Star Trek: Infinite’s first gameplay glimpse looks like Stellaris: The Next Generation
First look released in celebration of Picard’s disdain for children.
We’ve been given our first proper look at Star Trek: Infinite, the new grand strategy game from Stellaris makers Paradox, in action - and yep, it’s definitely a Star Trek game from the makers of Stellaris.
Star Trek: Infinite was announced last week during Summer Games Fest, promising to put players in the captain’s chair(s) of the Federation, Romulan Star Empire, Cardassian Union and Klingon Empire as they seek to do 4X stuff across the galaxy’s Alpha and Beta Quadrants using their unique traits. There’ll also be unique stories and quests tied to each faction, making them feel truer to their on-screen counterparts.
Despite having Picard and other TNG characters plastered all over its artwork, Stinfinite will actually take place decades before The Next Generation. What’s more, it won’t just be about one ship or crew, as you command numerous ships in fleets to warp across the galaxy to their likely fate as pixel debris.
Paradox - who are publishing Infinite - and developers Nimble Giant Entertainment (they of Quantum League and the rather good Master of Orion (2016)) originally teased the game with a few seconds of a Borg cube encountered by a group of Federation starships, without actually showing us what we’ll be up to when it releases this autumn.
Well, thank Picard Day - a fan-led celebration of that time Captain Jean-Luc held a painting competition for kids, despite hating kids - for our first proper look at Infinite in action.
The new gameplay trailer shows Stinfinite to very much be in Stellaris’ ‘Civ in Space’ wheelhouse, with quick looks at a mission tree that resembles a tech tree, the ability to construct ships at a shipyard and the chance to scan planets to open up communications with other species and factions across the ‘verse.
Those communications can range from friendly welcomes to passive-aggressive (or just outright aggressive) statements like “The Galaxy is a dangerous place” or the weirdly tantalising “Intercoms are so impersonal” - which definitely sounds like you’re about to invite an alien diplomat over for a cup of replicator coffee, hot.