The Invincible is a first-person adventure game released for major consoles and PCs on November 6th, 2023. However, the story’s been around for a little while: it’s based on a novel of the same name written by Stanislaw Lem. In fact, critics consider Lem’s novel one of the most important science fiction stories ever written. Its legacy spans science, fiction, and far more.
Technically, most classify the novel’s genre as hard science fiction. This translates to the game itself. The Invincible doesn’t rely on combat or horror to get the audience’s attention. Instead, it digs into horror through sheer empathy and immersion. Going into the unknown in an unfamiliar world leads to feeling rather helpless, which can be horrific.
Let’s get on our space suits and jump right in. Spoilers ahead for both the game and the book, so consider yourselves warned!
The Invincible: The Final Frontier
[Image via Starward Industries]
Before powering up the game, let’s flip open the book. The Invincible was published in 1964, during the time when the Space Race and Cold War were raging. The idea of man venturing off into space and discovering unknown planets became the stuff of potential, not just daydreams.
A powerful warship called the Invincible travels to the unknown planet of Regis III. They find a distress call from a long-missing ship called the Condor. When the Invincible arrives on the planet, there are signs that life once inhabited the place, yet no sign of any present creatures exists. That’s when the crew of the Invincible discovers a new form of life on the planet.
Regis III’s microbots act as one hive mind. Microbotic evolution, or “necroevolution,” affected the wildlife, vegetation, and the former inhabitants of the planet. By human understandings of life, Regis III is a dead planet.
However, the robots and machines that the crew of the Condor have relied upon? These microbots have taken them over.
The Invincible asks the heavy question of whether machine can ever replace man. As life evolves from non-living beings, what if humans, in the end, are just a small part of the universe?
Taking The Invincible From Book To Game
[Image via Starward Industries]
Considering the source material, making a game based on The Invincible could have easily involved just lifting the plot exactly. Yet, that’s not the case with this game. The game starts as a prequel and then becomes a tie-in to the events of the novel itself. A very unique direction to take for sure!
You play as Yasna, an astrobiologist who woke up on Regis III with a hint of amnesia. She finds herself separated from her crew when they decide to explore the planet. However, Yasna quickly discovers that the planet may not be as dead as it seems. Now she has to explore the truth as to what happened and what caused all of this before the Invincible shows up.
While the whole “amnesiac protagonist” twist has been done to death in games, it works out well here. You are helpless on this planet and not equipped for what lies ahead. Frightened and alone, anything could happen and you are not prepared to take on anything that comes at you.
A Scientific Hike
[Image via Starward Industries]
If you were expecting this game to be a retro-punk version of Doom, we have bad news for you. The Invincible isn’t a first-person action game with gunfights lurking at every corner. Instead, it’s a walking simulator with some puzzle-solving elements. Essentially, it takes the opposite direction of Doom.
Yasna is not a space marine. She’s a scientist. The tools she carries reflect this. These even show she’s better with a clipboard than a shotgun. You’ll flip through your notebook to look at the map most of the time. There’s also a tracker for finding certain people or items throughout your journey. An X-ray device lets you scan below surfaces to uncover hidden items and pathways.
There are few moments where you will be given dialogue options as you talk to certain characters and even make hard choices that will affect the story’s outcome. A few puzzles have been put in here and there, but honestly it seems like they were put there to pad out the game.
Breathtaking Visuals In The Invincible
[Image via Starward Industries]
One of the first things you’ll notice in this game is that everything looks incredible. It’s half the price of a triple-A game, yet visually it’s on par with them.
The common thing all walking simulators have is that they make the environments well-detailed or artistically eye-catching for the players. The Invincible is no exception to this rule
Regis III looks like a barren desert at first glance, but the sky box and retro future-punk theme it goes for really add intrigue. You already feel out of your element without much to go off of, and when you do a little walking around, you notice just what the planet is hiding.
The game runs on the Unreal Engine 4 so it does require a decent PC. Still, even on medium settings, you won’t experience any crashes or dips in framerate. It is recommended, however, that you use a solid-state drive to keep things running smoothly if you don’t want your hard drive tanking.
The Horrors of Machines
[Image via Starward Industries]
What makes The Invincible series such an interesting story is that it explores the idea of machines having the ability to evolve, despite not containing any living matter. This concept gave birth to the term necroevolution, which sounds as scary as it seems.
While The Invincible isn’t a horror series exactly, horror elements definitely exist. The atmosphere is ominous. A threatening presence lurks around you. Yasna is completely defenseless against whatever is out there, be they rogue robots or a swarm of microbots. During some missions, Yasna endures flashbacks as her amnesia slowly starts to improve and she starts to remember certain key moments before she was separated from her crew.
As for the robots themselves, it’s clear that something is controlling them, and it’s not you. Yet as mentioned before, you are not a fighter. To survive, your wits are your best weapon.
The Invincible Is Not For Everyone
[Image via Starward Industries]
The Invincible is a hard sci-fi game, but not in the way you think. A lot of what’s going on in the story takes time to digest and even understand at first. The story throws in a lot of terms that could go over the heads of many, unless you are a scientist or have some understanding of astrology, biology, or space. Hence, players could feel lost.
Additionally, this game is mainly a walking simulator. There aren’t many action or moments that feel like you need to be quick on your feet. There are a couple of chase sequences and you do get to drive a moon rover now and then. A majority of the time, though, you will be walking.
Despite the sense of dread with the robots that you will encounter, it’s hard to get killed. There’s not even as much shooting going on. You only get to fire a gun one time, and it’s not even as epic or as long as you would expect. The game doesn’t try to be an action shooter.
The icing on this cake is that this isn’t a game that follows the book verbatim. It’s more like a prequel that ends as a tie-in for the book. If you were hoping to know the book without reading it, you’ll be disappointed.
Yet, the choices you make do give some incentive to replay. Every choice unlocks a comic panel with admittedly amazing comic art. On the flip side, if it’s giving you a comic of what your character is doing and saying, you may as well read a comic instead of playing the game.
Worth It
[Image via Starward Industries]
The Invincible is one of the most unique games that has come out in 2023. It is a very interesting tale about humanity and how life can evolve from something that had no life to begin with.
It may not be as action-packed as Cyberpunk 2077 or Doom Eternal, but it does have something to offer. It’s a game that not only makes you think but can also be relaxing at times. This could very well be the closest you can get to having a spacewalk on an alien planet and seeing some rather bizarre moments. At the end of the day, we all imagine what life would be like in space, and The Invincible truly is a game for those curious about the stars above.
The game is available on Steam and major consoles should you decide to try it. It’s half the price of a triple-A title and about as long too.
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