Discovery comes at a terrible cost here
In the long tradition of beloved fictional universes stretching into new creative territory, Star Trek is venturing somewhere it has rarely gone before — into psychological horror. Michelle Forbes, whose portrayal of the conflicted Bajoran officer Ro Laren left a mark on The Next Generation, will reprise that role in Shadow Frontier, a survival horror game developed by Bloober Team and set for release in 2027. The announcement signals not merely a new game, but a deliberate philosophical wager: that the franchise's spirit of exploration can survive — and perhaps deepen — when stripped of its optimism and plunged into darkness.
- Star Trek is abandoning its familiar heroic gameplay formula entirely, handing the franchise to a studio whose reputation was built on dread, disorientation, and psychological collapse.
- Ro Laren crashes onto a planet littered with the wreckage of starships, where reality itself begins to fracture around her — memory distorts, perception warps, and sanity becomes the resource she must conserve.
- Bloober Team is threading a needle between franchise loyalty and genre disruption, keeping Starfleet tricorders and phasers in hand while dismantling the sense of safety those tools normally provide.
- Paramount Games has openly tied the future of big-budget Star Trek gaming to this single title — Shadow Frontier is simultaneously a creative experiment and a commercial audition for an entire slate of triple-A releases.
- The game is landing in 2027 across all major platforms, carrying the weight of fan expectation, franchise ambition, and the unresolved question of whether horror and Star Trek's exploratory soul can genuinely coexist.
Michelle Forbes is returning to Star Trek, but not through any door fans would recognize. The actor who played Ro Laren on The Next Generation is reprising the role in Star Trek: Shadow Frontier, a psychological horror game announced at Summer Game Fest and scheduled for 2027 on PC and all major consoles. The developer is Bloober Team — the studio behind Layers of Fear, The Medium, and a Blair Witch survival game — working under Paramount's newly formed Games division.
The premise places Ro Laren on an uncharted planet that functions as a graveyard of starships. Something on the surface warps perception and distorts memory, pulling her deeper into what the developers describe as a corrupted labyrinth. Players carry standard Starfleet equipment, but the experience itself is built around survival and psychological tension rather than the franchise's traditional sense of triumphant exploration. Piecing together what destroyed so many ships — and confronting Ro's own fractured past — becomes the only way forward.
The game's visual language points to the Enterprise-D era, though no official timeline has been confirmed. Forbes most recently appeared in Star Trek: Picard's third season in 2023, making this return a deliberate step backward in the character's history and a significant departure in tone.
Paramount used the announcement to signal broader ambitions. If Shadow Frontier finds its audience, the studio's leadership has indicated that more triple-A Star Trek games will follow. The project is, in that sense, both a creative experiment and a commercial threshold — a test of whether the franchise can hold its identity while walking into genuine darkness.
Michelle Forbes is going back to the Enterprise-D, but not in the way Star Trek fans might expect. The actor who played Ro Laren on The Next Generation is returning to the role for Star Trek: Shadow Frontier, a psychological horror game announced this week at Summer Game Fest. The title, developed by Bloober Team and published through Paramount's newly formed Games division, arrives in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
This is not the Star Trek game audiences have played before. Bloober Team has built its reputation on horror—the studio created the Layers of Fear franchise, developed The Medium, and previously made a Blair Witch survival game. Now they're bringing that sensibility to the Trek universe. Shawn Kittelsen, who leads Paramount Games, described Shadow Frontier as a "psychological thriller" aimed at players seeking genuine survival adventure and fans willing to explore Ro Laren's character in unfamiliar territory. The game equips players with standard Starfleet gear—phasers, tricorders—but the experience itself breaks from the franchise's established gameplay formula.
Ro Laren crashes onto an uncharted world that functions as a graveyard of starships. The planet itself becomes the mystery: wreckage litters the surface, and something strange pervades the environment. Michał Gembicki, from Bloober Team, explained that players must piece together what happened there and why so much destruction exists. According to the game's official description, the planet is "as breathtaking as it is lethal." As Ro investigates, the world warps her perception. Her memories distort. Reality fractures. The deeper she digs into the planet's secrets, the more it pulls her into what the developers call a "corrupted labyrinth." Solving its mysteries becomes the only path to confronting her own past and maintaining her grip on sanity.
The game's visual language suggests a setting during the Enterprise-D era, based on the Starfleet combadge visible in the announcement trailer, though Paramount and Bloober Team have not officially confirmed the timeline. Forbes last appeared in the Star Trek universe during the third season of Picard in 2023, which took place in the early 25th century. Her return here marks a significant casting choice for a project that deliberately positions itself outside traditional Star Trek storytelling.
Paramount Games used the announcement to signal larger ambitions. Kittelsen told IGN that if audiences embrace Shadow Frontier, more triple-A Star Trek games will follow. "If you've been waiting for a triple-A Star Trek game, congratulations you're getting one," he said. "And hopefully this is the first of many." The statement suggests that Paramount sees gaming as a growth area for the franchise, and that Shadow Frontier's commercial performance will determine whether the company invests further in big-budget Trek titles. For now, the game stands as a calculated bet: that horror and psychological tension can coexist with Star Trek's exploratory DNA, and that audiences will follow a familiar character into genuinely unfamiliar darkness.
Notable Quotes
If you've been waiting for a triple-A Star Trek game, congratulations you're getting one. And hopefully this is the first of many.— Shawn Kittelsen, Paramount Games
Discovery comes at a terrible cost. The more she uncovers, the deeper she is pulled into a corrupted labyrinth where her memories twist.— Star Trek: Shadow Frontier official description
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why would Star Trek, a franchise built on optimism and exploration, suddenly pivot to horror?
Because Ro Laren's character was always defined by conflict—she was a Bajoran spy embedded in Starfleet, caught between duty and survival. Horror is just the logical extension of that tension. The game isn't abandoning Star Trek's DNA; it's asking what happens when exploration becomes genuinely dangerous.
Is this a risk for the franchise?
It depends on execution. Bloober Team knows horror intimately. But Star Trek fans have specific expectations. The question is whether enough people want to see Ro Laren suffer in a corrupted landscape rather than command a starship.
Why bring back Michelle Forbes specifically?
She's the anchor. Ro Laren was a complex character—not a hero, not a villain. Forbes can carry that moral ambiguity into a survival scenario. It also signals to longtime fans that this isn't a cash grab; it's a genuine story about a character they know.
What does "her memories twist" actually mean in gameplay terms?
That's the real question nobody's answered yet. It could mean the environment shifts based on her psychological state, or that players experience unreliable narration. It could mean the game itself becomes unstable as you progress. That's where the horror lives—not in jump scares, but in losing certainty.
If this succeeds, what comes next?
More character-driven horror games set in the Trek universe. Maybe a Voyager survival story. Maybe something with the Borg. The franchise has always had darker corners; this just makes them the main attraction.