Outright Games launched the action-adventure game Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova earlier this month on multiple platforms. The game is set between episode 10 of Prodigy and episode 11, which premieres tomorrow on Paramount Plus. There also may be a connection to the upcoming season 1 finale, which is a two-parter also titled “Supernova.”
Before we get into gameplay, here’s the synopsis:
After the Protostar picks up strange readings from a dying star, Dal R’El and Gwyndala must race against time to save their friends, their ship, new alien species and an entire planetary system before a supernova destroys them all!
Using their unique skills to overcome ingenious puzzles, endure hostile environments and battle deadly robot armies, Dal and Gwyn must save their captured crewmates Jankom Pog, Rok-Tahk, Zero and Murf. But they soon discover a deadly new enemy, one that will stop at nothing to destroy the Protostar and change the very course of history!
Outright Games is a self-described “family-friendly video game publisher” who has a pretty outstanding portfolio after only being in business for six years. Previous titles include Paw Patrol, My Little Pony, and Transformers, to name a few.
Just like Gwyn and Dal tag team in the game, our reviewers—Joe, the experienced gamer, and Laurie, the game newbie—tag team this review. Joe played on an Xbox One, and Laurie on a PC via Steam.
Both players loved the graphics, the music, the sound effects, and the fact that the whole Prodigy cast is there to voice their characters.
Gameplay
You can play solo as either Dal or Gwyn (and frequently switch off between the two). We both liked this feature, particularly enjoying the times when Dal and Gwyn had to tag team to get access to a new area or accomplish a goal. There is also a co-op mode; Steam players can do this over the internet, while console players can do it locally. But as we were on different systems we didn’t that the chance to check out this feature.
Each character has their own unique abilities and tools or weapons, and get more as you play. Dal starts with a phaser and Gwyn has her fretwork spear (the “heirloom” from The Diviner). They also have different abilities: Dal can lift barriers for Gwyn to crawl under and Gwyn can create bridges for Dal to cross over. As they rescue their crewmates, they get to take advantage of their abilities, too, like Jankom’s knack for hacking open doors, Rok-Tahk’s strength, and more. All of this encourages teamwork, which is a nice Star Trek message.
The good:
Joe (Xbox One): The controls are intuitive from the start. Since there aren’t easy, medium, or hard settings, a kid can feel confident to dive right in. Although not needed for reasons already mentioned, a jump button would’ve been a nice addition.
Laurie (PC): The button layout for directional movement was a bit challenging since it used the WASD keys instead of being laid out like the arrow keys with top, bottom, and sides. It required a little more focus just for basic movement, at least at the beginning. This may not be as much of an issue for veteran gamers and/or those with dedicated controllers.
Both players: The exploration part is fun: running around exploring, trying switches and power boxes, poking around to see what’s there. The puzzle games require a lot of trial and error, which can get a little frustrating, but that only increases your sense of triumph when you finally figure it out!
Laurie: When I felt stuck, I’d go back to the last checkpoint and try again, which was a great strategy that only made it more fun, especially when I conquered a level I thought I couldn’t.
Joe: You can go on the holodeck and train/sharpen your skills with a walkthrough which can be really helpful if you want to be efficient. I was able to get through most of the game without switching weapons, which is good for young kids who just want to play.
Laurie: I don’t play video games, so I appreciated the slow ramp-up to more weapons and more abilities.
Joe: The mission loading times were really quick—I’m used to waiting at least 30 seconds to move on but Prodigy was almost instantaneous. Well done, Outright Games!
The bad
Joe: Camera controls leave a lot to be desired. You only see what the game wants you to see—there’s no way to look around the whole area. The right stick button on the Xbox One does nothing. It would’ve been cool to have a more open-world-type feel, but that might be overwhelming for a kid.
Laurie: Occasionally there are glitches where a character gets wedged in somewhere and requires a lot of random key-mashing to get them out.
Both players: Fighting the Watchers gets tedious and repetitive, making it boring instead of exciting when they attack.
Laurie: The fighting was especially boring for me, and when I got to a battle with Drednok—nice to see him again, by the way—I eventually gave up. I even watched some YouTube videos to see how to defeat him and those showed me how long it would take, and once I saw there were no shortcuts, I was done.
The story
Joe: This was a good continuation of the season 1 story arc, complete with Gwyn struggling to find her missing memories.
Laurie: I loved the story and the conceit that everyone was beamed down to a different place (requiring Gwyn and Dal to rescue them all individually) was a great setup. The game’s longer story is intriguing and very much on point for the show, as is the idea that Drednok was found and reassembled.
Joe: Characters are on point!
Laurie: The dialogue is great, although they do occasionally reference things they shouldn’t know about (Worf’s beard, tribbles, etc.).
Joe: The banter between characters is really fun, just like the show. We even get some character development in tense moments; at one point Dal almost confesses he has feelings for Gwyn.
Laurie: And Jankom is always good for a laugh as he begrudgingly uses his skills to bail them out.
Missing features
Joe: A way to skip entire sections of dialogue instead of having to skip them one section at a time would be great for replaying levels; they’re all fun the first time but can get long when you’ve already heard them. Varying difficulty levels would’ve been a nice touch as well to cover players’ different ability levels.
Laurie: I would’ve loved an option to skip all the fighting sequences and focus more on story and exploration, or at least a difficulty setting. I like to think that would also be great for smaller kids, but they probably are all better at this than I am, so maybe this issue is more for infrequent gamers.
Overall experience
The game is fun to play and quickly gets addictive, but the battles have the potential to wear you out with repetition. The game is gorgeous and there are great little touches along the way, like the ability to collect secrets/relics to deck out the captain’s quarters.
Laurie: I’m sad I had to give up, because I wanted to keep playing but just couldn’t get past one of the battles.
Joe. Not a high replayability factor for me, especially if there’s no way to skip those long dialogue sequences. But that said, I think this is the best Star Trek video game I’ve played in a long time and I am determined to finish it!
Laurie: Maybe I’ll try again. Can someone help me defeat Drednok?
Joe: Laurie, we’ll defeat Drednok together on Steam!
Available now
Supernova is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, and Steam. It is priced at $49.99 and is available at Amazon and other games retailers.
Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova box art
Check out the launch trailer…
Keep up with all the Star Trek gaming news.
If someone wants to see the game before playing it or doesn’t want to play, there is a good full playthrough at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7L8mSDcOuc – but if you don’t want to be spoiled about the dialogue and puzzle solutions, be warned of spoilers!
Thanks for sharing the playthrough. It’s a great way to decide if it’s your kind of game. Since it’s Star Trek, I went ahead and got it. I think the review here is fairly spot on. I’m enjoying it despite some flaws.
Just had a look at the Microsoft Store – the game is available on Xbox and PC from there, which is great to see – I play on PC mostly but might someday get an Xbox, so it’s great to have games that will work on both, rather than just Steam. That said, it’s expensive, IMO ($75 AUD ($70 on Steam)). I might wait for a sale.
My 10 year old son and I are playing together on Switch. Battles are much more fun in cooperative mode.
Joe said we’d team up and try, so I’m looking forward to that. I hated giving up.