Let’s discover together, in this dedicated review, what are the strengths and weaknesses of The Invincible, the new walking simulator developed by Starward Industries which takes inspiration from the 1964 novel of the same name by Stanislaw Lem
Way back in 1964, Stanislaw Lem, a Polish author, wrote the novel Niezwyciężony, which was later adapted into Italian into “The Invincible”. It is a work of science fiction which, nowadays, we can define as retrofuturistic and which mixes space exploration with elements of mystery, and has at its basis profound reflections on human nature and its limitations. The Invincible was based on this novel, the title developed by Starward Industries which recently arrived on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S and which we talk about in this dedicated review. It will be an… interesting journey. Make yourselves comfortable.
For Aspera | The Invincible review
A video game that takes inspiration from a literary work is certainly nothing new, especially in recent months (right, Lies of P?), but Starward Industries has actually decided to take at least a different direction. The game will take us to explore the same settings as the novel, on the planet Regis III, but from a completely opposite perspective. If, in fact, in the book the point of view is that of the crew of the spaceship The Invincible, the videogame medium puts us in the shoes of Yasna, a scientist who is part of a tiny expedition of a political nature opposite to that of the protagonists of the novel.
Our protagonist finds herself thrown into the deserted and mostly rocky lands of Regis III without having any idea or any memory of why she got off her ship. After a few uncertain steps in the sandy basin that welcomed us, we will be able to get back in touch with Novik, our navigator (or, better said, Astrogator!). And from here a journey starts, which it will last about six hours if you decide to get a few more trophieswill lead us to discover what mysteries lie behind Regis III and how profoundly helpless humanity actually is in the face of the immensity of space.
Amid the Ruins | Review The Invincible
In fact, The Invincible questions a lot about the concept of human nature, its fallibility and how much it is actually a tiny component of one extremely unknown and terribly scary space. The reflections of Yasna and Novik will cover much of your long walks (on foot or aboard a rover) around Regis III, gradually filling Yasna’s memory and leading you to discover the true darkness.
The Starward Industries game it’s actually a very long walk, sometimes interrupted by some interaction with the environment and some machinery of various kinds, but in concept Invincible remains a real walking simulator. This is not necessarily a flaw, let’s be clear: we are the first to appreciate titles that are almost completely narrative and devoid of real gameplay interactions. It’s a shame that The Invincible is particularly rigid in some respects, perhaps a little too old.
A Long Night | Review The Invincible
For example, we found ourselves retracing the same portions of the map too many times (which, for heaven’s sake, with Novik chatting to us in the background can also be fine the first few times) or having to move left and right to understand where we can go up a step . This is because, by virtue of the rigidity we were talking about earlier, it is possible to climb over hills or slide down slopes or even climb walls in Yasna’s shoes. Only, however, at specific points given by the developers and marked with visual input. Maybe even places half a centimeter further to the right, so to speak.
The slowness and rigidity of The Invincible is also notable in the pacing of exploration. At the beginning especially, when Yasna can only move on foot, everything will continue very slowly. The young scientist can sprint, but only for a few seconds and with major repercussions on her breathing (but helmet fogging is really cool, we admit it). When we found the rover we breathed a big sigh of relief and everything continued at a decidedly faster pace.
Devoid of Life | Review The Invincible
From a technical point of view, The Invincible does its job to immerse you in the sometimes dark and sometimes almost surreal atmosphere of Regis III. It’s definitely not a high-budget title, but the visual performance is as good as the sound. In some situations we noticed some areas with low resolution polygons and some problems with shadows, as well as various pop-in problems, but nothing that in any way interferes with the gaming experience. Our test for the review of The Invincible took place on PlayStation 5: a fluid and rocky experience from a technical point of view, nothing to say.
The environmental effects are also excellent and the dubbing is incredible (completely English, including subtitles: there is no Italian adaptation), but unfortunately we found, for the umpteenth time since the beginning of this generation, the failure to implement DualSense features. The adaptive triggers are not really there, while the vibration is often set completely at random. And it’s a real shame, because in such a short but intense experience, it would have been an author’s touch.
Not Everything Everywhere
We have therefore reached the end of this very quick review of The Invincible. We don’t have much else to say: Starward Industries’ game is exactly what you see. A linear adventure, completely devoted to narrative. And the narrative sector and that of the characterization of the characters work decidedly well. So the flaws in terms of gameplay (or the traces that you will find of it) matter little, the flaws in terms of graphics matter little: The Invincible is a beautiful adventure set in a living world and which will try to hunt you down in every way. A hunt for the limitations of the human race.
The Invincible is currently available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series S. Let us know what you think below in the comments and stay tuned with us at techgameworld.com for all the news, guides and reviews on gaming and tech themes! And if you are interested in game keys at advantageous prices, we recommend you take a look at the InstantGaming catalogue!
Points in favor
- Deep and engaging narrative
- Fascinating protagonists
- Living and pulsating environment
Points against
- Gameplay too rigid in some situations
- Some graphic smudging
- DualSense greatly absent