Star Trek Online

I've playing the Xbox version of this game almost everyday since it launched back in November of 2016 and can honestly say, it's probably the best Star Trek game currently available. By no means is it perfect and in order to achieve smooth gameplay, you would need at least an Xbox One X or better. Otherwise, you'll run into serious fps issues, especially during combat. Currently playing on an Xbox Series X, the game runs very well. Like any game, there are some glitches but I've never encountered anything game-breaking. As someone who essentially is f2p player, there is a lot of content to be enjoyed. There are many in-game accolades to unlock, along with several Xbox achievements to earn. The best thing about this game, is that you can, absolutely, gain access to any ship, duty officer or anything else you want without paying a dime. If you're patient and take the time to learn the different aspects and nuances of the game, you can earn and amass enough EC, dilithium or Zen to purchase anything you want. The game constantly runs events to reward players with exclusive ships, consoles and weapons. In my nearly 9 years of playing this game, I've probably spent a total of $35 but only because I didn't feel like waiting and following my typical grinding strategy. All that being said: I really enjoy the game. However, there are some things that I don't like. I'm not really a fan of the music. Some of the time the music is serviceable but there are times when I wonder: "What were they thinking?" Take a beloved RPG like Skyrim for instance; I can spend my entire time in that game just listening to the music. Comparing the two soundtracks, STO may as well be nails on a chalkboard. They definitely could've done better in this aspect. I must also agree with my fellow reviewers, in regards to the writing and storyline which includes "Kurtzman Trek." Like Star Trek: Disgracery (Discovery) and Alex Kurtzman's other abysmal brain children, such as Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks the writing takes a nosedive. It took me some time to get through those mission episodes because they were quite painful and tedious. My only incentive to go through such torture, was to obtain the mission rewards. Had there not been substantial rewards for these missions, I would've "noped" out on that trainwreck. Overall, STO is definitely my favorite game and I've certainly invested the time to understand all of it's intricacies. The only aspect that still currently eludes me is PvP. I'm absolutely terrible at PvP but I honestly don't care enough about it to learn it and get better. STO's strength, undeniably lies in its PvE and that's where I invest my time. I could honestly write an entire novel on this game but I hope what I've touched on, is at least helpful to someone looking for an honest review, from a player with thousands of hours invested.

I'll update if I encounter anything else that may be of some importance.

Star Trek Online is one of my favourite games I've ever played, but far from the best I've ever played.

The graphics mostly are decent and have vastly improved from when I first started playing. The game play loop is good and is addicting, although there is the occasional bug that puts a subspace rift on n the path of your trek through the stars. However, one of the best parts of the game has to be the plot. The plot of the whole game is so well written that it encompasses the whole of the Star Trek universe, both past and present. Unfortunately, there are also some drawbacks, up until the Discovery missions, everything is all systems normal. The Discovery missions are shoehorned into the game to fit the new era and the writing leaves not just something, but everything to be desired. Characters make foolish decisions, the player is forced to work together and be friends with a mass murdering terrorist, and there are no repercussions for said terrorist after the story arc ends. Coming off the back of the earlier writing, it hurt to play. Since then, the writing has gotten much better with the Reflections/Refractions season after the entire Disco/Klingon House Divided debacle.

Next best thing the game has going for it is the customization for both the player's character, ship, and crew. Near-endless options appear for the player, that is, if you have enough money with a steady income. This game is excellent to start as free to play, but it will trounce you at the endgame. Seriously, if you like Stat Trek, find an expense you don't need and divert that money to this game, if you feel like it. The sheer amount of ships, bridge officer variations, outfits, gear etc to obtain is crazy.

That brings in the first con to the game, the money grab notion that most companies are falling for these past few years. In order to actually stay on top of your enemies and assignments, a ship with decent dps, speed and energy reserves is required, which can only be bought by ARC's zen in-game currency. There are ships rewarded to the player for being promoted, but besides those few ships it all can quickly cost an arm and a leg unless you know what you want and don't gamble the lock boxes..

To finish up, the musical score is well done, the map is extensive, the star ships look beautiful, and the game really makes you feel like a Starfleet officer, Klingon Warrior, Romulan, Jem'Hadar, what have you. There is much the game has to offer, if you have a deep pocket. One thing is clear, the devs know Star Trek, and they made this game for Trekkies.

Started strong when it came out. Had a great run. Suffered mightily when STD came out. Suffered more when STP was released. Now it has high school level writing, unfixed new AND legacy glitches(they fired all the techs who made it go), and the crappiest community manager ever(clearly prefers star WARS to Trek). A typical "fee to play" game, especially since there current manager is a former mobile game manaager, and boy does THAT show through!! All in all, not worth the amount of time you need to put into the game just to fly some favourite ships. Unless you pay real money for all that. Good luck to that, as their customer service team on the Arc software side is short, inconsistent, rarely get back to you and are rude of you still have questions.

After a decade of hard work and development from the devs, it's fair to say they have done a very good job in churning this very well created universe out for the fans of this iconic franchise. Yes it suffers from a zillion bugs, glitches and maintenance works, but the storylines are very much Star Trek. Lovingly narrated in painstaking detail to such a point you would get out of Earth Space Dock if you read everything on offer. The options are mind blowing to your chosen character and customising your avatar and ship can be a mission in itself taxing over the tiny complex details. Finally the visuals of the game are split down the middle which is very much like the gameplay - the ground team visuals are pretty much rough and shoddy while also recognising the vast open spaces you can run around showing off the scope of the game, the visual up in space though is the money shot. Beautiful vistas, nebulas and planetary systems drift by on-route to your next mission, along with the classic Star Trek soundtrack, music cues and iconic sound effects and you can see why 1000s of gamers sink 1000s of hours into this MMO every week. To see fellow online gamers show up at Earth Space Dock in all manner of ships and sizes is a joy and makes for a real community and for me the best Star Trek video game of all time.