Star Trek Online (STO) Review
A lot of Trekkies and Trekkers who are also gamers will doubtlessly be eager to play any Star Trek games. Today, I’d like to talk to you about one of those games: Star Trek Online (STO).
Developed by Cryptic Studios and first released in 2010, Star Trek Online is a massively multiplayer online role-playing video game, based on the Star Trek franchise. The game is set in the 25th century, thirty years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis. You can play Star Trek Online on Playstation 4, X-Box One and/or PC. The game can be downloaded, for free, on Steam or Arc, although there are many things that will cost you money if, in the game, you really want to build a big “empire”.
My fiancé introduced me to this game. At first, I was very defensive about it, because I thought I wasn’t a real gamer. I had never played a role-playing game (RPG). By now, I’ve been playing it for two years.
For someone who has just started with it, STO can be complicated, and even the veterans of the game learn, every time, more of the game. For a newbie as I was, it could be very confusing (I’m very glad there were some veteran players who always wanted to help me out), but if you have experience with playing RPG games then it will be easier to understand.
After two years of playing the game, I admit I am enjoying doing so. I play Star Trek Online for fun, not (as some other players do) to get the most out of it to the point it will essentially become like a forty-hour-a-day job!
What I really like about this game is the story arc. Every species has kind of a different type of storyline. You can play on the Federation side or the Klingon side. Every side has a certain species you can play with. The Klingon side, for example, is totally different than the Federation side.
Did you know that a lot of actors lent their voices to the creation of this game? Voice performers in Star Trek Online include Mary Wiseman and Mary Chieffo, who play Tilly and L’Rell, respectively, in Star Trek: Discovery, as well as the late Aron Eisenberg and Rene Auberjonois, who played Nog and Odo, respectively, in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
I’m telling you: you don’t want to miss this! The starships you can play with are very cool. Included in the game, for example, are the Discovery-era Enterprise and the Titan, Riker’s ship. There are a lot more, and the longer you play it, the more ships you can buy with dilithium or spend a lot of money to get super ships and upgrades. People who have a lifetime membership get a lot more goodies every month. The graphics are great, and the developers try to improve those every time there is an update. (Normally, upgrades are on Tuesday and Thursday.)
I know you guys are gonna like some of the places, like Qo’noS, Vulcan, or, of course, the Earth spacedock. New Romulus is a totally different place than you would expect, but it is really fun to look around.
Recently, the developers started a Mirror Universe timeline that was really interesting and featured Mirror Leeta and Mirror Admiral Quinn. Oh, boy…! If you like the Mirror Universe, then this is the timeline you’ll want to play in.
Also, there are some timeline episodes that are based on episodes from the series. For example, you will find Seven of Nine and Michael Burnham in an episode of Discovery when they wanted to catch the Red Angel, or a scenario involving Mirror Captain Tilly on Pahvo.
STO is so diverse that there’s something for everyone to like about it. Whether it’s the storyline, the space or ground Task Force Operations (TFOs), or the building of the ships and characters, STO has it all. I must say it is not the easiest game to play, but if you get stuck into it, you will enjoy it.
Like in a lot of other games, you’ll meet fans from all over the world while playing STO. You’ll play with them in TFOs or other missions in the game. I have made a lot of friends by playing this game. It’s always nice to play with people who are Star Trek fans. Like I said in my first article for Warp Factor Trek, the fanbase of Star Trek is big, and you’ll always find someone who shares your passion. So, like I’ve said in this article, you definitely don’t want to miss out on playing this game; you might even develop a passion for it!
A superfan of Star Trek since the ’90s, Orinda feels that Star Trek has pulled her through rough times more than once. She says, “I love Star Trek because I can be myself, and this can go from just watching the series to entering a cosplay contest.” Orinda has been writing Star Trek fan-fiction stories for a long time and really enjoys doing so. She has 2 podcasts in which she talks about Star Trek (links to these can be found here and here).
I am reading this and thinking “Did someone pay this person off?” It isn’t that the game is bad. It is just not good. This game is a leech on the bum of anyone out there that wants a Trek game that’s considered “official” to the TV series. The PC side is tolerable, but the console side? Well… How much do you like loading screens? Because on PS4 and PS5, expect to see them -often. The game is plagued with server disconnections. Load to a map – re-login. Play a cutscene- back to login screen. Want to modify your ship or Uniforms for your crew? Time to re-log. And this is before we discuss ground combat. Spoiler alert – a buggy mess. Space combat is the games only saving grace. But that can get real old, really fast. Especially for anyone who decides to pick up the game this late in the franchise. Cryptic did not give this title the love it deserved. Aside from not aging well, the graphics were not great even at release.