Have You Played... Star Trek Online? Rock Paper Shotgun Support us Join our newsletter Visit our store Sign in / Create account If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Have You Played... Star Trek Online? Boldly going where no PC has gone before Feature by CJ Wheeler News Reporter Published on Oct. 14, 2022 27 comments Have You Played? is an endless stream of game retrospectives. One a day, every day, perhaps for all time. Star Trek Online turns you into the captain of your own starship. This MMORPG neatly captures the essence of years of Gene Roddenberry's hopeful, futuristic space romp, rolling in plotlines from the TV shows and movies to create a bizarrely playable blob of nerdy entertainment. It pits you against the Borg. It lets you visit Deep Space Nine. You can even battle the powerful and scary Crystalline Entity that wiped out Data's homeworld. As a Trek fan, I enjoy Star Trek Online far, far too much. Watch on YouTube Wesley Crusher as Terran Emperor, who'd have thought it? Star Trek Online is marinated in the culture that's built up around the franchise over the past five decades, and you feel like you're beamed into an episode when you start to play it. You can stick to regions of space familiar to Captains Kirk, Picard, and Archer, or put your hair in a Janeway bun and head out to the Delta Quadrant. The game wraps itself fully in the design language of Star Trek, from the style of designer Michael Okuda's 'okudagrams' for elements of the menus to the familiar ships you can take to maximum warp. While it's not canon, for years STO has been the next best thing for future continuity. It's filled the long gap between Nemesis and Discovery, not to mention the wait for Picard too. Part of this is thanks to Cryptic Studios who've roped in actors from the shows and films to reprise their roles, sometimes in very different ways. Currently, The Next Generation's nerd supreme Wesley Crusher plays the cushy-yet-bloodthirsty job of Terran Emperor, complete with original actor Wil Wheaton. What's the 25th century equivalent of a chef's kiss? You can download Star Trek Online for the Arc launcher or from Steam, and it's free to play. For a game that's been around for more than a decade, it's stayed surprisingly fresh thanks to the regular updates. More Features What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Press many buttons to operate a radio telescope array in this eerie indie game's demo I hope the truth is out there, and not in here with me Alice O'Connor 19 hours ago 3 Latest Articles What are we all playing this weekend? Well? Alice O'Connor an hour ago 22 Past Wordle answers Here's an archive of previous Wordle words Ollie Toms 2 hours ago 1 Wordle answer today (Saturday 15 October) Hints and the answer to today's Wordle word Rebecca Jones 9 hours ago Overwatch 2 hero tier list Which are the best heroes in Overwatch 2? Ollie Toms 16 hours ago Supporters Only You're probably better than me at One Many Nobody You go on without… uh, you? Sin Vega 17 hours ago Supporter podcast - The Nate Files episode 13: dry bones Bad science is also FUN science! Alice Bell 18 hours ago Japanese dating show Love Wagon has surprising parallels with Yakuza and Persona My new obsession Ed Thorn 2 days ago If you're hankering after Bayonetta 3, Valkyrie Elysium might be a good substitute It's not out on PC until next month, but the console demo has been a surprise charmer Katharine Castle 1 week ago 4 We've been talking, and we think that you should wear clothes Total coincidence, but we sell some clothes Buy RPS stuff here