On this day dedicated to Star Trek, I can finally give you my first impressions of Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova, a game discovered on the Outright Games booth at gamescom! Scheduled for October 14, this action-adventure game takes you into an original story that takes place between seasons 1 and 2 of the Star Trek: Prodigy cartoon (available on Paramount+ in Europe).
I played the start of the game, which sees the hero spaceship, the USS Protostar, in dire straits after scanning strange signals from a dying star. The crew only has time to teleport before the worst happens. As if ending up on an alien planet wasn't enough, the crew is scattered in multiple locations across the solar system. To top it off, it's only a matter of time before the star goes supernova and sends the crew to another quadrant.
Fully co-op playable, players can choose to play as either Dal R'El or Gwyndala (computer supports second character for single players). Dal is a Klingon who shines in melee, while Gwyn, the character I played, prefers to stay at a distance, and shoot with the phaser. The gameplay is excellent, with the simplest auto-targeting system. At the same time, the game was created for children around 7 years old... I tend to lower the difficulty sometimes, but still! Crystals are to be picked up everywhere, with a relatively linear progression, based on the environment. In the beginning, for example, we had to open a passage. One of the characters held a switch to open a door, while the second went around, in order to unlock the way for the first. Very classic, which also works very well.
The environment is pleasant, with friendly creatures, even among enemies. From what was explained to me, our two heroes visit three worlds to find their friends (Jankom Pog, Rok-Tahk, Zero and Murf). Orisi is a red planet, where lie huge skeletons of extinct species and no less strange ruins. Mirios was once an aquatic world. Today the water has receded, forcing underwater creatures to survive on the surface. Finally, Taresse is a frozen planet. In all, twelve levels are to be discovered in all these environments which suggest sumptuous decorations.
Relics are to be discovered, collectibles that will appeal to fans of the series. In particular, I noticed a hologram of the Deep Space Nine station and am curious to see what the others are. A priori, this collection is gathered on board the ship, the USS Protostar, which our heroes seem to manage to reach at some point in history. It is also on board that there is a kind of zoo, with a collection of various animals gathered during the adventure. His holodeck is finally an opportunity to replay certain missions and train.
With an atypical graphic touch and extraterrestrial environments in colors worthy of the original series, Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova is a unique opportunity to introduce the Star Trek universe to younger generations of players, for what could be their first contact. You don't have to follow the series to appreciate the game's story (which by the way was written by the show's writers, Kevin and Dan Hageman), but English-speaking fans will appreciate the original voices: Brett Gray (Dal ), Ella Purnell (Gwyn), Jason Mantzoukas (Pog), Rylee Alazraqui (Rok-Tahk), Angus Imrie (Zero), Dee Bradley Baker (Murf), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway). Although intended for children from seven years old, the mechanisms are far from childish, which makes it a title that will appeal to a target of up to eleven or twelve years old, or even adults. Fans of the universe will also see a unique opportunity to join Starfleet in a slightly different way.
See you on October 14, on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, Steam and Stadia!
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova
