Ubisoft's VR Star Trek game is getting a Next Generation themed expansion

Ubisoft has announced that Star Trek: Bridge Crew, its (primarily) virtual reality recreation of the classic sci-fi television show, will be getting a Next Generation themed expansion for PlayStation 4 and PC later this year.

Star Trek: Bridge Crew - The Next Generation, to give the expansion its full and thoroughly unsurprising name, will be available for PSVR, Vive, and Oculus Rift - and, as of December last year, will also work without VR if you don't have the appropriate kit.

When the expansion arrives, crews will be granted a new bridge option for their adventures; alongside the existing bridges of the USS Aegis NX-1787 and classic series USS Enterprise NCC-1701, players will be able to work together on the bridge of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D, as seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

When manning the USS Enterprise NCC 1701-D, the new Operations command role will replace the existing Engineer position, with other crew members able to play as Captain, Helm, and Tactical. Operations is focussed on crew management, and Ubisoft explains that "Those in the role will need to plan ahead and assign the correct NPC teams to each location on the ship, as each position is crucial to the success of the varied missions and to the safety of the crew."

Alongside the new role and bridge, The Next Generation expansion promises to enrich the game's existing procedurally generated Ongoing Voyages mode, designed for both solo and co-op play, by introducing new Patrol and Encounter missions types (and Romulans!).

Patrol mode lets players free roam around space, working toward different objectives and battling in random encounters, while Resistance Mode pits crews against classic Star Trek villain the Borg. Writing on the official PlayStation Blog, designer Hunter Janes explains, "We wanted to create something that did justice to the Borg by conveying the sense of cosmic, existential dread [they bring]. In short, I wanted to scare people."

Resistance mode was, says Janes, "heavily inspired by classic rogue and roguelike games, which I think do a great job of driving tension." The end result sounds a little like FTL, with crews forced to hop from solar system to solar system, completing challenges in order to retrieve scattered anti-Borg prototypes. All the while, a Borg Cube is on their tail, drawing closer.

Each prototype "will provide you with a new tool for fighting the Borg," explains Janes, "but each time you face the Cube, it's adapted to your tactics and becomes ever more powerful."


Star Trek: Bridge Crew - The Next Generation will cost £11.99 when it launches for PlayStation 4 on May 22nd and PC on July 21st.