Watch: TrekMovie’s First Impressions Of Star Trek: Bridge Crew VR

The new VR game Star Trek: Bridge Crew has been released, so TrekMovie grabbed some cameras and headed to the Ubisoft offices in San Francisco to get a hands-on demonstration of this first virtual reality Star Trek game.  

Our crew was there not just to check out this new technology but to also put the game to the test to see if it lives up to the billing of being “the only game to offer a true-to-life level of immersion in the Star Trek universe.”

TrekMovie will also be following this up with a full review of the game with more details, so keep a look out for that.

Out now

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is out now and retails for $49.99. You can order it at at Amazon for PlaystationVR, PC/Oculus Rift, and PC/HTC Vive. The game also comes bundled with the HTC Vive VR system.

More from our Demo Crew

The away team TrekMovie sent to Ubisoft was comprised of Michael Owens, Evie Vincent, Jon Sung, and Claire Little. Evie and Jon are part of the creative team behind Tales From Ten Forward, a unique fan series that is based on the concept of having an inebriated fan recount the plot of an episode, which is then “reenacted by our team of actors, and the result is a glimpse into an alternate universe where the crew of the USS Enterprise are generally sassier, usually under-budgeted, and always completely soused”. Grab a Romulan Ale and point your mouse here to have a look!

Brave explorers of the virtual frontier: (Left to Right): Michael Owens, Evie Vincent, Jon Sung, Claire Little.

An extra thank you to Director of Photography Sarah Jaffe, Assistant DP Sarah Wells, and sound recordist Sepe Rafiei for their hard work. 

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Fascinating…. They really are living the experience.

Tales From Ten Forward is Drunk History for Star Trek? Sounds fun

Just he beginning for VR. Its quite exciting to think what VR potentially will look like in 20 years or so from now.

I havent got VR, just too expensive.

I am just not sure how interested I am in VR games, as cool as this looks.

It took me years to get interested in video games in general, and I’m pretty happy with looking at a screen. I see this more as a novelty– do I really want to spend an hour playing with a big apparatus strapped to my face?

I don’t think so.

You really should not knock it until you’ve actually tried it. The Playstation VR headset (PSVR), which I own, is very comfortable. It rests on your forehead, not in front of your face, so the weight is nicely balanced. You can also plug in your own headphones or earbuds, whatever you prefer to suit your personal preferences. I’ve worn it for a couple of hours at a time with no discomfort at all.

In terms of immersion, the example I like to use is this: picture a desert. With a TV, you have a window into that desert; with VR you are in the middle of the desert and no matter which direction you look – in front, behind, above – it sprawls out before you.

When playing Star Trek Bridge Crew and sitting in the captain’s chair of the Original Enterprise, the illusion is so complete and compelling. You’re on the bridge and no matter what direction you look, the illusion is never broken.

There’s a first person shooter for the PSVR called Farpoint in which you crash land on an alien planet on the far side of the galaxy. The first level has you exit your escape pod right into the middle of a dust storm on a desert planet. It felt like I was on the surface of Ceti Alpha V, right down to the orange dust and color palette.

My brother is notoriously hard to impress when it comes to technology and gaming but he was picking his chin up off the floor after trying a few games and experiences (his favorite is an underwater encounter where you come face to face – literally – with a great white shark).

Having owned a PSVR since November my traditional, “flat” gaming has decreased dramatically. The experience just feels so watered down now.

VR is not for everyone; the cost of entry is prohibitive and some people simply cannot tolerate it. Still, I’d urge you to see if some electronics store in your area has a VR demo display set up. Even if you’re not into gaming or electronics you owe it to yourself to check it out once if only to have a more informed understanding of just what it can do.

You assume incorrectly that I haven’t tried it. It’s a fun novelty, but not something i’d enjoy for extended play (more than 5-10 minutes).

I’m just not that impressed by the “immersion.” I get the appeal, i’m not knocking people who enjoy it.

Like I said, it’s not for everyone. Just out of curiosity, which flavor of VR did you try?

I’m not sure, it was at a convention a year or so ago. It was a demo of some zombie game. Seemed cool, but I just kept thinking like I would enjoy it more if it was on a TV screen.

I get the appeal, but just as some people prefer books over movie adaptations, I prefer having the action in front of me instead of all around me.

Wake me when they invent the holodeck, though!

I’ve played it on all 3 headsets and other than a slight degradation of quality on the PS4 there’s very little difference. It’s a great game and when you have a good team it feels like you’re on a bridge. I can’t recommend it enough