Star Trek: Infinite has Potential; For Now, it Disappoints
The gaming community has given its initial verdict on Star Trek: Infinite, the latest strategy game set in the iconic science fiction universe.
October is not only a flood of big AAA launches, but also the debuts of slightly smaller titles, often vying for the attention of carefully targeted groups of gamers. Among them is the 4X space strategy Star Trek: Infinite.
Due to the fact that it's the first Star Trek game since 1999's Star Trek: The Next Generation - Birth of the Federation, it has been stirring up considerable excitement among fans of the brand for some time. Did the developers from Nimble Giant Entertainment manage to satisfy the huge appetites of players?
In the absence of new Star Trek games players threw themselves into creating mods, bringing other 4X games into the iconic sci-fi setting. Here, in particular, we should mention the very popular ST: New Horizons to Stellaris.
Star Trek: Infinite through the eyes of reviewers
But before I get to the reaction of the community itself, let me cite the opinions of industry critics. On Metacritic Star Trek: Infinite managed to get an average score of 66/100 (based on 9 reviews) and only 50% of journalists recommend the latest game in Paradox's catalog.
- Most noteworthy, according to reviewers, is the excellent rendering of the Star Trek atmopshere. Thus, Nimble Giant Entertainment new game will make the biggest fans of the popular universe feel at home. And mainly them.
- Slightly worse is the game's technical condition. This is because journalists point out many bugs and glitches that plague Infinite.
Star Trek: Infinite through the eyes of gamers
The situation is no better if we take into account the feelings of players. Available on Steam the strategy has lived to see 566 reviews at the time of publication of this text, of which positive ones account for only 57%. This, in turn, translates into a "mixed" reception of Star Trek: Infinite on Valve's platform.
- Among the comments is the opinion that the new strategy released by Paradox Interactive is actually Stellaris in a refreshed form.
- Players also point out the poor content, which will most likely be expanded through paid DLCs.
- Fans have also pointed out several things that don't quite fit the universe. These include the distinctive sounds made by laser weapons or the soundtrack.
- A lot of accusations towards Star Trek: Infinite concern the aforementioned ubiquitous glitches. Some players are experiencing problems during faction selection. A black screen then appears, with only the option to select the Federation or the tutorial. Others complain that the game crashes while completing the tutorial. In the worst cases, players can't even launch the game.
Here are sample reviews:
"This game is a simplifiedStellaris. It hasn't come out well yet, and already three DLCs have been released that cost almost 3/4 of what the base game costs, and it's probably just the beginning," writes slas123.
"I do not recommend this game if you have Stellaris. (...) Of course there are new features and attractions, such as the campaign and interesting unique spatial anomalies. But the content is limited:
- the number of ship classes is ridiculous: I only unlocked 3 classes in 5 hours of play (the models are well made, though);
- weapon sounds are not Star Trek phasers or torpedoes, it's VERY disappointing," declares [FR]onearrow03.
"The game is way too simple. A huge disappointment. (...) This game really seems made in haste and not well thought out. I like the idea and frankly don't care that it copies a lot of previous Paradox games. I just can't stand how bare-bones this game is. I played two hours and was immediately bored," reports HiddenMammoth.
However, it should be noted that among the comments there are also positive opinions. Users, first of all, appreciate the efforts of the developers and believe that through hard work they are able to bring Star Trek: Infinite to an acceptable level. On the plus side in their opinion also deserves support for mods.
"The graphics are great, and the ambient sounds really do the job, making you feel like you're sitting on the lower decks of the ship at times. A lot could be added to the game, and while I'm sure the developers will continue to work on it, the fact that modding is supported makes a huge difference to the game's longevity. Overall, the game has a lot of potentialm" declares Xery.
"You can see that the developers have put a lot of work and love into the game. The Klingon VO is fantastic, and they also put a lot of effort into the graphics. If you are a fan of Star Trek, you like grand strategy games and you want to try out such a game, then I highly recommend playing Star Trek: Infinite," praises - JjustGreg.
Star Trek: Infinite - popularity
How, in turn, does the interest in Star Trek: Infinite look like on Steam? According to SteamDB charts, the game was played by 5,526 players at the peak, while at the time of writing this post, there are 2,223 players in the title.
Summary
To sum up, Star Trek: Infinite is a game that, for the moment, is unable to challenge the giants of the 4X strategy genre. Nevertheless, with a properly planned roadmap, the title has the potential to enter the top and stay there for a long time. Perhaps support for community-created mods will also contribute to this.
