The Invincible

This was one of the best story games I have ever played, loved the graphics and the documentary for space that I listened to throughout the game. Highly recommend.

I’m a sucker for Liu Cixin's hard sci-fi, and... I haven't really read much of Stanislaw Lem's work, only Solaris, which explores the limits of human understanding, much like this one Now I know what to read next, thanks to this game, it's a prequel to the novel, after all

[h3] 旅游模拟器 [/h3] 改编自同名小说《无敌号》，是线性游戏但带点自由探索，第一人称挺有沉浸性，就好像看了一场电影，画面简洁清爽，风景很美，戈壁荒漠，探索未知。 吐槽：人物也不用这么写实，走得慢不说跑也只能跑一会儿就喘，键位有点阴间还不能改，剧情不能跳对话，耽误换结局，且没有节点可供读档，只有大章节，漏掉的成就除开6个回忆外都能读取章节获取，游戏有多结局但比较仓促，探讨方面不够深入。游戏优化一般，steamdeck时不时掉帧，全程35-45帧左右，偶尔会突然画面糊一下再恢复。 当我看到堆成小山一样的食物垃圾我才猛然发觉他也失忆了，在这个星球足足呆了四百多天，一直重复着一件事……

[h1]Quick Sum-Up[/h1] [h3]In-depth analysis further down.[/h3] [b]No AI was used to write this review.[/b] [hr]🟩 [b]Pros[/b] 🟩 • Excellent visuals, paired with superb art direction. Between spectacular alien landscapes and quirky retrofuturistic-style tech, this journey feels immersive from start to end. • High quality writing of dialogues, characters and documents. The Invincible’s lore is interesting to delve into, while the mysteries surrounding your mission keep you hooked to the plot. • Good gameplay variety for a narrative adventure: plenty of tasks not only feel plausible given the setting, but also give a much-needed break from the main gameplay loop. [hr]🟥 [b]Cons[/b] 🟥 • Most of the choices you’ll make during the journey, such as exploring optional areas to gain more information or picking sides, won’t influence the various endings in any meaningful way. • The save system is extremely unclear, and doesn’t have a manual option. You might lose progress because it only saves at fixed points, without telling you when it does. • Underwhelming endings, that brutally cut off the story without a proper epilogue, as if there wasn’t enough time to write one. [hr]🟨 [b]Bugs / Issues[/b] 🟨 • Dialogues may occasionally overlap if you listen to a recording, or interact with specific items while a conversation is ongoing. • Rarely, you might get stuck if you reach certain areas without following the game logic’s exact steps. Reload the last save to fix. [hr][h3]Content & Replay Value:[/h3] It took me around 11 hours to complete The Invincible, taking extra time to explore all optional areas thoroughly. If you want to replay the final chapter to see every ending, add one more hour to the counter. Except for the various endings and very few specific choices, the content is largely linear, and there’s no reason to replay the whole game. [h3]Is it worth buying?[/h3] Yes, but on sale. It’s good, but it’s not worth 30€ for only a dozen hours of content and no replay value. If you like narrative adventures, space mysteries, and hard sci-fi with a retrofuturistic quirk, then you’ll have a good time. [h3]Verdict: Good[/h3] The Invincible is a competently written, intriguing sci-fi adventure with a distinct identity. It feels original, keeps you hooked to its story, and has an excellent visual style to match. [url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2548409603]Rating Chart[/url] [quote]Thanks for reading up to this point! Consider checking out and following my Curator, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/39323490]Tamaster's Review Archive[/url].[/quote] [h1]In-Depth Analysis[/h1] [h3]Writing & Worldbuilding[/h3] The Invincible follows the story of Yasna, a Coalition cosmonaut sent, alongside a full team, on a scientific mission to Regis III; a far-away, extrasolar planet. What initially seemed like an uneventful research mission on a dead planet, soon turns into a space opera mystery; Yasna gets stranded after a yet-unclear series of events, while her teammates are nowhere to be found. The way back to her ship, the Dragonfly, will prove much harder than expected. As far as the main plot goes, it’s more than anything else a tale of survival against desperate odds, that only becomes more dramatic and high-stakes as the story progresses. Yasna and her commander, Novik, often in radio contact with her, are both well-written and plausible characters that act as it would be expected by seasoned cosmonauts in a situation of this type. The dialogue is mostly serious, objective-oriented, and pragmatic in nature, as it should be in such a situation; while exceptions may occur, they’re completely justified by the human need to alleviate tension in prolonged life threatening scenarios. The mysteries surrounding your crew’s status and the planet as a whole only deepen as you progress, making Yasna question not only her mission’s true nature, but also the very foundations of her scientific knowledge. It’s a slow-burning crescendo, that has almost perfect narrative pacing, and cleverly places lore elements, exposure and crucial information at the right moment, while leaving room for players to make their own theories as they advance. The bulk of found lore, be it written, audio or environmental, acts as small pieces of a bigger picture to put together, many of which are entirely optional, but crucial to gain a deeper understanding of what’s going on on Regis III. The worldbuilding surrounding these events depicts a space-age humanity divided into at least two main factions, competing to gain the upper hand in scientific knowledge and territorial domination. Several information and facts about the current society, scientific advancements, politics and so forth can be gained from the lore pieces you’ll find; it feels interesting to discover what humanity has become, and what it has discovered, in a setting so different than our current timeline; it could be defined ‘Space Cold War’, alas with technology far superior to ours, and yet looking clunky and retro in its aesthetics and functioning. [h3]Exploration & Secrets[/h3] You’ll explore Regis III mostly on foot, and at times using drivable rovers to cover larger distances in the semi-open world map segments. Your map will highlight your location, and a rough sketch of the terrain you’ve discovered, while also noting any information gained from documents, such as the positions of outposts, noteworthy landmarks and infrastructure. There won’t be any quest markers to guide you: in fact, you’ll have to rely on the map and your current objective to figure out where to go next, which isn’t particularly hard given that there’s usually one main path, and several secondary areas you might want to explore. Doing that will reward you with plenty of additional information, lore, and also is tied to unlocking certain achievements or extra dialogue options in specific dialogues; unfortunately, this doesn’t alter the ending or the major events of the main plot. There’s plenty of secrets to discover, usually in the form of lore pieces such as probe slides, recordings, written documents, or locations where unusual events have unfolded with no particular explanation. I found exploration to be interesting: it balances its pacing well, and the lore you’ll find will add pieces to a mystery that feels captivating to investigate. [h3]Dialogue System & Choices[/h3] Despite being stranded on an alien planet, Yasna will keep in contact with Novik, his commander, for most of the playthrough. The dialogue between the two uses a timed reply system, that you can use to have Yasna stay silent if so you wish, or choose between various options to give a reply, that in some cases can change based on your discoveries. The plot is mostly linear, but there are some choices at key points, such as taking one path instead of another, or a more risky approach given the circumstances, as opposed to a safer one. These will change dialogues and some paths you’ll take, however they never influence events in any major way, nor will they lead you to an early grave; there aren’t wrong or right choices. For narrative adventures to give the ‘illusion of choice’ is a given cliché, but after having seen masterpieces such as Detroit: Become Human, to name one, or the older The Walking Dead from Telltale, we all know this doesn’t have to be a standard. Linear stories are fine, but giving players the illusion their actions matter when, in the end, they don’t, is always a bad design choice. Sure, we can’t expect the same variety and scope of choices of AAA games from an Indie production such as this, but the matter stays the same: choices are possible, and restricting them to just the ending sequence to have any impact feels, if anything, an outdated standard for narrative adventures in this day and age. [hr]

I really enjoyed the whole space exploration vibe of The Invincible. The narrative kept me hooked from start to finish, and the sound design and voice acting are easily some of the best parts of the game, they do an amazing job of pulling you into the world. The pacing is a bit on the slower side, which works for the story, but I would've liked a little more freedom to explore. Even though the game is fairly straightforward, the different endings give you a reason to think carefully about your choices. Overall, I had a great time with it. That said, I don't think I'll replay it now that I've completed every achievement. Unlocking all the endings can get a bit repetitive and tiring. If you're not aiming for 100% completion, though, it's an excellent experience that's absolutely worth playing. I'd love to know which ending you got on your first playthrough! My first ending: [spoiler] I stopped the bombing and waited for the Invincible. [/spoiler] Graphics █████████░ 9/10 Story █████████░ 9/10 Gameplay ███████░░░ 7/10 Audio ██████████ 10/10 World Design ██████████ 10/10 Exploration ████████░░ 8/10 Replayability █████░░░░░ 5/10 P.S. If you can grab it during a sale, it's absolutely worth buying.

Kozmik yalnızlık, Regis III’ün pas rengi ufkunda çökerken, insan aklının sınırlarına doğru atılan o büyük adımın aslında ne kadar sığ bir yankıdan ibaret olduğunu fark ediyorsunuz. Stanislaw Lem’in felsefi derinlikleriyle örülü o muazzam evreni, dijital bir ekranda yeniden hayat bulduğunda, insan geleceğin heyecan verici gizemlerine doğru sürüklenmeyi bekliyor. Ancak The Invincible, Starward Industries’in ellerinde, edebi bir başyapıtın soluk gölgesine dönüşüyor; sayfalar arasında fırtınalar koparan o devasa fikir dünyası, tıklanabilir objelerle örülü, kasvetli bir yürüyüş simülasyonunun dar koridorlarında boğulup gidiyor. Yıldız gemisi Dragonfly’ın mürettebatıyla birlikte bu ıssız gezegene ayak bastığınızda, karşınıza çıkan manzara görsellikten öteye geçemeyen bir dekor. Astrobiyolog Yasna’nın gözünden akıp giden bu serüven, romanın o zihni zorlayan "evrimsel yabancılık" kavramını alıp sıradan bir bilimkurgu rutinine indirgiyor. Regis III, canlı cansız her şeyin ölümcül birer mekanik bulmacaya dönüştüğü, nekonik fırtınaların ve devasa metalik sürülerin hüküm sürdüğü bir dehşet diyarı olmalıydı. Lakin oyunun ritmi, felsefi bir sorgulamadan ziyade, ağır adımlarla atılan her metrede tempoyu düşüren, sabrı zorlayan bir angaryaya evriliyor. Karakterlerin içsel çatışmaları, sayfalardan ekrana aktarılırken ruhunu kaybetmiş. Yasna ile telsiz ucundaki Novik arasındaki diyaloglar, edebi bir derinlikten yoksun, görevi tamamlamaya yönelik kuru repliklerden ibaret. İnsanın evrendeki kibirli yerini ve doğaya hükmetme arzusunu tokat gibi yüzümüze çarpan o orijinal hikâye, burada sadece "bir şeyler bul, tuşa bas, ilerle" döngüsünün arka planındaki gürültülü bir müziğe dönüşüyor. Ne zaman evrimsel biyolojinin sınırlarını zorlayan o muazzam "nekroevrim" gerçeğiyle yüzleşecek olsanız, oyun sizi yine sıradan bir keşif görevine ve akıcılıktan uzak bulmaca çözme seanslarına geri çağırıyor. Sonuç olarak The Invincible, kapağını büyük bir hevesle açtığınız ancak içeriğinde yalnızca boşluk bulduğunuz kalın bir roman gibi. Regis III’ün metal sürüleri gökyüzünü kaplarken, elinizde kalan tek şey; parıldayan vaatlerin altında ezilmiş, yorucu ve ruhsuz bir yürüyüşün tatsız tortusu oluyor.

First playthrough review time. The Invincible is mostly a story and exploration game, with very little action. Most of the gameplay is about walking through different places, exploring the surroundings and making choices during conversations. The movement can be a bit slow at times, but it is clear that the game is more focused on the story than on action or complicated gameplay. The best part of the game is its science fiction setting. The environments look good and the visuals, sound and voice acting work well together. The conversations are also one of the main parts of the game and are written in a simple and natural way. There aren’t many gameplay mechanics, but the game keeps the focus well on exploration and the story. Overall, The Invincible is a good story-based sci-fi game with a strong atmosphere. The gameplay is simple and sometimes slow, but the writing, visuals and sound make the experience more interesting. It is mainly for players who prefer exploration and story over action.

This is the first time I've tried a game like this, and honestly, I'm not disappointed. It's also the first time a game has made me want to discover as many endings as possible to a story that's captivating from start to finish: Why are we on this planet? What's going on here? It's a truly brilliant exploration of life and evolution. The graphics are pretty nice, despite a few very minor bugs and some frame rate drops that aren’t too bothersome.

Do you think you will run on dunes? Far from it. Yasna, in a heavy spacesuit, walks at the speed of a brooding turtle who has just read Kant's treatise. For the first five hours it looks majestic. At the fifteenth hour, you will want to take the heroine by the scruff of the neck and shake her so that she stops taking a breath every ten meters. The developers had mercy and gave an all-terrain vehicle, but it is controlled as if it has square wheels, and the camera's viewing angle is selected by a random number generator))) But seriously, the game is very worthy, with a good plot and a pleasant picture !!! I definitely recommend it for passage !!!