10 Greatest Star Trek Games Ever Made

The enduring legacy of Star Trek is one rooted in philosophy and speculation about humanity's future, as well as how we can live together peacefully. It's a pretty enticing proposition, and the key to the franchise's success is how it often blends that hopeful optimism with darker, more bleak examinations of what we can be.

One part of Trek's media presence that routinely taps into this is video games. When you look at the large roster of Star Trek video games, you may come away surprised at how much variety there is. Shooters, space combat sims and adventure games are just a few of the genres Star Trek has explored.

Its video game catalog is just as diverse and varied as the franchise itself. If you're a fan of Star Trek and video games, chances are the genre you like the most is covered in some way. So, grab your phaser and join me on a trip across the galaxy as we talk about the ten greatest Star Trek games ever made.

10 Star Trek Online

A Classic Redemption Tale

A rather common tale in video games is the infamous poor launch saved by developers over several years. It happened to Cyberpunk 2077, No Man's Sky and countless others, including Star Trek Online. While the core concept of Star Trek Online was immensely appealing to any fan of the franchise, the immediate post-launch experience in 2010 was terrible, but in the decade-plus since, a lot has changed.

Through multiple patches, major fixes and attention to what makes a game like this work, Star Trek Online has become an absolutely fantastic experience if you are a fan of this franchise. Better yet, Star Trek Online went free-to-play in 2012, which means it's easier than ever to jump into.

Today, Star Trek Online has a deeply dedicated player base and an active, welcoming community. It's also well-supported by the developers, who have continued to show their love of Star Trek through this outstanding game.

9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Crossroads of Time

Control the Crew of DS9

While Star Trek was having a dominant run on television in the 1990s, even running The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space Nine all at the same time during the 1994 season, video games based on the franchise were also at an all-time high. These classic shows formed the basis of some incredible games, and that's especially true in games based on DS9.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Crossroads of Time takes place during the events of season one, and features several members of the crew as playable heroes. It replicates the look of the show, as well as its metaphysical musings on life and death, in such a beautiful way. Though it's 2D, it feels like an honest extension of the show.

Some of the puzzles are genuinely baffling, as well. It also offers a lot of options in terms of how you approach each stage, and the pace is appropriately Trek. It takes its time to get going, but like all of Star Trek, it's worth it in the end.

8 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Dominion Wars

The TV Show Conflict Comes to Video Games

A key ingredient to the secret sauce that makes Star Trek work is the big, epic ship-to-ship battles. It's true that what made Star Trek so appealing was its focus on philosophy and social issues, but it also helps when the franchise tosses out huge spaceships and has them shoot lasers at each other.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Dominion Wars explores that in full, chronicling the enormous conflict that was a major part of the television show's final seasons. It was the closest thing Star Trek ever had to an MCU-style Infinity War event, and translating that to a video game is an incredibly appealing concept.

Dominion Wars is still one of the best space combat sims I've ever played. The Star Trek license certainly helps, but Dominion Wars manages to outpace the strength of its IP handily. As far as space combat sims go, it's one that Star Trek fans will love, but if you enjoy the genre, it's well worth getting to run on a modern PC.

7 Star Trek: Legacy

A Worthy Celebration

If one word describes Star Trek, it's legacy. It proved to be a fitting name for the absolutely stupendous Star Trek: Legacy, which was developed to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the franchise in 2006. As far as Star Trek games go, this is one that every fan of the franchise has likely played.

That's with good reason, as Star Trek: Legacy is the kind of game that fans of any long-running IP would be happy to get. Five generations of Star Trek come together, as the game featured ships, characters and even voice actors from the entire history of the franchise. Every television show and movie was represented.

Star Trek: Legacy marked the very first, and so far the only time, that all five of Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway and Archer were represented by their on-screen counterparts in a video game. The actual game itself is also fantastic, with richly detailed ships and an almost arcade-like feeling to the combat that makes it one of the most compelling Star Trek games of all time.

6 Star Trek: Starfleet Command III

The Peak of Space Combat

A lot of Star Trek games fall into the space combat sim genre. It tends to do this style of game well, and it's one of the best ways to replicate that feeling that only Star Trek can create. Star Trek: Starfleet Command III is one of the best iterations of that style of game the franchise has ever seen.

It's fast, responsive and has so much pace to it. In terms of space combat sims within the Star Trek franchise, you can't do much better than Starfleet Command III. Commanding the TNG era of starships is always a delight, especially when you have Patrick Stewart himself lending his voice to Captain Picard once again.

Starfleet Command III is also absolutely loaded with content. With over fifty missions, random skirmishes and three distinct single-player campaigns, Starfleet Command III is a huge, densely packed game that has a ton of stuff to do.

5 Star Trek: Bridge Commander

Become the Captain

For a lot of franchises, video game adaptations are built more on recreating the feeling of living in their world, down to the fine details as an active participant, as opposed to the more broad variations. Star Trek is certainly one of those, and Bridge Commander is the kind of game that every fan of the franchise needs to play.

If you've ever been a fan of Star Trek, in any capacity, Bridge Commander is an absolute must-play. It's the ultimate dream game, with Picard and members of the TNG crew assisting you in your first assignment as the captain. Utilizing a brilliant episodic structure, Bridge Commander goes the extra mile to feel like a playable Star Trek TV series.

The first-person perspective was never more appropriate, as Bridge Commander goes out of its way to make you feel deeply entrenched in the world of Star Trek. Making command decisions, then dealing with them and engaging with the game's spectacular ship-to-ship combat is still one of the greatest gaming experiences you can have as a Star Trek fan.

4 Star Trek Generations

Passing the Torch

The passing of the torch in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations always felt largely ceremonial to me, as The Next Generation had already become the face of the franchise. One great thing that came out of Star Trek Generations, however, was a first-person shooter released three years after the film in 1997.

Star Trek Generations is a supremely entertaining mix of a first-person shooter, an adventure game and space combat sim. It's the kind of combo that feels decidedly linked to the time it came out, and I've still not played a game that can replicate its unique sensibilities.

As a Star Trek game, it's also a delight. Very few games let you sink into the world of Star Trek like this game, as it covers all the bases. You've got shooting, ship combat, slower-paced investigation scenes and ethical discussions. It's just outstanding.

3 Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force

Hey. Shoot That Guy.

Though it was not as popular as the rest of the franchise during its peak, Star Trek Voyager has seen itself gain a more positive reputation in recent years. I've been a bit of a Voyager fanatic for decades, and without it, we would not have the basis for a positively splendid Star Trek game known as Elite Force. That has to count for something.

Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force takes place during season six of the TV show, supplanting itself right in the middle of Janeway's mission to get her crew home. As a Trek game, Elite Force taps into one of the franchise's most formidable enemies in the Borg. It really captures the dark, sinister dread that they create perfectly.

There really weren't enough Star Trek games that tasked you with picking a phaser and shooting the Borg. It's such a simple concept, but one that the franchise has never done enough of. Elite Force is incredibly fun, fast-paced and has some stupendous shooting mechanics.

2 Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Final Unity

A Masterful Point-And-Click Adventure

By the mid-1990s, the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation had firmly established itself as one of the most iconic forces in film and television. Their influence had already spread into video games, as they were all over the place in nearly every Star Trek game.

Released in 1995, Star Trek: The Next Generation: A Final Unity was the TNG crew at its peak in video games. The concept of A Final Unity is incredibly tantalizing, feeling like a lost episode of the classic show. It has all the hallmarks of a great TNG episode, combining action with intrigue and socially relevant issues that still resonate today.

A Final Unity is just remarkable in every single way. As a fan of this franchise since a child, very few games have the ability to transport me into its deep, complex world the way it does. If you're a Trek fan and haven't played A Final Unity, that's something that needs to be changed immediately.

1 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen

An Underrated Classic

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, The Collective managed to establish itself as a company you could count on to create third-person action games based on popular franchises. They were an immensely talented group, and brought their expertise in the genre to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: The Fallen, which was released in 2000.

Featuring three playable characters, The Fallen lets you play as Captain Benjamin Sisko, Kira Neyes or the effortlessly charming Worf. Each character functions as an episode of the TV show, and as far as third-person action games from the 2000s go, The Fallen is a criminally overlooked gem.

It looks drop-dead gorgeous, with incredibly fun shooting systems and a sharp attention to detail about what makes Star Trek so enjoyable. The mix of action and intrigue is spot-on, and the game is also intelligent in the way its own world works. Buttons that need pressed are done so automatically, and it feels ahead of its time in the way enemies react to you. It's simple stuff, but it all works, and there's no Star Trek game that even comes close to matching the authenticity of The Fallen.