Star Trek: Bridge Crew

Star Trek: Bridge Crew
Developer(s) Red Storm Entertainment
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Director(s) Brian Tate
Producer(s) Robbie Edwards
Programmer(s) Clark Gibson
Artist(s) Andy Foltz
Megan Hobby
Series Star Trek
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, Oculus Quest, PlayStation 4
Release
  • Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4
  • May 30, 2017
  • Oculus Quest
  • December 16, 2019
Genre(s) Action-adventure
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a virtual-reality action-adventure video game developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Oculus Quest.

Plot

Star Trek: Bridge Crew takes place in the timeline established in the 2009 Star Trek film and sees the Starfleet ship USS Aegis searching for a new homeworld for the Vulcans after the destruction of their planet. The ship heads for a region of space called 'The Trench', which is being occupied by Klingons.

Gameplay

The game is played through four roles: captain, tactical officer, engineer and helm officer. The captain is the only role to which mission objectives are directly displayed; they are responsible for communicating these to the crew and issuing orders to accomplish them. The helm officer controls the ship's course and travel between regions through impulse or warp drive. The tactical officer is in charge of sensors and weapons. The engineer manages the ship's power distribution and supervises repairs. Each role except the captain may be occupied by a human player or by an NPC indirectly controlled by the captain. Both story and randomly generated missions exist.

In December 2017, the game developers modified the game so that it can be played without a virtual-reality headset. Prior to that, the game could only be played using a headset.

Development

It was developed by Red Storm Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. Series actors Karl Urban, LeVar Burton and Jeri Ryan appeared at E3 2016 to promote the game during Ubisoft's press conference. A new trailer was showcased at CES 2017. The game was released on May 30, 2017.

Reception

Star Trek: Bridge Crew received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Eurogamer ranked it 42nd on their list of the "Top 50 Games of 2017", while GamesRadar+ ranked it 25th on their list of the 25 Best Games of 2017.

Many reviews compared it to Artemis: Spaceship Bridge Simulator, an indie game inspired by Star Trek, stating that Star Trek: Bridge Crew is basically "Artemis in the Star Trek universe".

In 2017, PC Gamer ranked Star Trek: Bridge Crew among the best Star Trek games.

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Ref
2016 Game Critics Awards Best VR Game Nominated
Gamescom 2016 Best Virtual Reality Game Nominated
2017 Golden Joystick Awards Best VR Game Nominated
The Game Awards 2017 Best VR/AR Game Nominated
2018 21st Annual D.I.C.E. Awards Immersive Reality Technical Achievement Nominated
2018 National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards Control Design, VR Nominated
Direction in Virtual Reality Won
Sound Mixing in Virtual Reality Nominated
2018 SXSW Gaming Awards Excellence in Convergence Nominated
VR Game of the Year Nominated
Game Developers Choice Awards Best VR/AR Game Nominated
14th British Academy Games Awards Multiplayer Nominated

See also