What if you were lost in space? The Invincible is Firewatch with a science fiction twist
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SHOULD I PLAY THE INVINCIBLE?
Play it if you’re a fan of old-school hard science fiction, but skip it if you’re not big on interactive fiction. The Invincible tells a slow-paced but fascinating story based on the Stanislaw Lem novel of the same name. Dr. Yasna, a biologist on an interstellar mission, wakes up alone on a strange planet with no memory of how she got there. It’s a fantastic premise, and the story is expertly told, but the gameplay doesn’t always live up to the quality of the narrative. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve enjoyed other walking simulators like Firewatch or Dear Esther, you should absolutely give it a shot.
TIME PLAYED
Playing through the main story took me just over eight hours. There were times when it felt a little padded—walking from one place to another can take a long time—but it was still solid from start to finish. While I saw the end credits, I haven’t experienced everything The Invincible has to offer. There are lots of dialogue choices, especially in the later portions of the game, and it has multiple endings. I’m not ready for a replay quite yet, but I’m definitely curious about what I’ve missed.
WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT THE INVINCIBLE?
• Mysterious, thought-provoking storytelling. Right from the beginning, The Invincible presented me with a long list of questions. Where was I, and how did I get there? How did I get separated from my crew? Was I alone, or was someone—or something—on this planet with me? While all of those questions were eventually answered, The Invincible didn’t fill in the blanks right away. Instead, it presented me with one tantalizing piece of information at a time.
• Believable characters. The Invincible’s story goes in some pretty wild directions, but the well-developed cast keeps things grounded in reality. Characters aren’t just there to deliver exposition dumps; they feel like actual people with passions and interests. I loved the way that Dr. Yasna would quietly sing to herself as she walked around, and it was a lot of fun to see other characters push back against the decisions I made. Every character is expertly written, and the exceptional voice acting gives the dialogue real weight.
• Stunning sci-fi scenery. The Invincible is filled with breathtaking landscapes. Even when I was exploring a cold, barren planet, I couldn’t stop admiring the vistas around me. The backdrops are beautiful, but every other aspect of the game feels thoughtfully constructed too. I loved watching LEDs light up while I tracked a beacon, and it was a joy to watch weird-looking robots walk around. This feels like a heartfelt love letter to old pulp sci-fi novels.
WHAT SUCKS ABOUT THE INVINCIBLE?
• Getting around can be really frustrating. I don’t mind walking around in games, especially when they’re as gorgeous as The Invincible, but the poorly-designed traversal mechanics were constantly breaking my immersion. It felt like my options for getting around were constantly changing, and that made it tricky to figure out where I needed to go. Sometimes I could climb rocks, but there were other times I couldn’t, even if they looked identical to the rocks I climbed earlier. There were more than a few times when I wandered around in circles trying to determine how I could actually get to where I wanted to go.
To make things worse, Dr. Yasna moves at an absurdly slow pace. While I could technically have her sprint, she got winded and slowed back down after about five seconds. This is probably realistic—it can’t be easy to run in a spacesuit—but the slow movement ultimately felt more annoying than authentic.
• Lackluster gameplay. The Invincible does have some non-story gameplay, but for the most part, it feels like an afterthought. There aren’t any puzzles to solve or challenges to overcome; just tools to use or tasks to complete. I liked zooming in on my telescope or playing around with my tracker, but the gameplay segments generally felt shoehorned in. An interactive story game doesn’t necessarily need gameplay, and I wish developers didn’t feel obligated to tack these kinds of mechanics on.
💬Are you ready to solve the mysteries of The Invincible? What’s your favorite science fiction story? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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