The Invincible by Starward Industries/11 Bit Studios (2023)
An original adaptation of Stanisław Lem‘s 1964 novel
The Invincible is a linear, sci-fi narrative-driven videogame where you play as an astrobiologist stranded on a mysterious planet called Regis III. Your objective is to find your crew, scattered on the planet surface and get back to space.
This game is an original adaptation (not 1:1) of Stanisław Lem‘s 1964 novel The Invincible.
Beautiful game design
The gameplay involves exploring different biomes searching for means to escaping the planet. You can enjoy it at your own pace: there are no time limits, no traditional combat, no chance to screw everything up or die. Think of this game as an interactive story or, as same like to call it, a walking sim. A non-gamer can play this.
The world design is impressive.
There is a powerful combination of factors making this gaming experience immersive:
The world is vast, bare but (as you can see from the screenshot) there are superb textures and environmental VFX.
There is no traditional HUD. You only see the microphone in front of your helmet and the occasional key prompt to make a dialogue choice or activate a tool.
Human technology resembles 1950s retro-futuristic esthetics, and the soundtrack perfectly matches and amplify that vibe.
The story & Gameplay
You wake up on the planet’s surface; your memory lapses and your crew is missing. You are not off to a great start, and things don’t get better! The more you explore and the more you are alone. There is something or someone that doesn’t want you to be here. This unknown threat lingering in the air, hiding unseen, keeps the tension high. It’s a slow build that you hope will lead to a climactic conclusion.
I haven’t talked yet about the key (best?) element of the game: the dialogues.
In the vastness of Regis III you are alone, but that’s not entirely true: orbiting the planet is your spaceship carrying a team member, an astrogator. There is a constant radio link between you two, which serves to encourage and challenge you to continue the exploration, complete tasks and solving the planet’s mystery.
I would like to stress that this game is extremely linear. You are on rails the whole time. Yes, there branching narrative based on player choices that lead to different outcomes, but the world exploration aspect is identical.
It’s not an open world game. You enter an area, search for clues, find clues, lots of dialogue (with occasional choices to make) and then you move on.
My conclusion
I enjoyed my first playthrough, but not enough to restart and make different choices. I feel like I already had the full experience. The game esthetic, soundtrack, dialogues and storytelling were top notch and original. I feel like an alternative ending won’t add much to the experience (now that I know what planet’s mystery is).
How can I claim this is a good game if I only wish to play it once? Because I had fun. Playing this game was a blast and made me curious to read the book. I would rather continue with that than play again for unlocking trophies.
For me, this is the true good ending.