The Invincible is a novel authored by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem, published back in 1964, but it did not get an English publication until 1973. Stanislaw Lem was renowned for hard science fiction writings and has influenced many adaptations of literature, films, and games.

You may be asking what hard science is, and the answer is natural science, whereas soft science is social science. Simply put, hard science has a focus on actuality, whereas soft science is a space opera. As such, developer Starward Industries, and publisher 11 Bit Studios, have brought us an interactive version of the novel of the same name, The Invincible.

I have not read the novel but from playing The Invincible, I feel as though it is a very accurate adaption. Play begins with you awakening on a planet with no recollection of what has occurred. As you investigate your surroundings and equipment, you slowly begin to piece events back together, but I don’t want to explain too much as it will ruin what The Invincible is all about.

You play as Yasna, an astrobiologist aboard the spacecraft Dragonfly, and after learning that the rival faction, the Cosmosolidary Alliance, plans on bringing their spaceship, The Invincible, to Regis III, and the crew of the Dragonfly decide to investigate before they arrive.

Because I have kept the plot as vague as possible, you may have already guessed that The Invincible is all about its story. Your guess, dear reader, is 100% correct. The Invincible is a narrative-led walking simulator, and the entire game will have you moving from location to location, looking, touching, talking, pressing, and turning your way to the next part of the story.

If that sounds boring to you, then The Invincible is not for you, but if you want an intriguing story that unravels based on your actions, then The Invincible won’t disappoint. My first playthrough lasted six hours, and let’s just say it didn’t end well, but I was certainly more than eager to jump back in and try things differently in an attempt to get a more favourable outcome.

Controlling Yasna can be done with a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad, as movement and interactions are all standard for a first-person game, and if the button locations aren’t to your liking, they can be remapped. I found using the gamepad most comfortable, and my only complaint about the movement, regardless of how I was controlling Yasna, was the sprinting. Walking was very slow, so pressing the sprint button would speed things up. However, sprinting would tire Yasna out, making her have to return to walking. I would have preferred either a faster walking speed and no sprint, or have the sprint move you even faster, but not tire Yasna out so quickly.

Graphically, The Invincible could easily be written off as bleak, boring, uninspired, or uninteresting, but that is what Regis III is. The story explains the setting and its realistic approach to the science fiction setting is perfect. The familiarity of the surroundings and equipment while on an alien planet truly draws you into the narrative. Unfortunately, as realistic as the graphics were to draw me in, there was a weird fuzzy appearance to everything that I didn’t like.

The chosen music invokes a sense of mystery and wonder which perfectly compliments the narrative. Sound effects are nice, allowing you to identify familiar sounds, while those that are alien intrigue you. The voice acting, above all, is the biggest selling point for The Invincible. As The Invincible is all about its story, having great delivery from its cast held my attention for hours and kept me wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The Invincible, unfortunately, is not suited for everyone. It could have easily been adapted into a movie, but even then, not all audiences would have appreciated it. As a game though, it is very heavily directed to those gamers who are looking for a solid interactive story. If you are one of those gamers, then I strongly recommend The Invincible for you.

Written by: Ashley Barnett-Cosgrove