Ratings and Reviews by AndrewStephens

A few years ago I set out to write the most Star Trekky Star Trek game that ever Treked to a Star. I thought I had succeeded and then along comes New Captain, which blows my game out of the water in terms of how much like an episode of TNG it is.

As a Trek fan, I enjoyed this game immensely. There is just something so satisfying about sitting in the captains chair, calling for status updates, and giving orders.

Instead of raising shields and exploring unknown space, New Captain focuses on the other side of Trek - complicated diplomatic missions, treaty signings, and observing rare stellar phenomena. Naturally there are complications to sort out and interdepartmental meetings to be had.

This could have been dull but the excellent presentation and good use of the Star Trek setting made the game a joy to play. Just wandering around the ship was fun and the way the game moves the clock (and plot) forward makes a lot of sense.

New Captain gives you a lot of freedom to move around, read reports, and talk to people. Perhaps a little too much freedom, to complete the missions successfully you have to be diligent to click on everything and talk to everyone. I've played three times and still haven't found the last(?) secret. But concluding the main plot is fairly simple if you don't care about points.

My major issue with New Captain is that it feels like the first act of a much larger game. I felt I was just getting the hang of being a captain as the game came to an end.

GOOD:
Excellent atmosphere
Great interface with an excellent sense of freedom of choice

LESS GOOD:
Be prepared for a lot of clicking and reading if you want to complete the mission with all the points.
It is very like any number of episodes of TNG, but not one of the more exciting ones.

SUMMARY:
Like stepping aboard the Enterprise for twenty minutes. You can just about hear the doors hsss as you move between locations. It sparks joy.

This is definitely my cup of tea - a scifi murder mystery where you are the ship's computer trying to figure out who killed the captain. I really like the work that has gone into the premise and writing of this game, and the mechanics are really clever. Learning the backstories of the characters and piecing together their motivations is an intensely satisfying way to experience a story.

I thought the time limit would be irritating but it did really ramp up the tension in quite an interesting way.

I felt that A Death in Hyperspace is trying something a bit different and mostly succeeding. I recommend giving it a play.

There are some negative points but they are slightly spoilerish, if you have any interest in this kind of thing just play the game before reading on - it is short and enjoyable.

(Spoiler - click to show)With so much effort put into creating the world and the fascinating characters, I was disappointed that the actual murderer is random. Normally I am all for replayability but for a murder mystery I like a definitive answer and learning that it changes every playthrough cheapens it a little bit in my opinion. There is never that "a-ha!" moment where the subtle clue clicks into place and the solution revealed.

This is a slight but fun choice-based game that heavily leans into its 80s Doctor Who aesthetic. Its strengths are the excellent graphics and the way the plot (such as it is) unfolds pretty much like a standard DW story - the daleks are up to sometime and it is up the you, The Doctor, to thwart their plans!

There is nothing wrong with a slight story but I feel that behind the slick interface and shiny graphics there is very little substance here. There is only one real puzzle, most of the runtime is taken up with talking to a few characters to unlock the next scene in a very linear fashion. Again, there is nothing wrong with this but the game has a certain lack of ambition that I found frustrating.

It is a shame, because there is a lack of Doctor Who related Int Fiction and Doctor Who and the Dalek Super-Brain is fun enough on the initial play through for fans of the show. I am not sure it stands alone for people unfamiliar with the premise.

Speaking as a fan, I do have to take issue with the cheesecake images of the companion. Classic Doctor Who was not exactly the most progressive show in its depiction of woman but it never stooped to busty babes bursting out of figure-hugging jump suits (well, maybe a couple of times, and also Peri, but apart from that almost never...) It makes the game feel a little juvenile.

I don't want to dissuade anyone from playing this game - despite my issues there is fun to be had and some nice scifi nonsense to enjoy.

A one joke game, but it's a pretty good joke. Is it a commentary on obvious clichés? A clever meta game? A troll? None of these or all three? It is beyond this reviewer's ability to discern the intent but I did enjoy the few minutes it took to solve.