7 Best Star Trek Games That Use a First-Person Perspective

Thanks to its debut over sixty years ago, the Star Trek franchise was there at the earliest stages of video games. It was around when the concept of a video game based on a popular IP was first starting to become a reality, and it has been a steady force in the industry for decades.

Perhaps more than any other franchise, the main concern of Star Trek video games has consistently been to create scenarios where you feel like you are a part of the action. Emulating the feeling that the shows and films have created has seemed to always be the number one priority with Star Trek games.

Indeed, some of the best Star Trek games are rooted in one of the industry's most immersive perspectives. First-person Star Trek games are unfortunately quite rare, and the genuinely good ones are even harder to come by. If you're ready to beam up, however, let's take a look at the best first-person Star Trek games of all time.

7 Star Trek: Bridge Crew

A Star Trek Fan's Dream Come True

Although the JJ Abrams-led Star Trek reboot film series wasn't quite for everyone, myself included, it did lead to the production of one of the most incredible games in the franchise's history. Everyone who considers themselves a Star Trek fan has dreamed of being on the bridge of a starship.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew lets you do just that, as this spectacular VR experience puts you and three of your friends into roles that we've all pretended to play when we were kids. Bridge Crew lets you be the Captain, a tactical officer, an engineer or a pilot.

I spent an insane amount of time with Bridge Crew back in the day, mainly because of how incredibly immersive and realistic the game makes everything feel. I've played quite a few VR games, but Bridge Crew is one that I'd love to see given some new life with the mainline canon back in place and new technology.

6 Star Trek: The Next Generation - Klingon Honor Guard

This Game Has Honor

There's no species in Star Trek that feels more deserving of a first-person shooter than the Klingons. Though their violent, unhinged nature often hides the honorable people that they genuinely are, the prospect of playing a Klingon in a fast-paced, frenetic FPS was a pretty easy sell back in 1998.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Klingon Honor Guard isn't just a game competing to see who can have the most words in its title. It's also an absolute gem in the 1990s first-person shooter space, and unfortunately came out a month before as Half-Life. It sadly got lost in the shuffle of 1998, which was a pretty stacked year for first-person shooters.

Klingon Honor Guard is just as good as any FPS from the decade, and taps into a part of the Star Trek franchise that is rather unexplored in video games. The Klingons are a fantastic fit for video games, and this is one of the only games to put them in the lead role. The shooting feels outstanding, and it's one that's well worth tracking down today.

5 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Harbinger

To Boldly Point and Click

Star Trek's commitment to discussions about humanity, religion and other social issues has been present since its inception in the 1960s. I don't believe any show fully adhered to that foundation as well as Deep Space Nine, which was the inspiration for some pretty excellent video games.

One of the best of which is Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Harbinger, which continues the tradition of having unusually long titles, but being pretty fantastic fun. Harbinger is a traditional point-and-click adventure game, taking place from the first-person perspective during the show's third season.

Much like the best Star Trek games, Harbinger's main goal is to make you feel like you are a part of the show in the most personal of ways. The smallest of touches, including music from the show and the voices of the program's cast, work together brilliantly with the game's impressive backgrounds. It feels like a lost episode of the iconic TV show.

4 Star Trek: Bridge Commander

Immerse Yourself in the World of Star Trek

If you grew up during Star Trek's peak in the 1990s, it's quite likely that you fell in love with the crew of The Next Generation. Led by Patrick Stewart's remarkable performance as Captain Picard, it was the foundation for Star Trek's dominant run in the late 80s and 90s.

As a result, Picard handing over the reigns of a new starship to you in Star Trek: Bridge Commander feels all the more special. That's really just the beginning, however, as Bridge Commander puts you right in the middle of the action during an adventure that feels quintessentially Star Trek.

The atmosphere and direction of Bridge Commander is second-to-none. It uses an episodic format, as well, making every second feel like a lost episode of a Star Trek spin-off show. Sitting in the chair and commanding the crew is just such a unique feeling, and if you even have a passing interest in Star Trek, it's going to stir some pretty amazing feelings.

3 Star Trek: Generations

Make it So

In an effort to pass the torch from Kirk to the new guard that was being led by Picard, the film Star Trek Generations saw the two captains come together in a time-traveling adventure about loss and grief. What a lot of people don't seem to know was that the film had a stupendous video game tie-in.

Star Trek Generations is a compelling mix of a first-person shooter, an adventure game and a space combat sim. Before each mission, you control Picard and Data as they uncover clues about the game's main conflict between the Enterprise and an obsessed scientist named Soran.

It is such a unique experience, and one that I haven't quite played in any other first-person game. As you wander through each level, it feels like you're playing a 90s-era adventure game that has the spirit of a shooter. The inventory is displayed in real-time, and interacting with NPCs and solving puzzles feels so smooth as a result.

2 Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force II

A Stellar Sequel

Despite the somewhat disappointing sales numbers of the first Elite Force, Activision pushed ahead on a sequel. It's a good thing they did, because while Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force II wasn't able to become a better game than its predecessor, it's still one of the most enjoyable shooters to come out in the 2000s.

The pace of the game is genuinely thrilling. It is a non-stop roller coaster, and feels like it could co-exist alongside the big-budget blockbuster Star Trek films of the time. Everything unfolds at a breakneck pace, while also managing not to burn itself out.

Elite Force II's single-player campaign takes place after the end of the 2002 film Star Trek: Nemesis, and you could sense that the team was looking for ways to expand the scope beyond its Voyager origins. It was a good idea, as the Star Trek franchise is still missing a genuine, ongoing FPS spin-off.

1 Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force

Resistance is Futile

Star Trek: Voyager was a show built around the themes of isolation and loneliness. The ship's continuous quest to return home saw them confront a host of new and familiar aliens, many of which form the basis of Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force. Developed by Raven Software, Elite Force is a timeless masterpiece that every Star Trek fan has probably played at some point.

If you haven't, I simply can't recommend Elite Force enough. You don't even have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy it, as it does enough to appeal to fans of the show and people who just want to shoot stuff with a laser gun. Hard to find people who have no interest in that, honestly.

Elite Force just feels incredible, too. The combination of the excellent sound design with the way the guns feel when you shoot them is perfection. When a shooter has this level of weight to its combat, it usually results in something pretty special. And special is exactly the word I'd use to describe Elite Force.