I have finally come around to play this game as it was on sale and I have... an opinion. I'd like to see if there are others who share this opinion or maybe have a different one and want to share their perspective.
Now, this game is around two years old but maybe someone might not have played it yet and plans to in the future, so I'll use the spoiler tabs.
To get one thing out of the way, the controls and gameplay mechanics are fine to me, it's a visual novel and not an open world action adventure after all.
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So the story itself is actually kind of fine and the whole thing feels very much like an episode of any given trek show that is not DS9, DISCO, LD or PIC. I also don't mind that the foundation is very much memberberries, the game does enough of its own stuff.
However, there are two minor points and a major one that don't sit quite right with me, the minor ones being Rydek's condition that is built up in the beginning but except a meeting or two with the doctor doesn't lead anywhere, and that there is no resolution to the bioformed people. Do they stay Tkon? Is there a way to reverse the process? Will they be locked up in penal colonies or what?
The major one was a letdown kinda early on. In the beginning the story is set up to be about a conflict around an oppressed and an oppressive people and Federation's role in the history of this oppression. This looked to be a discussion about how to resolve such long lasting and very entrenched situation and also a discussion about kinda neocolonial responsibilities. But that was dropped completely and only hinted at in the wrap-up with connotations of bothsideism. Very disappointing IMHO.
So, what do you think?
I’d generally agree with your points. I liked Resurgence overall, but it has a lot of smaller plot beats that are never followed up on or explored satisfactorily. They help contribute to a sense of paranoia before the true shape of the story is revealed, so I tend not to judge it too harshly. For a narrative so on the rails, it does feel like they could have potentially used one more script pass.
Spoiler bits for Resurgence:
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As for the specifics you mentioned, Rydek’s condition was definitely a weirdly unexplored plot thread. I think it mostly got you familiar with the medical team. Maybe they were hoping the implication was that Rydek was one of the few people they knew was getting constant medical scans and nothing fishy was going on?It’s been a while since I played it, but I recall the alien process in the game being irreversible. The affected folks are gone, and the aliens were being loading up a shuttle craft to a penal colony at the end. Maybe I should go double check the epilogue cutscene.
I don’t recall how the initial alien politics wrapped up. They’d been through so much that pumping the breaks on hostilities and rebuilding made enough sense for an ending.
It did not have that effect on me, tbh. Just some curiosity and build up, followed by confusion and letdown.
Yeah, definetly. Rail traffic needs to be streamlined (to an extent, not a 100% perfect metaphor).
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Most likely, yes. Could have been solved easier though I guess.
But Rydek gets (can get) scanned by Tylas and it is mentioned that Captain Solano was the only away team member who wasn't scanned after their return.
It's often brought up (especially by Edsilar and Diaz) that a reversal can be searched for after the adventure. Yes, the bioformes are waiting in line to board shuttles but it isn't stated whether they're going to a penal colony or a research medical facility (unless I missed something though).
This is my issue though. There was a tense and intriguing discussion about responsibilities (especially for the Federation's responsibilities) set up (and well set up if you ask me) that was not actually held. Everyone who might have been responsible and who shoupd have been confronted basically got away scot free. It would have been especially intriguing to contrast this discussion with SNW's episode "What is Starfleet".
That all makes sense. I wish the game were a bit fresher in my memory, but your observations are all valid.