Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

About

"Star Trek: Starfleet Academy" is a space combat simulation game set in the Star Trek universe. Players enroll in Starfleet Academy and go through various missions and training exercises, improving their skills and making decisions that will impact their characters and the story. The game features multiple ship types, a variety of missions, and appearances from familiar Star Trek characters.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 100 reviews

story19 positive mentions

graphics6 negative mentions

A nostalgic trip for Star Trek fans, featuring original actors like Shatner, Takei, and Koenig, which enhances the immersive experience.
The game offers a complex and engaging storyline with decision-making elements that impact crew performance and mission outcomes.
Despite its age, the game provides a satisfying simulation of commanding a starship, with various missions that require strategic thinking and resource management.

The controls are confusing and not user-friendly, making it difficult to navigate and manage the ship effectively, especially for new players.
The graphics and FMV cutscenes are outdated, which can detract from the overall experience for modern gamers.
The game can be extremely challenging and frustrating, with some missions having unclear objectives and punishing failure conditions.

story
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
71%
4%
The game's story is engaging and well-written, featuring a mix of combat-heavy missions and decision-making that affects the narrative and crew dynamics. Players appreciate the nostalgic value and the involvement of original Star Trek actors, which enhances the immersive experience. However, some missions can be tedious and frustrating due to unclear objectives and the potential for instant game overs, necessitating frequent saves and retries.
- “The story is really good, even with William Shatner, Walter Koenig, and George Takei as actors in it.”
- “The story presented through the cutscenes could easily have been pitched as a spin-off TV show!”
- “Great storyline, awesome production value with Star Trek actors on the cutscenes, lots of fights but also a lot of peaceful endings on missions.”
- “It's incredibly tedious with long boring missions that you'll fail and have to do over again several times.”
- “A few of the missions are also extremely finicky where you can fail by bad luck or poorly explained conditions rather than anything else.”
- “My main complaint with the simulations is that they do not give you a grade if you pass the mission so I have no idea how well I did (barely passed or aced it) and for a game called Starfleet Academy, grading should be really obvious.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
59%
27%
The graphics of the game are widely regarded as outdated, reflecting the technology of the late 1990s, with many users noting the awkwardness of the live-action recordings and the low resolution. While some appreciate the nostalgic charm and acknowledge that the visuals were impressive for their time, others find them lacking by modern standards, suggesting a need for a remake with updated graphics. Overall, while the graphics may not impress contemporary players, many fans of the franchise are willing to overlook them in favor of the gameplay experience.
- “It's fantastic for the time and it still holds up even if the graphics look out of date; I would still recommend this game to anyone who likes Star Trek.”
- “While the game doesn't offer state-of-the-art graphics, it still looks good to me.”
- “Graphically, these were front-line graphics back in the mid-90s, with decently modeled ships.”
- “The game uses live recordings, but with early PC gaming green screens and compression, so expect the visuals to be a bit lacking.”
- “The graphics are very 90s (with videos incorporated into the gameplay no less), but everyone (except William Shatner maybe) looks very awkward on 'camera' to me.”
- “The graphics are outdated, and sometimes it's a little buggy, and the game can feel very unfair.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
30%
30%
The gameplay features enjoyable core mechanics that feel natural, reminiscent of classic titles, but suffers from outdated graphics and awkward character animations. While the story and overall experience remain fun, some players find the gameplay slow and less polished as they progress through the campaign, leading to mixed feelings about its longevity and appeal.
- “I really enjoy the game mechanics, even if they're not so smooth.”
- “The story is a lot of fun and the gameplay is still very enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay itself and mechanics still feel good after all this time and feel more natural than later 'bridge sim' games such as Bridge Commander and ST:O in some ways.”
- “The gameplay is just too slow for me now.”
- “In the end, I was a little disappointed with the game mechanics and the graphics.”
- “It aged a little badly (gameplay) and the cutscenes are well... aged.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game is an optimized version of a 1997 title, featuring updated cutscenes for larger displays, though they do not significantly improve in visual quality. However, it lacks full optimization for modern PCs, with issues such as fixed resolution settings and a buggy Steam overlay that can freeze the game. Overall, while the core gameplay experience is enhanced, technical shortcomings remain for some users.
- “Choose carefully, your decisions impact your crew's performance.”
- “Periodically during these cutscenes, you will have to make several choices which will change the direction of the story and affect your crew’s performance.”
- “Each individual is in charge of a system and their view of you will determine their performance while on the ship.”
- “The cut-scenes have been optimized for our larger displays but not updated to look any better (trust me, I am playing this on a 4K 55” TV).”
- “Only cons I would list is the lack of optimization for new PCs (can't change resolution, which is fine for me but I know that some people would be bothered by this) and the Steam overlay is buggy; when you shift+tab, it freezes the game.”
- “Well, like I said, this is an optimized version of a 1997 game.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The music in the game has received high praise, particularly for its exquisite soundtrack composed by Ron Jones, which enhances the atmosphere and immersion. Reviewers note that the background music complements the game environment without being intrusive, contributing positively to the overall experience.
- “As a professional composer, I have to mention this upfront: the soundtrack by Star Trek TNG alum Ron Jones is exquisite and about as Star Trek as it gets!”
- “It has atmosphere, immersion, amazing sound, and music, along with a story you really enjoy.”
- “The background music is not intrusive and goes well with the game environment.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is frequently criticized for its instability, with users reporting numerous bugs that can lead to frustrating experiences, such as mission failures due to uncontrollable factors. Additionally, there are concerns about poor optimization for modern PCs, including issues with resolution settings and the Steam overlay causing game freezes. Overall, while some acknowledge its nostalgic value, the stability issues significantly detract from the gameplay experience.
- “The biggest downside of this game is that it's quite buggy.”
- “It's a bit buggy; you complete a mission only to be told you failed because of something out of your control.”
- “The only cons I would list are the lack of optimization for new PCs (can't change resolution, which is fine for me, but I know it would bother some people) and the Steam overlay is buggy; when you shift+tab, it freezes the game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to repetitive missions and encounters with cloaked ships that lead to prolonged, unengaging battles. The need to repeatedly redo missions adds to the overall sense of monotony.
- “It's incredibly tedious with long, boring missions that you'll fail and have to do over again several times.”
- “Fights against cloaked ships are just tedious and not at all fun, as the ships cloak so often that you're essentially flailing around in space, hoping to get a few shots in before they cloak again.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highly praised, with players highlighting laugh-out-loud moments, particularly during ship battles and entertaining cutscenes that contribute to an overall enjoyable experience.
- “I was laughing so hard at this scene - best moment in the game.”
- “The fight against other ships is very funny, and the cutscenes are entertaining.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its immersive qualities, enhanced by exceptional sound, music, and a captivating story, evoking fond memories of classic PC gaming. Many consider it the most atmospheric Star Trek game ever created.
- “It has atmosphere, immersion, amazing sound and music, and a story you really enjoy.”
- “Fond memories from my early days of PC gaming, and arguably the most atmospheric Star Trek game ever produced.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is highly regarded for its replayability, with players finding it enjoyable enough to play multiple times.
- “All things considered, the game is still fun and replayable many times over.”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes makes each playthrough feel fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and different character paths, I find myself coming back for more.”