14 DAY TRIAL // The Invincible is an upcoming adventure game based on the sci-fi novel with the same name written by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. It tells the story of an interstellar spacecraft that lands on a planet called Regis III in search for the crew of its sister ship, Condor.
Although the game won’t be coming out until at least next year, I had the chance to play a very short demo that only scratches the surface of the mystery that awaits on the planet. The videogame puts you in the shoes of Yasna, a scientist who took it upon herself to find her missing colleagues.
With the help of so-called “atompunk tools,” Yasna must keep herself safe while exploring Regis III searching for Condor’s crew. During my 30-minutes gameplay session, I was faced with some decision-making that presumably affect some of the outcomes of future encounters or how the story unfolds, but I didn’t get that far.
Since I didn’t start from the beginning of the game, I know nothing about the dynamic between the characters, but Yasna is not alone throughout her journey. She communicates with her boss through an atompunk walkie talkie most of the time, which makes the game livelier.
Gameplay-wise, The Invincible plays more like an adventure horror rather than a point & click adventure game. The portion I played didn’t have any puzzles, but I did get a glimpse of some of the tools you’re going to use throughout the game. They all look like coming from a steampunk era, offering futuristic features in a bulky, retro form factor.
The same goes for all the vehicles and robots that I’ve seen in the game. It’s like reading a Jules Verne book in the 2000s, everything feels retro and sci-fi at the same time. It’s how the folks at Starward Industries plan to bring Stanislaw Lem’s novel, which was published in 1964, to the videogame scene and I’m all for it.
I’m digging the visual style too, although the movement of the protagonist feel rather awkward. The Invincible is a first-person game, so you’re seeing everything from Yasna’s eyes. My guess is that developers want to recreate the planet’s surface pressure, so Yasna’s steps feel heavy and every move of the body a “chore.” Not to mention that Yasna’s bulky astronaut suit feels like it hinders movement a little bit too.
Beyond that, there’s little else I can share about The Invincible without spoiling it. I did not read the book, so the plot did seem compelling, although just when the plot becomes more interesting, the demo ends abruptly.
Conclusion
Since I did not read the book, I can’t tell if The Invincible tells the same story exactly as written by Stanislaw Lem, but even if I would’ve read it, I wouldn’t be able to confirm this because I played too little of it. Truth be told, I don’t think that matters at all as long as we get a good story out of it.
For those wondering, the closest thing to The Invincible that I played is SOMA, so if you like adventure horror games with good stories, add this to your Steam wishlist. The Invincible is scheduled for release on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S sometime in 2023, and I can't wait to play it.
Preview code provided by the publisher.
