Voyager’s Back, Baby: and this time, it’s Rogue-Lite (computer games).
So, someone at Paramount finally decided that what Star Trek really needed wasn’t another streaming spin-off, a reboot of a reboot, or a musical episode involving Klingons singing about bloodwine. No, what we actually needed was Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, a rogue-lite survival strategy game in which you – yes, you – take the helm of the good ship Voyager and do what Janeway did best: keep everyone alive while the Delta Quadrant did its very best to kill them.
The pitch is simple enough. You’re in charge of Voyager. You juggle resources. You send poor Harry Kim off on away missions he’ll definitely regret. You manage systems, fend off aliens with a grudge, and make “difficult decisions” (read: sacrifice Neelix to save dilithium). All while plotting your course across 12 nasty sectors of the Delta Quadrant. Think FTL: Faster Than Light, but with Seven of Nine rolling her eyes at Tom Paris’s jokes.
It’s officially licensed, so yes – Janeway, Chakotay, Tuvok, Torres, Paris, Kim, the Doctor, Seven, Kes, and Neelix all show up, along with some curveballs like Seska, Arturis, and the Borg Queen. Even Tuvix is confirmed, so you too can enjoy that ethical headache all over again. The developers, Gamexcite, and publishers, Daedalic Entertainment, promise alternate scenarios where continuity may bend. So don’t be shocked if Kes suddenly joins the Borg, or Janeway decides to give up on Federation ideals and open a tavern with Neelix in Kazon space.
The rogue-lite element is intriguing – every run plays differently, which means multiple chances to make the same terrible choices in new and exciting ways. Did you doom the crew by blowing all your resources on torpedoes instead of food? Never mind – fire it up again, and this time starve them more efficiently.
Across the Unknown doesn’t have a release date yet, but it is inbound for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. Here at SFcrowsnest, we’re cautiously optimistic. Voyager was always the scrappy underdog of the Trek pantheon – and turning it into a survival game feels almost too perfect. After all, isn’t that what the TV series was in the first place? Janeway and her gang improvising, jury-rigging, and making it up as they went along?
The only real danger is that this game might trigger a resurgence of people insisting Harry Kim should finally get promoted. But hey, that’s what mods are for.
