The Invincible — Swarm Power

Review

Nov 11, 2024

Many years ago, I read this story by Bruce Sterling titled “Swarm”. The ending was one of those moments when I realized just how different aliens would be if they existed. “Swarm” and The Invincible conceptualize just how strange collective alien life could become in different planetary environments and evolutionary conditions. I have never read the novel by Stanisław Lem, but now it’s on my to-read list.

This is the debut title of Starward Industries; one more Polish developer to feature in this newsletter. Anyone who has followed my work knows of my fondness for Polish developers, whose mature gaming culture is a breath of fresh air in an industry so dominated by North American and Japanese companies. The Invincible feels fresh and hard to pin down in ways that few other studios could match.

Spacewalking Sim

This is a walking simulator for the most part, but it does feature some bits of more involved and interactive gameplay than just walking around and interacting with hitboxes. Interactions with the retrofuturistic technology can be compelling, and there is even a little rover you get to drive around. It’s not supposed to be technically challenging, but it feels more immersive than your usual walking sim.

The puzzles are not that difficult either, but there is something challenging about building up to where you are supposed to go in between level transitions. The interactions with objects and machines add little bits of storytelling through visual cues that drive the story forward, regardless of whether you are a bit lost or not. And just walking around the levels is enough to put you on the right path.

Screenshot of The Invincible, showing a diegetic device where the protagonist and player look at an electronic photographic device showing a school of fish in synchronized swimming. — The mystery of life on a lifeless planet.

Immersion Devices

Several of the interactions only start once you go through a certain cutscene or dialogue. Sometimes you have to wait until an animation completes before you interact with an object, jump down a rock ledge, and so on. It makes the process of moving quickly between interactions and unlocking the transitions somewhat dull, especially on a second playthrough.

The immersion factor in all the diegetic devices such as mapping gizmos and trackers is what keeps you going. The gameplay itself might seem unremarkable, but the way the developers integrated these devices into the story is part of what keeps the discovery process engaging and immersive. Bit by bit, you unravel the story of this swarm-like nanotech ‘species’ as it tries to fight against the threat humans pose to it.

Screenshot of The Invincible, showing a ravine and large rocks being covered by an inorganic plant-like foliage. — Inorganic plant-like foliage.

Deep Atmosphere

The Firewatch narrative style works well for the stranded-on-a-desert-planet scenario; the back-and-forth on a comms line with an overseer in the ship giving Yasna advice as she hurtles from one interaction to the other. When you finally interact with a live character towards the end, it’s like the buildup made the encounter with another human stranger and more interesting. Especially since the human is a bit deranged.

Yasna’s voice acting is thoroughly competent. The soundtrack is haunting, like a classic science fiction film. The atmosphere and art direction often make you just stand and look around you as you explore the planet slowly. The level design feels handcrafted and nothing about the planet seems random or lifeless. Everything in the levels matters, and paying attention to the details pays off.

Screenshot of The Invincible, showing a drone from behind as Yasna says "that the clear distinction between humans and robots will soon disappear." — The Singularity is near.

From Solaris to The Invincible

There might not be a lot of replay value in games like The Invincible. Once you get what you are supposed to get in the endgame, you will find that everything that builds up to it makes sense. You could revisit the game after playing it and consider what you didn’t know in your first playthrough, but otherwise there is not much of an incentive. This is true of walking sims in general, but it might be truer of a game like this.

I didn’t have the opportunity to review the game when it came out, but I picked it up in a sale and did not regret it. We need more AA games with distinctive settings and immersive storytelling grounded in classics, if not direct adaptations of neglected science fiction authors such as Stanisław Lem, who broke into the mainstream for the first time in 1972 with Tarkovsky’s Solaris. The Invincible will not reach the same cultural status, but it’s a worthy beginning for the medium.

Screenshot of The Invincible, showing a man pressing buttons on a retro spaceship panel against a red dusk horizon. The man is saying: "That's the thing -- I don't. It's invincible." — Get it?

Disclosure: The Invincible was reviewed on PC with a Steam copy purchased by the reviewer, over the course of about 12 hours of play time. All screenshots attached were captured during the review process.

Rating: 7.5 / Decent.

The Good