Star Trek: Infinite

Last updated
Star Trek: Infinite
Star Trek Infinite cover.jpg
Developer(s) Nimble Giant Entertainment
Publisher(s) Paradox Interactive
Director(s) Ezequiel Maldonado
Producer(s) Mats Holm
Engine Clausewitz Engine
Platform(s) Windows, macOS
Release12 October 2023
Genre(s) 4X, Grand strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Star Trek: Infinite is a 4X grand strategy video game developed by Argentine [1] studio Nimble Giant Entertainment and published by Paradox Interactive. In Star Trek: Infinite, players take control of one of four of Star Trek's interstellar civilizations on the galactic stage and are tasked with exploring, colonizing and engaging minor nations and other major civilizations with diplomacy, trade, or warfare. A large part of the game involves dealing with both scripted and emergent events, many based on or referencing events in the Star Trek franchise. It was released for Windows and macOS on October 12, 2023. [2] On March 27, 2024, it was announced that the game would receive no further updates. [3]

Contents

Gameplay

Players choose to play as the Federation, Klingons, Romulans or Cardassians. Each faction has its own mission tree and unique abilities geared for lore-aligned play styles, with the Federation focused on exploration and diplomacy, the Klingons on warfare, the Cardassians on spying, and the Romulans on stealth. [4] The game features several planets and political events from The Next Generation , such as the larger sovereign states being able to support the independence of the Bajorans from the Cardassian Union.

Players playing as the United Federation of Planets may use the focus tree assigned to the Enterprise to obtain characters such as Data, Worf and Deanna Troi. These characters all provide bonuses to their selective specialties on the NCC-1701-D. Other characters in the Federation such as Spock and Benjamin Sisko also make an appearance within the game.

Events and event chains occur for each faction over the course of the game charting and allowing the player to interact with the major events of the world of Star Trek in the time period. [5]

A ship designer allows the player to modify ships based around basic designs from the Star Trek franchise, selecting particular parts and abilities, or to simply rely on the game's auto-design. [6]

Many mechanics and systems are used from Paradox Interactive's Stellaris , which the game is built off an earlier build of. [5]

Reception

Star Trek: Infinite received “mixed or average reviews” according to aggregator Metacritic. On Steam, it received mixed reviews. IGN’s Will Borger gave it 5/10, or “mediocre.” Most complaints focused on the presence of bugs and glitches, some of which prevented the game from functioning properly.

It was favorably received in preliminary reviews up to September 2023. Mick Fraser called it "huge, complex, and a Trekkie's dream". [7] IGN's Will Borger described a preliminary build as doing a good job of bringing Star Trek into 4X gaming as something akin to "Star Trek-themed spreadsheets", but also writing that the game "can sometimes feel overwhelming". [6] At PC Gamer, Russell Adderson called it "the Star Trek game of my dreams", especially praising the mission tree system and use of Star Trek lore. [5] Polygon indicated that, like in Stellaris (the game Star Trek: Infinite is based on), warfare was the most "underwhelming" part of the game, but said that the review version of Star Trek: Infinite was "already promising" and "likely to get a lot deeper" with Paradox's history of ongoing support and downloadable content for titles. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Trek: Armada</i> 2000 video game

Star Trek: Armada is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows developed and published in 2000 by Activision. The game's look and feel is based primarily on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and features a few of its main characters and ships. Playable factions include the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Star Empire and the Borg. The game received mixed to positive reviews and was noted for being one of the better Star Trek games to be made. A sequel, Star Trek: Armada II, was released on November 16, 2001.

<i>Star Trek: Armada II</i> 2001 video game

Star Trek: Armada II is a real-time strategy video game published by Activision in 2001, based upon the Star Trek universe. The game was developed by Mad Doc Software. It is the sequel to Star Trek: Armada. Star Trek: Armada II was released by Activision a year after they acquired the full rights to all the franchise holding of the video game's franchise from Viacom. It was the first of the three major Star Trek video game sequel titles that were released by Activision from 2001 until their departure from the franchise in 2003. On December 13, 2021, both Armada and Armada II were re-released on GoG.com, which had also released several other older Star Trek titles earlier that year.

<i>Star Trek: Bridge Commander</i> 2002 video game

Star Trek: Bridge Commander is a space combat simulation video game for Windows, developed by Totally Games and published by Activision in 2002, based in the Star Trek universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gowron</span> Klingon character in two Star Trek series

Gowron, son of M'Rel, is a fictional character who appeared in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Portrayed by Robert O'Reilly, he is the leader of the Klingon Empire, known as the Chancellor. O'Reilly had appeared earlier in The Next Generation as Scarface in the second season episode "Manhunt", and was cast as Gowron due to his comedic ability and his piercing and extremely unsettling gaze, or what O'Reilly himself humorously referred to as "that crazy loon eyeball thing".

<i>Star Trek: Starfleet Command</i> 1999 video game

Star Trek: Starfleet Command is a computer game based on the table-top wargame Star Fleet Battles. It was developed by 14° East and Quicksilver Software and published by Interplay Entertainment. It was released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows. It simulates starship operations, ship-to-ship combat, and fleet warfare in the Star Trek universe. An expanded version was released in 2000 titled Star Trek: Starfleet Command - Gold Edition. It includes the latest patch and all the missions that were downloadable from the official website.

<i>Star Trek: Birth of the Federation</i> 1999 video game

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by MicroProse and published by Hasbro Interactive. The game was initially released in 1999 for Windows personal computers.

<i>Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars</i> 2001 video game

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars is a 2001 space combat/real-time tactics video game for Microsoft Windows developed by Gizmo Industries and published by Simon & Schuster. The game is based on the Star Trek TV show Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

<i>Star Trek: Legacy</i> Video game based on the Star Trek series

Star Trek: Legacy is a 2006 real-time tactics space combat video game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 developed by Mad Doc Software and published by Bethesda Softworks in association with CBS Paramount Television and CBS Consumer Products. Originally slated for release in the fall of 2006 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, the Windows version was not released in North America until December 5, 2006, and the Xbox 360 version until December 15. In Europe, both the PC version and the Xbox 360 version were released on December 22, 2006.

<i>Star Trek: Tactical Assault</i> 2006 video game

Star Trek: Tactical Assault is a Star Trek video game for the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable that was developed by Quicksilver Software, also the creators of Star Trek: Starfleet Command. The game is published by Bethesda Softworks, which published several other Star Trek games around that time. This would be the first game on a Nintendo platform to be published by Bethesda since the NES version of Home Alone in 1991.

<i>Star Trek: Klingon Academy</i> 2000 video game

Star Trek: Klingon Academy is a space flight simulator video game developed by 14 Degrees East, an internal development house of publisher Interplay Entertainment. The game follows a young Klingon warrior named Torlek as he attends the Elite Command Academy, a war college created by General Chang to prepare warriors for a future conflict with the United Federation of Planets. Christopher Plummer and David Warner reprised their respective roles as Chang and Gorkon for the production of Klingon Academy.

<i>Star Trek: Starfleet Command III</i> 2002 video game

Star Trek: Starfleet Command III is a Star Trek video game published in 2002. It was the fourth entry in the Starfleet Command series, and one of the last Star Trek games to be released by Activision. The game involves the a story-driven series of missions for three factions, that is conducted by controlling starships that are developed with RPG elements. The game was released for Windows operating system, and received generally positive reviews.

<i>Star Trek: New Worlds</i> 2000 video game

Star Trek: New Worlds is a strategy game published in 2000 by Interplay in which the player can choose to command the forces of the United Federation of Planets, Klingons or Romulans. The player's goal is to build successful colonies on a series of newly discovered planets while battling off competing factions.

"Improbable Cause" is the 66th episode of the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the 20th episode of the third season. It is the first half of a two-part episode, concluded in the following episode, "The Die is Cast".

<i>Star Trek: Encounters</i> 2006 video game

Star Trek: Encounters is a video game set in the Star Trek fictional universe, which was released in 2006 for the PlayStation 2. The game was developed by Scottish studio 4J Studios for Bethesda Softworks and Ubisoft (EU).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand strategy wargame</span> Video and board game genre

A grand strategy wargame or simply grand strategy game (GSG) is a wargame that places focus on grand strategy: military strategy at the level of movement and use of a nation state or empire's resources. The genre has considerable overlap with 4X games, but differs in being "asymmetrical", meaning that players are more bound to a specific setup and not among equally free factions in exploring and progressing the game and an open world.

<i>Star Trek: Conquest</i> 2007 video game

Star Trek: Conquest is a video game set in the Star Trek universe. The game features both turn-based strategy and real time strategy gameplay. It was developed by Scottish studio 4J Studios, which previously developed Star Trek: Encounters, and was published by Bethesda Softworks for the PlayStation 2 and Wii, becoming the third game available on a Nintendo console to be published by Bethesda and first since the NES version of Home Alone in 1991.

<i>Star Trek: Countdown</i> Comic book series

Star Trek: Countdown is a four-issue comic book prequel to the 2009 film Star Trek by IDW Publishing. It follows the characters of Spock and the Romulan Nero during the year 2387, detailing the events that cause them to travel to the 23rd century. The story serves as both a lead up to the film, and as a continuation of the Star Trek: The Next Generation franchise.

<i>Stellaris</i> (video game) 2016 video game

Stellaris is a 4X grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. The game is highly inspired by the works of Stanisław Lem and contains numerous references to his works.

Star Trek: Ascendancy is a grand strategy game set in the Star Trek universe. it is published by Gale Force Nine.

References

  1. "Embracer Group acquires Nimble Giant Entertainment". Emmbracer. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  2. O'Connor, Alice. "Paradox announce Star Trek: Infinite, a grand strategy game". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  3. "Star Trek: Infinite - Dev Log #13 - What You Leave Behind". Paradox Interactive Forums. 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
  4. 1 2 Roth, Dylan. "Star Trek: Infinite could be the grand strategy game Trekkies need". Polygon. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Adderson, Russell. "I've played the Star Trek game of my dreams, and it's a grand strategy game". PCGamer. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  6. 1 2 Borger, Will. "Star Trek: Infinite Preview: Spreadsheets, the Final Frontier". IGN. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  7. Fraser, Mick. "Star Trek: Infinite is huge, complex, and a Trekkie's dream". GodisaGeek.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.