It can be very difficult to get a turn on the Nintendo Switch at my house — we have three kids and two adults who all love to play video games — but when a game comes out that everyone is interested in, it can become a great family activity that we can all enjoy together.
My family and I got to start playing Star Trek: Prodigy — Supernova a few weeks ago in advance of its October 14 release. Supernova is a third-person action adventure game published by Outright Games — and the first Star Trek video game specifically designed for kids. My children are 8, 10, and 12, right in the game’s target age range.
Supernova is a fun companion to Star Trek: Prodigy and a well thought-out game that really respects it’s young audience and its place in the Star Trek universe.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rxI_rowZok
This game features a new story that takes place in between seasons 1A and 1B — after the events of “A Moral Star, Part 2,” and this month’s “Asylum,” which airs on October 27 — and the story itself is an interesting stand-alone adventure that fits in with the overall arc of Prodigy, touching on several themes upon which the show has focused.
Environmentalism, found family, and helping others are explored in ways similar to the show itself, and I was surprised when I heard they were making a middle-grade novelization of the game due out in January — but after playing it, there is definitely enough meat here to make an interesting book. (It could have been a movie, even!)
The story is definitely Prodigy through and through, and so are the other aspects of the game. This is a Star Trek: Prodigy game, not just a generic game with a Star Trek skin. My kids remarked that it felt like an episode of the show, and it really did! The character, environment, and object designs were all spot on and lusciously colored to the same palettes as the show.
A standout feature is the audio, as not only the gorgeous music from the show fills the background, but the character voices of the entire crew are all here and no one is phoning in their lines. Brett Gray (Dal) and Elle Purnell (Gwyn) in particular are outstanding and add a fun energy to the intriguing story line. While Dal and Gwyn are the playable characters, the whole beloved Prodigy crew is on hand to help in the mission — so Murf fans rejoice!
There’s a lot of good banter between all the crew members that would fit right in on the show. There are direct references to already-aired episodes, including “Dreamcatcher,” “Kobayashi,” “Time Amok,” and “A Moral Star, Part 2.” My children loved that they knew the lore behind the game.
Besides residing deep in the heart of Prodigy, there are some wonderful touches from the greater Star Trek universe as well. References to various species (Xindi!), locations (Rura Penthe!), and substances (Kemocite!) add to the immersive experience. There’s even a little history lesson from Holo-Janeway… about a mission when some older heroes went back in time to find some whales. This made me smile and I made a mental note that it might be time to plan a family movie night to watch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home together.
The actual gameplay itself was very entertaining to both myself and my kids. It consists of levels with mini objectives that contain both puzzle points and combat portions. The puzzles are the correct level of challenging for the age group and they do a great job of utilizing Dal and Gwyn as a team. Each has their own unique abilities, so you have to pick the right person for each job.
This makes the two-player co-op mode very satisfying for both players, as both are required at every stage — but you can also enjoy the game in single-player mode, swapping control of one character to another with the touch of a button.
As a parent, the co-op mode is one of the best things about this game. Needing both characters to complete the puzzles made it a really satisfying bonding experience to play with my kids. It was really fun to say, “Ok, Gwyn, we need you now, press that switch!” to my child — compared to other games we’ve played together, where two player co-op just increases the number of bad guys you’re fighting.
My child on the younger edge of the age group, who isn’t as experienced with these type of puzzles as my older two, liked playing this way best. (I did, too, but not from a gaming perspective as much as I just loved seeing my kid’s face light up as we solved puzzles together!)
This game takes full advantage of the type of side quests that my kids love to do. There are several things to collect, including isolinear chips (which they call “relics”, which made me feel old!). You can trip out the Captain’s quarters with treasures from all different eras of Star Trek history, and the holodeck offers mini “training levels” which you can complete to upgrade your crewmates abilities.
Jankom Pog can upgrade your weapons in exchange for the in game currency. My kids really got a kick out of getting to be on the Protostar in between levels of the main quest to manage all of these extras.
There are a few issues that distract from the overall experience. (Noting here, that I am reviewing a prerelease copy of the game). There were a few times where the characters glitched into places that I could not “unstick” them from and had to reset, losing some progress each time. That was frustrating to my kids, especially.
Semi-related to that, this game needs at least three times as many save points as it has, because you pretty much have to finish a level to save — which is even more inconvenient for kids who can only handle shorter gaming sessions due to attention span (or math homework that they have to finish!).
I found the combat portions to be a little repetitive, as groups of “watchers” would frequently appear, but the ability to upgrade your weapons and the fact that other crew members would appear to help occasionally relived some of that monotony. And the “boss battles” were fine. There was also an issue with the on screen dialogue not matching the words spoken by the characters.
We are very sensitive to that issue as a household with a hearing impaired child. It took us out of the story every time it happened.
But these issues were relatively minor overall. Star Trek: Prodigy — Supernova is a really fun game with a great Star Trek story and gameplay that kept all ages in my household entertained. Sharing Prodigy with my kids has been really exciting for me as a parent, and this game adds to that experience by meeting them at their level in a way only a great video game can.
I highly recommend it for kids and their parents, but I also think that adult Star Trek fans in general would have a fun time going through it as long as they understand that while it truly is a “kids game” in the sense of difficulty level, it is also a Star Trek game story well worth the time — if the kids ever let you get a turn to play!
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We also had the chance to get the inside story on Star Trek: Prodigy — Supernova from Outright Games producer Rudy Lamy, who answered a few of our questions over email earlier this month.
TREKCORE: How did you approach developing a game with over 50 years of Star Trek lore behind it — and how much does a new player have to know about the Star Trek universe going into Supernova?
RUDY LAMY (Producer, Outright Games): The game has been designed with the whole family in mind, so parents and kids can enjoy playing together. Veteran fans can teach the newer players all the references they find, but we are sure that the younger players will have a lot to say about the lore of the show and the saga in general.
As game developers — although we are fans of the Star Trek saga — we don’t know all of the details of every incarnation. However, we were fortunate to have the continued support of the Star Trek teams at Nickelodeon and Paramount, who were always on board to help us give the game an unparalleled Trekkie layer.
The game does occur after the Protostar crew has united during Season 1 of the series, and does tie into the history of the Vau N’Akat, but due to the specific time setting and new locations, Star Trek: Prodigy —Supernova is also a great opportunity to jump into the Prodigy lore. The game design and narrative express the core Star Trek values of cooperation, diversity, and friendship, and we believe it can also serve as a solid introduction to the Star Trek universe.
TREKCORE: What was the process like working with the Star Trek: Prodigy cast to help bring their characters to life?
LAMY: It was a privilege (and lots of fun) to collaborate with the cast from the series, and get them to bring their characters to the game. Working with the different cast members, they genuinely feel like a crew: with their own personalities, senses of humor, and motivations. We’re especially proud of how natural the banter and emotions come across in this game. It can be hard to juggle the transition between jokes and the epic, emotional stakes of adventure, but the Protostar crew really delivered.
The gameplay is full of fundamental Star Trek staples: characters, rich personalities, their abilities, knowledge and cultures, and the use of the Star Trek technology such as the Tricorder, the Transporter, etc.
TREKCORE: You mentioned targeting the 6-to-11-years age range, which is a pretty wide target when it comes to video games. How is this game designed to appeal to all kids in this group?
LAMY: Supernova is a co-op game where kids will find it very accessible to have a lot of fun, the difficulty progression of the game is designed to be played by everyone. We have tested the game so players don’t get a high level of frustration, etc.; the conversations between characters are meant to be fun, engaging, and authentically Star Trek for the whole family.
We put a lot of work into ensuring this game can be enjoyed by all ages. We think we’ve hit a really nice balance between ease vs challenge, so it’s going to test the younger players but parents for example will be able to enjoy the settings, characters and exploration so it’s not all about difficulty.
The co-op mode is fully drop in/drop out, so anyone can play together — and we have our companion AI take over in single player, which definitely helps keep the game nice and approachable if you are a younger or less experienced gamer.
TREKCORE: My kids love discovering Easter eggs, glitches and fun things like that inside games, so they wanted me to ask: are there things like that for them to discover in Supernova?
LAMY: Yes, of course, we also love the secrets behind every video game. In Star Trek: Prodigy — Supernova you can find a variety of relics from the different Star Trek series which will appear in the captain’s quarters aboard the Protostar, and we dare you to find them all! Also, there are some fun cheats to unlock by completing certain gameplay objectives.
TREKCORE: Any chances for a future Supernova DLC?
LAMY: We don’t have anything to say about future add on content for the game at this point — but do keep an eye on our socials for any updates about the game.
TREKCORE: Is this a standalone adventure? Is there room open to continue in this story, or would another game be a completely separate story?
LAMY: Our game is very much a standalone adventure, however it is also deeply tied to the events and characters of the existing TV series — so we really get to have the best of both worlds! We worked incredibly closely with the Star Trek teams at Nickelodeon and Paramount to see where our game would take place in relation to the show.
We identified a really curious window that was unaccounted for due to a time jump, so our game is set then and explains what happened during this time. We’re not at a point where we are able to talk about our future titles, but we’re just so proud of what we’ve made here and are incredibly excited to see the reaction from fans and newcomers alike.
Star Trek: Prodigy — Supernova is out now on PlayStation 4 and 5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox X|S, and and on Steam for PC players.