Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown wants to be FTL with Janeway

Why this caught my attention

As someone who’s been waiting for a Star Trek game that’s more than a skin on boilerplate systems, Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown grabbed me the second I heard “roguelike strategy survival” and “Delta Quadrant.” Announced at Gamescom 2025, it immediately conjures Faster Than Light with tricorders-manageable scope, high-stakes decisions, and the kind of replayable tension that Voyager’s premise always begged for. That combo could finally give Trek fans a game about hard calls and scarce resources, not just phaser spam.

Key takeaways

• It’s a roguelike where you command the U.S.S. Voyager across the Delta Quadrant; choices can permanently alter the journey.
• Expect a galaxy map for routing, a cross-section ship view for crew/room management, and story encounters as illustrated dialogs.
• Runs reportedly take about 15 hours if you beeline the main path-but variability is the point.
• No release date yet; confirmed platforms are PC, PS5, and Xbox Series.

Breaking down the announcement

Across the Unknown puts you in the captain’s chair of Voyager with a simple mission: get from A to B through hostile, unknown space. Simple in premise, brutal in practice. The Steam description leans hard into consequence: “iconic characters could meet a premature end” if you botch decisions. It even spells out the fantasy Trek fans have debated since 1995: “Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Captain Janeway had decided differently? If an important crew member had taken a different path? … Wonder no more: Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown lets players take control and shape the USS Voyager’s journey as they see fit.”

Structurally, the Steam page suggests three layers. First, a star map where you choose routes, juggle objectives, and manage precious resources. Second, a cross-sectional view of Voyager to assign crew and keep subsystems running. Finally, encounters-pirates, anomalies, diplomacy—play out as dialogue-driven events with striking old-school illustrations. It’s not a flashy dogfighter; it’s a thinking person’s Trek game, where the drama lives in odds, ethics, and attrition.

Why this matters for Trek games

Star Trek video games have struggled to nail the feel of Trek. Star Trek Online has breadth but leans MMO grind. Star Trek: Resurgence got the tone and character beats but kept its scope narrow and production uneven. 4X-adjacent efforts like Star Trek: Infinite promised grand strategy but didn’t fully deliver systemic depth. A smaller, systems-first roguelike could be the sweet spot—tight design, high replay value, and room for big moral swings without a blockbuster budget collapsing under the IP’s expectations.

Voyager specifically is a smart pick. The whole show is about scraping by far from home, rationing power, negotiating with new factions, and bearing the weight of irreversible decisions. In other words: roguelike catnip. If Across the Unknown captures the “one more jump” dread from FTL and layers in Trek’s diplomacy, technobabble problem-solving, and crew dynamics, this could become the most replayable Trek game we’ve had in decades.

Reasons to be cautiously excited

The pitch is great; execution will make or break it. Illustrated, largely static encounters can be fantastic if the writing branches meaningfully and the mechanics behind the choices are deep. If it’s just “pick blue or red and watch a number go up,” it’ll wear thin fast. Crew management needs teeth: distinct traits, synergies, injuries, morale—things that make you feel the loss when a call goes sideways. And if runs are ~15 hours when beelining, the event variety and meta-progression must support multiple playthroughs without déjà vu setting in.

Canon is another tightrope. Permadeath for “iconic characters” is compelling, but Trek fans care about these people. Framing runs as alternate timelines solves the lore problem, yet the game still has to earn those outcomes. A random crit deleting Tuvok won’t feel Trek; a chain of tough decisions leading to a sacrifice might. I’m also curious about presentation: Will there be voice work, or is it fully text-driven? The art style shown looks classy and intentionally retro, but it needs UI clarity and readability to support long sessions.

What I’ll be watching for next

• Systemic depth: meaningful power routing, subsystem trade-offs, and crew assignments that change outcomes beyond dice rolls.
• Event design: branching dilemmas with mechanical consequences (fuel, hull, morale, faction reputation), not just flavor text.
• Run variety: varied biomes and factions in the Delta Quadrant, plus meta unlocks that encourage new playstyles without gutting tension.
• Encounter pacing: memorable “acts” or bosses to punctuate runs—ideally tied to Voyager’s rogue gallery—without confirming specifics.
• Quality-of-life: fast but informative UI, combat clarity if present, and fair failure states that make you want to try again.

The gamer’s perspective

This caught my eye because it finally aims Trek at the right scale: not a jack-of-all-genres, but a focused survival strategy game where Janeway-style judgment calls determine who limps home. If the team nails systemic interplay and event writing, we might be talking about the most compelling Trek game since the early 2000s PC heyday. If it’s thin systems wrapped in nostalgia, it’ll be another missed opportunity. For now, I’m optimistic—this design fits Voyager like a glove—and I’m waiting on a proper gameplay deep dive before planting my flag.

TL;DR

Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown is a roguelike strategy survival take on the Delta Quadrant with real stakes for the crew and your choices. The premise is spot-on for Voyager; now it needs the systems and writing depth to match the promise. No date yet—PC, PS5, and Xbox Series confirmed—so keep it wishlisted and watch for gameplay breakdowns.