Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown has been out now for over a week, so we thought it was safe (or safe enough) to talk about some of its big deep cuts. Below, we’ll cover some what is (and isn’t) in the main game, and what you can access as part of the game’s Deluxe Edition DLC. It goes without saying that SPOILERS FOLLOW, both in terms of Across the Unknown and, really, in Star Trek: Voyager itself.

Get justice for Tuvix

Perhaps the most telegraphed “What if?” scenario you can engage in for the game, is tied into one of the most debated episodes of the franchise, “Tuvix.” Famously Janeway made the call on if Tuvix, the fusion of Neelix and Tuvok, should have been allowed to continue on. But you don’t have to follow what she did on the show, you can save Tuvix in Across the Unknown. I personally didn’t, but no judgment if that’s your jam. But, I can’t be the only person that’s secretly hoping gameXcite eventually comes through with statistics that show just how many players spared or sacrificed Tuvix, right?

Tuvix in “Tuvix,” on Voyager…

… and inside Across the Unknown.

Double your B’Elannas

In sort of the reverse of what you can do with Tuvix, you can you can double up on your chief engineer.  Let’s start with a host of actions by the Vidiians, which mirror Voyager episodes “Phage” and “Faces.” While you likely know how both those episodes play out, you can change things up within the game and flip things on their head, particularly within Across the Unknown‘s side mission, also titled “Faces.” Who needs regular ol’ B’Elanna when you can have Human and Klingon B’Elanna instead? That’s literally twice the B’Elanna on your ship!

The B’Elannas in “Faces”…

… and the B’Elannas in, well, “Faces.”

Check out the video at the bottom of the article for a guide on how to double your B’Elannas.

Recruit the formerly unrecruitable

Tuvix is certainly not the only new member you can recruit into your crew, making more calls Janeway didn’t. Across the Unknown‘s recruitable heroes also mean you’ll get a bunch of gameplay based upon classic Voyager episodes. Recruiting Seven of Nine onto your crew means you’ll play through the likes of “Scorpion” and “The Raven,” while Icheb and Marla Gilmore will require recounting or reshaping “Child’s Play” and “Equinox,” respectively. You can even convince Arturis, as played by Twin Peaks‘ Ray Wise so perfectly in “Hope and Fear,” to set aside his quest for revenge and to join the crew of Voyager instead. Don’t you just love happy endings?

Arturis trying to convince Janeway to swap over to the Dauntless in “Hope and Fear.”

Trying to talk Arturis into joining your crew in Across the Unknown.

Want the traitorous Seska to join your crew (in place of Chakotay, perhaps?)? You can do that too! While I won’t get into every single recruitable character available in-game, but if you’re super-duper interested, my own site, Stevivor, has a full list of mission names and who you can recruit here. Only look if you don’t mind being spoiled!

Find more cool ships

“Equinox” also provides some very good looks at the Nova-class U.S.S. Equinox, which is but one of a couple in-game ‘Starfleet’ designs — we’ve already seen Deep Space Nine as part of the game’s demo, while the U.S.S. Dauntless is also showcased (alongside Arturis) in the “Tomorrow’s Yesterday” side mission that recounts Voyager‘s “Hope and Fear.” Yes, I do realize that neither of those space-faring bodies is technically made by Starfleet, but you get what I mean.

Another absolutely non-Starfleet ship that features in Across the Unknown is the Klingon Negh’Var warship — you’ll certainly be treated to a lovely painting of the ship, and depending on your actions may or may not see its actual in-game model — disobey Admiral Janeway’s warnings, and you’ll be in for a fight.

The Negh’Var warship, as seen on Deep Space Nine…

… and 1 of 2 times you could see it in Across the Unknown.

Unlock the Aeroshuttle

And while developer gameXcite has drawn specific attention to this – Voyager’s Aeroshuttle is seen and used in-game, but in very small fashion; the craft is used for trade, but isn’t really highlighted otherwise. Sadface. Nevertheless, you can zoom right in on the Aeroshuttle Bay and see the craft in all its glory. Trade away!

The aeroshuttle, as (kinda) seen on the underside of Voyager.

Across the Unknown’s Aeroshuttle Bay, which is used for trade.

Find (or lose) The Doctor’s emitter

Just like you can recruit and lose crew members if you’re not careful, you too can obtain and lose The Doctor’s mobile emitter. If you do so, he remains on the ship and helps out in sickbay, but you’ll lose the chance to take our favorite hologram on away missions. It’s a nice touch and nod to the show and how it operates.

And just so we’re clear, you’ll need to research the mobile emitter under Science Tier 1 to then be able to send The Doctor out on away missions. He’s as susceptible to harm as your other crew members, so be careful!

The Doctor’s trusty mobile emitter in Voyager.

It doesn’t look like he’s wearing it, but he must be! The Doctor prepares himself for an away mission in Across the Unknown.

 

Recruit Kashyk (DLC only)

The “Deluxe Edition” DLC (“downloadable content”) adds extra bits and bobs to the game (for a price), with five new missions, two new recruitable heroes, and three new technologies. Just like the main game, these DLC missions generally reference the specific Star Trek: Voyager episode they’re based upon. So with that, Kashyk is recruitable obtainable within the “Counterpoint” side mission, and Danara Pel features as part of “Medical Ethics” — that mission isn’t named after an episode, but given the content of Danara Pel’s episode, “Lifesigns,” it certainly fits.

Didn’t buy the Deluxe Edition of the game? You can buy the Deluxe Edition DLC instead… (gameXcite, Daedalic)

And these actions are just seven of our favorite cuts from the game. There are plenty more, and the “what if?” design of the game allows for replayability so you can make different choices your second (or third) time home from the Delta Quadrant.

Stuff that didn’t make the cut

While Across the Unknown is truly a love letter to Star Trek: Voyager, there are also a bunch of surprising plot points that go completely ignored within the game. Chief among them, and maybe at the cost of the aforementioned Aeroshuttle, is the utter lack of the Delta Flyer.

While it wasn’t the Delta Flyer that used when Janeway and Paris broke the warp 10 barrier, that particular event doesn’t feature within Across the Universe either. That’s right — there are no salamanders to be seen here, though the episode is referenced within a couple of the game’s endings, are are the cool racer uniforms seen in “Drive.”

This is the closest we get to anything that happened within “Drive.”

While this is acknowledged, you don’t get to play through the events of “Threshold.”

Old or young, Miral Paris simply doesn’t exist in Across the Unknown. At least, not yet…

Speaking of endings, Across the Unknown does its best to recap seven years of TV within 20-25 hours of gameplay, but needs to make some strategic cuts to keep things moving. Sadly, Tom and B’Elanna’s marriage is at the top of the list of cuts, as is their daughter Miral. None of that exists in-game, nor within its endings. And, unless you manage to kill them off as part of regular gameplay, you don’t have an option to drop Neelix or Kes off within the Delta Quadrant before you head back to Earth. Kes sticking around that long also means that events witnessed in “The Gift” play out drastically different than what you remember, and the likes of “Fury” doesn’t happen at all. Considering how Voyager treated Kes in her final appearance, I’m very okay with that.

Like any scenario that currently presents itself in-game, this list of episodes that didn’t make the cut could potentially change — while developer gameXcite did tell TrekMovie that it is focused on this core experience (plus the Deluxe Edition DLC), its CEO Patrick Streppel also said that the studio would, in fact, “love to do more in the Trek universe.” If players support this game through their wallets, maybe we’ll get more DLC or a new game altogether. One can only hope!

Bonus video: how to get 2 B’Elannas

While it’s easy enough keeping B’Elanna as she is, you may end up on a ship with B’Elanna and her Klingon ‘sister.’ You need to play the side mission just right — and have finished the “Phage” side mission first — to then walk away with both Human and Klingon B’Elanna at the same time, though. A video I’ve made, below, shows how it’s done.

Across the Unknown available now

Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown is available now on Windows PC via Steam, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, and Switch 2.

Across the Unknown‘s Deluxe Edition DLC comes bundled with the Deluxe Edition of the game (naturally), which equates to an extra $10 — $49.99 rather than $39.99 — on the likes of the Microsoft Store and the PlayStation Store. You can buy the DLC separately from the main game as well, but it’s a bit more expensive that way at $12.99. The Deluxe edition adds:

New missions: Medical Ethics (Sector 4), Infinite Regress (Sector 8), Counterpoint (Sector 9), Friendship One (Sector 11), and Good Shepherd (Sector 11)
New heroes: Danara Pel, Inspector Kashyk
New technologies: Vinculum-Anti-Viral Agent, Friendship One Remnant, Subspace-Reactive Particles

 

Steve Wright is a longtime Trek fan, an experienced Australian-based games journalist and the editor-in-chief of Stevivor.com, the country’s leading independent video games site.

Check out all of our Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown coverage here.