The Invincible: a fascinating narrative experience based on the novel by S.Lem

Based on the science fiction novel “The Invincible” (Niezwyciężony in the original language) published by Polish author Stanisław Lem in 1964, the game puts us in the shoes of Yasna, a young astronaut and biologist who wakes up on the planet Regis III with recent amnesia. 

Our guide Novik, commander of the Dragonfly, the spaceship on which we traveled with our companions, will help us understand the situation. Our mission’s goal is clear from the start: to locate and retrieve the crew members who have vanished on this enigmatic planet.

As in Firewatch, choices are important

The Invincible’s gameplay experience is entirely built around the relationship between Yasna and Commander Novik. As we explore the planet, we will be in continuous radio contact with him and we will have to make choices that will affect subsequent events, leading us to different endings (some really negative, some positive).

Our actions will also have an impact on events, for example, if we are at a crossroads we will have to decide whether to go left or right, or sometimes there will be optional areas that we can decide to explore, maybe against the orders our commander gave us. If we want, we can also read a summary of the story in the form of a comic book.

Despite all these choices, The Invincible is still a guided experience as it is still based on a literary work with a well-defined plot. The story can be completed in about 7-8 hours, but the actual duration depends on your choices and on how much you want to explore. The replayability is therefore quite high if you want to see the other endings as well.

The Invincible brings a space adventure with little interactivity

The game is characterized by a strong narrative component, which also defines it as a walking simulator, leading to limited gameplay space. As we walk through the desolate planet Regis III, opening the map from time to time to understand where we are, we will have nothing to do but talk to our commander and read letters or documents found around.

There are also few interactions with different objects that only take a couple of clicks, while at certain points we can use some technological gadgets (a scanner, a telescope, a position detector and little else). Later on, the map becomes progressively bigger and we can also drive a Rover, which allows us to move faster between different places.

A planet made in Unreal Engine 5

The Invincible is one of the first “indie” productions developed with the new Unreal Engine 5. As a first-person game, it’s easy to be captivated by suggestive scenarios, like an enormous sandy desert where several research bases have been constructed. Each location we explore is rich in details, ensuring an extremely accurate and immersive experience. 

The performance is really good thanks to the lack of bugs or serious glitches. The sound quality is unimpressive though, even with the headphones and volume turned up to maximum.

marcoleo

I’m a passionate guy who loves videogames, movies, anime and comics. I like to talk about videogames and share my opinion with the world.