Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Star Trek: Away Team presents a deep turn-based strategy experience set in an isometric perspective, where each mission demands careful planning and precise execution. Inspired by classics like Commandos and X-Com, the game tasks you with selecting from twelve specialized operatives—engineers, tacticians, scientists and more—each boasting unique statistics and skill sets. Before the first phaser bolt is fired, you’ll spend time assembling your ideal squad, weighing speed versus stealth or firepower versus technical expertise.

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Once deployed, the Away Team must navigate hostile starbases, Klingon outposts or clandestine research facilities without raising alarms. Cameras, sensors and patrolling guards react dynamically to sound and movement, requiring slow, deliberate steps if you hope to remain unseen. Even when discovery is inevitable, the game cleverly offers non-lethal solutions—locate a security terminal, erase incriminating records and slip away before backup arrives.

Combat encounters, while relatively rare, are tense and tactical. Operatives carry a diverse arsenal—phasers set to stun or kill, disruptor rifles, holographic decoys and proximity mines—to handle foes when stealth fails. Action points govern movement and firing, encouraging you to balance aggression with caution. Each firefight feels meaningful, as a single misstep can leave your team stranded deep behind enemy lines.

Graphics

The isometric environments in Star Trek: Away Team are rendered with impressive attention to detail. Corridors aboard the USS Incursion and Klingon research labs feature richly textured floors, pipes overhead and flickering lights that heighten the sense of clandestine danger. Environmental effects—steam vents, sparking panels and transparent force fields—add atmosphere and strategic cover points for stealth operations.

Character models capture the look of Starfleet and Klingon attire of the era, from the cloth folds of uniforms to the metallic sheen of disruptor weaponry. Animations are smooth whether your operatives are sneaking along walls or taking cover behind crates. Each gadget—from holo-projectors to tricorders—glows with a distinct visual flair that makes tech feels appropriately futuristic.

The user interface overlays seamlessly with the 3D world. Icons for gear, health bars and action point meters remain clear and unobtrusive, even when multiple operatives converge on a single screen. Mission briefings and in-engine cutscenes maintain visual consistency, using the same engine assets to deliver narrative transitions without jarring graphical switches.

Story

Set in the aftermath of the Dominion War, Star Trek: Away Team explores a less-charted aspect of Starfleet—covert operations. With major conflict behind them, Starfleet Command recognizes that not every threat can be met by diplomatic envoys or scientific starships. Thus the USS Incursion is born: a vessel outfitted with a holographic masking system capable of impersonating any known ship in the galaxy.

Under the command of Captain Marcus Refalian, a hand-picked squad of seventeen elite operatives is dispatched to investigate a shadowy group known as the Wardens and the clandestine experiments of renegade Klingon scientists. Early missions revolve around intelligence gathering—intercepting transmissions, decrypting data logs and disrupting sinister research. As clues mount, the narrative spirals into a galaxy-spanning conspiracy that could destabilize the Federation’s hard-won peace.

The storytelling unfolds through mission debriefs, internal communications and in-engine dialogue sequences that maintain immersion. Characters boast distinct personalities—ranging from a by-the-book security officer to a maverick engineer—allowing for organic banter during lulls in the action. The sense of gradual discovery keeps each scenario feeling purposeful, as if every successful extraction or silent takedown reveals just a bit more of the hidden plot.

Overall Experience

Star Trek: Away Team delivers a refreshing blend of cerebral strategy and series-faithful sci-fi drama. Its learning curve is gentle enough for newcomers to turn-based tactics yet offers enough depth to satisfy veterans of the genre. Every mission feels like part of a larger puzzle, and the thrill of slipping past enemy sensors or pulling off a perfectly timed phaser ambush never grows old.

The game’s pacing strikes a solid balance between tension and narrative progression. Briefings are concise, objectives clear and each stage ramps up stakes logically, from low-risk intelligence gathers to all-out rescue operations. Replay value is high, as you can experiment with different team compositions or approach levels with varying degrees of stealth versus firepower.

For Star Trek enthusiasts and strategy fans alike, Away Team stands out as a worthy addition to the franchise. It expands the universe in a novel direction—covert field ops—while maintaining the series’ trademark optimism and technological wonder. If you’ve ever wanted to lead a clandestine Starfleet squad under the radar of both Cardassians and Klingons, this mission profile is one you won’t want to miss.

Retro Replay Score

6.8/10