The Invincible from Starward Industries and 11 Bit Studios is an incredibly story-driven adventure. We got to spend some time with an early-access preview build and it was downright amazing. Without wasting any further time, here’s our take on why.
In The Invincible, players will take on the role of Yasna, a scientist stranded on an unknown alien world known as Regis III. The preview build kicked off with Yasna hot on the trail of a convoy of scientists. Yasna is in contact with another person known as Astrogator via her communication device and you’re tasked with finding the convoy.
You open your map and notice that there’s an alternate route instead of heading straight on and following the same path as the convoy. Having opted for the side route, we climbed up a mountain and then slid through a tunnel to find the remnants of the convoy. Along with a lot of dead bodies. This is where The Invincible really kicks it into high gear and its excellent storytelling comes into play.
Yasna examines the remnants of an automaton and gains access to its recording system. This system produces a set of flashcards with images on them. These images record the events leading up to the convoy’s destruction and the way the story is told here is excellent. Yasna and Astrogator have a conversation going through the events depicted in each flashcard and without spoiling too much, the build-up this leads to is both intense and frighteningly powerful. Once you’re done with the flashcards, you end up discovering another mystery. One that sets the tone for what’s to come.
Yasna ventures forth through a tunnel and discovers an alien metallic “lifeform” or rather set of “lifeforms”. These metallic flowers seem to be alive but that contradicts her astrobiology background. How can metal be alive? It’s all super mysterious and The Invincible really drives home this point.
Without spoiling any more, The Invincible also features decision making which we’re hoping features more than simply choosing different responses to conversations. Players can interact with the environment in different ways and the alien world certainly gives off a very remote, creepy, mysterious vibe that the graphics and soundtrack perfectly portray. The voice acting is also spot on and the writing here is refreshingly different incorporating scientific terminology with some more casual, poignant and punchy responses. Players will definitely grow attached to both Yasna and Astrogator and their relationship with each other is another aspect that will draw you in even further.
Graphically, The Invincible is flat-out gorgeous with Regis III looking like a desolate rocky alien world. The dust effects, the robot designs, and the entire aesthetic is amazing and “Atompunk” is an appropriate description for it.
Playing through the 1-hour preview of The Invincible was enough to get us hooked and we can’t wait to explore more of this hard sci-fi world based on the work of Stanislaw Lem’s novel of the same name. Everything we played so far was great and this is shaping up to be a gripping tale that’s for sure.
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