Developer: Tessera Studios
Publisher: Outright Games
Platform: PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Switch
Tested on: PS4
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova – Review
Star Trek might be one of the oldest fandoms to date, as it’s a franchise that has spawned series after series and countless people still enjoy it to this day. Recently, an animated series by the name of Star Trek Prodigy was made to draw a younger audience back into this space adventure. With a cast full of teenage characters and its focus on comedy and action, the series targets children. Because of this, it’s no surprise that for the first time in years a video game spin-off was made for Star Trek too. Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova might be aimed at kids first and foremost, but that doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it too.
Story
Having a basic understanding of the show this game is based on is a big plus, though we wouldn’t call it necessary since the plot is pretty straightforward. The game opens with a comic-style cutscene that explains the basics. The crew of the USS Protostar is made up of alien teenagers who escaped their prison colony by commandeering the ship. Now they’re out on various adventures, with the latest one leading them in the direction of a dying star, from where they’ve picked up weird radio signals. Through a mishap, the crew ends up scattered along three different planets that are all clustered around said star, and the two main characters Dal and Gwyn need to work together to get their friends back. In doing so, they uncover a robotic army led by a fiendish enemy that might threaten the entire universe if not stopped.
As mentioned above, the story is very simple and most of the enjoyment of the game will come from character dialogue and interactions, which is also why having prior knowledge of the show will greatly enhance the experience.
Graphics
Aside from the opening cutscene we mentioned, Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova is animated in a 3D style similar to the show. Obviously, it can’t quite nail the style perfectly, with especially the character animations in cutscenes looking a bit stiff at times. That being said, the game doesn’t look bad. The planets you travel to have fun environments, there was a lot of effort put into the enemy design, and we can’t complain about the attention to detail to make the game as similar to the show as possible. Only the fixed camera angles do need some getting used to at first.
Sound
This game has a good soundtrack full of original music that feels like it would be in the show too. There’s some serious production value behind this. That’s probably also how they managed to snag all the same voice actors who feature on the show to reprise their roles here too. While some lines might be repeated a bit too often which eventually becomes annoying (for example when switching characters or doing a certain attack), the soundtrack of this game is quite exceptional.
Gameplay
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova is an action-adventure game with very simple gameplay. You could divide every level up into puzzle segments and combat segments. The puzzles are easy at first, though they do get gradually harder and bring in some interesting new mechanics even in the second half of the game, which is great because it keeps things from getting boring. These puzzles will also require you to use the characters’ unique abilities to progress, which makes the game appealing to play as a co-op experience. If you want to, you can also play alone and simply press a button to switch characters.
Similarly, the combat is very easy with your characters getting locked in an area and having to defeat a few waves of robotic enemies. Since Dal is a ranged fighter with several guns at his disposal and Gwyn is more of a melee fighter, you can swap between them or work together to deal with the enemies, some of which also have special powers. You can also expect some pretty fun boss battles. As the game proceeds, you rescue the other characters and they can be called in for air support or sell you upgrades for your weapons.
While the game is very linear and only twelve levels long, these levels themselves can easily take up to an hour to complete. Since there are also a lot of collectibles to gather, the game can easily be stretched out further. Some paths can only be opened if you have the right character unlocked, meaning you’ll have to go back and replay some bits if you want to 100% this game. On top of that, each level also comes with optional challenges such as a speed run.
All these things combined make a game that’s clearly aimed at children enjoyable even for adults, so long as they know they’re not going to be facing any big challenges here. Sadly the fact that this is a kid’s game is also its major weakness since the tutorials are very persistent and the game does hold your hand a little bit too much. This can get annoying quickly.
Conclusion
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova is a great game if you know what you’re getting into. This is not an amazing life-changing experience, but a fun little adventure that’s especially enjoyable when you bring a friend along. If you’re a fan of the show or Star Trek in general, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one since there are so many references, and the characters also carry the plot. If not, you’ll still be treated to a fun action-adventure game.
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova - Review,
No Comments