Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Star Trek: Legacy places you directly at the helm of history’s most iconic starships, from the NX-01 Enterprise to the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise-E. Players can pilot the flagship directly using a keyboard or gamepad, or choose to delegate orders to AI helmsmen via a tactical map overlay. This dual-control scheme adds depth to the experience, letting you focus on big-picture strategy or dive into the hands-on thrill of starship combat.

Mission variety is one of Legacy’s strongest suits. You’ll tackle everything from intense dogfights with Klingon patrols to delicate escort duties for Federation medical vessels. Objectives also include planetary defense against incoming asteroids and stealthy rescue operations. Each mission routes you through beautifully rendered star systems, keeping the pace brisk and offering a refreshing break from repetitive “seek-and-destroy” tasks.

As you successfully complete objectives, you earn valuable command points that can be invested in additional ships, allowing you to build a small squadron of up to four vessels. These ships can be assigned defensive or offensive roles, or you can jump into the captain’s chair at will. This layer of squad management highlights Legacy’s tactical depth, rewarding players who enjoy juggling multiple vessels in high-stakes space warfare.

Multiplayer and skirmish modes extend the gameplay well beyond the single-player campaign. Here, you can field any of the four playable races—Federation, Klingon, Romulan, or Borg—across a range of customizable scenarios. Whether you’re duking it out in a head-to-head dogfight or coordinating with friends in a co-op defense mission, Legacy’s multiplayer remains engaging and achieves an admirable balance between accessibility and strategic challenge.

Graphics

For its time, Star Trek: Legacy boasts impressive ship models and detailed textures that bring the Starfleet fleet to life. The iconic silhouettes of vessels like the Defiant and Voyager look sharp against the vast expanse of space. Close-up shots of nacelles, phaser arrays, and warp cores capture just enough realism to satisfy both casual players and die-hard Trek fans.

The visual effects for weapon fire and shields are vibrant and convey satisfying impact. Phasers streak across the void in brilliant pulses of light, while photon torpedoes leave glowing trails as they seek their targets. Explosions are brief but dramatic, offering a visceral punch that underscores the peril of deep-space combat.

Environmental graphics—such as nebulae backdrops, asteroid fields, and the rings of distant gas giants—provide a cinematic setting for each mission. Starbases and planetary surfaces are rendered with adequate detail, though closer inspection can reveal texture pop-in or occasional clipping. Despite these minor flaws, the overall presentation remains polished and immersive.

The user interface strikes a good balance between futuristic flair and functional clarity. Easy-to-read HUD elements display ship status, target locks, and tactical waypoints without cluttering the screen. The strategic map overlay is equally well-designed, offering zoom levels and orbital grid lines that help you plan maneuvers with minimal visual distraction.

Story

Set a few years after the end of Star Trek: Enterprise, Legacy opens with the Enterprise NX-01 receiving orders to locate a vanished Vulcan vessel. This hook establishes an engaging tapestry that weaves through every major era up to The Next Generation and beyond. As you progress, you’ll switch captains and crews, experiencing firsthand the unique challenges faced by Archer, Kirk, Picard, Sisko, and Janeway.

Each captain is voiced by the original actors, bringing a layer of authenticity rarely matched in licensed video games. Hearing William Shatner or Kate Mulgrew deliver orders or crack a joke makes you feel like part of a living, breathing Trek episode. These performances elevate what might have been a straightforward RTS campaign into a narrative journey across generations of Starfleet history.

Mission briefs and in-flight communications are written with an eye for lore, seamlessly blending new twists with established canon. Whether you’re thwarting a Romulan incursion or mounting a desperate defense against a Borg cube, the game finds ways to tie each scenario back to overarching themes of exploration, duty, and the spirit of cooperation that define the Federation.

While some campaign arcs feel self-contained, the broader storyline around the missing Vulcan ship and an emerging threat provides cohesion. Occasional pacing hiccups—such as abrupt mission transitions—can disrupt the flow, but for many players, the chance to command every flagship in Starfleet’s lineage more than makes up for these minor narrative stumbles.

Overall Experience

Star Trek: Legacy delivers a satisfying blend of strategy, action, and fan service. The ability to control multiple ships and issue layered tactical commands makes each mission feel dynamic, while the inclusion of all five legendary captains adds an emotional resonance seldom found in strategy titles. Whether you’re a seasoned RTS enthusiast or a lifelong Trek aficionado, there’s plenty here to keep you engaged.

On the downside, a few technical quirks—such as occasional pathfinding issues or minor graphical oddities—remind you that Legacy is a product of its era. However, the core gameplay loop remains robust, and the mission variety ensures you rarely feel stuck in a rut. Multiplayer lobbies may be quieter nowadays, but the option to skirmish against AI opponents extends replayability indefinitely.

Ultimately, Star Trek: Legacy succeeds as both a tribute to five decades of televised adventures and a standalone strategy game. Its strengths in accessible yet deep squad management, voice-acted authenticity, and varied mission design outweigh its imperfections. For anyone looking to chart a course through the Final Frontier from Archer to Janeway, Legacy offers an engaging voyage worth undertaking.

Whether you hope to rewrite history in the Beta Quadrant or simply want to experience classic starship battles with authentic captains at the helm, Star Trek: Legacy remains a compelling option. It might not redefine the genre, but it skillfully brings Starfleet’s finest vessels to life and delivers a tactical space adventure that will appeal to both commanders and captains in training.

Retro Replay Score

6.3/10