thematically suited to Star Trek, but it could have succeeded with a little more thought. It suffered from a number of problems, such as being unable to save during missions. I remember feeling that the game didn't really feel like Star Trek, at the time.
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37). Star Trek: Shattered Universe (PS2, Xbox)
Developer: Starsphere Interactive | Publisher: TDK Mediactive | 2004
Verdict: Mediocre
Availability: Originally released on DVD, available second-hand
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
Essentially this is a Star Trek arcade dogfighting game, akin to After Burner, Star Fox, and all the successors that came later. Looking at the artwork, it does not look bad, in terms of thematic things, like ship designs. However this game was criticised for being quite poorly justified in Star Trek canon and continuity, as well as being generally poor in gameplay terms.
The game featured a story in which Captain Hikaru Sulu (again voiced by George Takei) and the crew of the USS Excelsior find themselves trapped in the Mirror Universe, first seen in TOS "Mirror Mirror" and revisited in DS9. One of the enemies they encounter is a mirror Pavel Chekov (voiced by Walter Koenig). They must do what they can to survive and escape their predicament.
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38). Star Trek: Encounters (PS2)
Developer: 4J Studios | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | 2006
Verdict: Poor
Availability: Originally released on DVD for console, available second-hand
Canonicity: Medium to high potential canonicity
This is the closest game on the list to being an arcade game. The game is bordering very close to being ineligable for consideration in the Top 40 on grounds that it's gameplay is not thematic to the franchise. Ships behave more like a fast, vehicular, twin-stick shooter. However, it does have some narrative, unlike the most cynical types of tie-in games that damage their franchises today. Like 'Star Trek: Legacy', the main campaign covers every era; each of the original five live-action shows has a story, plus one for the post-TNG Enterprise E era. This narrative at least attempts to frame the unrealistic arcade action in each of those eras. That makes it more eligable than if it were purely something out-of-universe like a pinball game. Sadly, even though there is space for something a bit more lightweight in Star Trek's gaming history, the game was met with harsh criticism for it's poor controls and filler content.
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39). Star Trek: Conquest (Wii, PS2)
Developer: 4J Studios | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | 2007
Verdict: Poor
Availability: Originally released on DVD for console, available second-hand
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity
This game is just 'Star Trek: Encounters', the game directly above, but with a conquest-style campaign mode featuring a galactic strategic map, and selectable generals. For that sake of reference they are just listed together in the rankings like sequels. The concept actually doesnt sound like the worst thing ever, in a console arcade game, but you can apply all of the negative gameplay traits mentioned from Encounters here too.
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40). Star Trek: Starship Creator (PC) / Star Trek: Starship Creator - Warp II (PC)
Developer: Imergy | Publisher: Simon & Schuster | 1998, 2000
Verdict: Poor
Availability: Originally released on CD-ROM, as-yet unavailable on Steam or GOG.com
Canonicity: Not aiming for canonicity
I have nothing against Starship Creator, but it must be placed last on the list, because it was barely a game. Just a program to mess around in, with little direction or purpose. In Starship Creator: Warp II ships could be exported into 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars'.
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Upcoming:
Star Trek: Infinite (PC)
Developer: Nimble Giant Entertainment | Publisher: Paradox Interactive | ????
There hasn't been a Star Trek 4X game in over two decades, or really a strategy game of any kind. I will add this to the list when I've played it enough to judge it's place. It features four factions; The Federation, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire and Cardassian Union. Unfortunatly some woke elements are present.
