I’m not generally one to enjoy a walking simulator. However, when you pair the slow-paced genre with my favorite type of fiction—science fiction—I’m open to the concept. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to enjoy The Invincible. It’s slow, methodical, and with some jank and clunk that occasionally felt frustrating, but an entertaining experience that made me question my next steps in its tale. Here is our official The Invincible review!
Editor’s Note: The developer/publisher/PR was kind enough to send us a review copy of The Invincible. However, their generosity does not impact our overall opinion or thoughts on the game.
Following a short introduction, you awake planetside. You’re lost, with broken equipment, and unsure of recent events. It’s the first step in a mystery that will span approximately six to seven hours, depending on your playstyle. The Invincible does not overstay its welcome, as a good walking simulator understands, and it pushes the story forward with an air of mystery that keeps you putting one foot in front of the other.
The story is also one of my biggest gripes regarding the game. At times, it’s positively enthralling. I would say the majority of the tale is exceptional. But it feels like you can guess so much about what is happening, which somewhat ruins the experience.
If you can shut off your brain and enjoy the trek, you’ll have fun. But if you read a lot of science fiction, you’ll find The Invincible standard in a way that doesn’t prevent you from stopping a playthrough but will leave you going through the motions at times.
To follow up one gripe with another, some of the movement sometimes feels overly clunky and downright annoying. For instance, it’s part of the setting and lore, but you move incredibly slowly. It’s sometimes painful to navigate an area. Then, there’s the climbing. It’s even worse when you have multiple small lodges to traverse, as it replays the same short animation/cutscene of your character clambering onto the ledge and pulling themselves up. It’s bland and gets in the way of pacing.
Graphically, The Invincible is absolutely gorgeous. You can tell the team at Starward Industries took immense care in crafting an exquisitely detailed foreign planet. Every rock, dune, and crevice feels handcrafted with care and detail that you can’t help but stop and gawk for a moment before pushing on.
The Invincible is a slow burn. If you can push past the slow-moving opening hours, you’ll find much more excitement, especially once you start roaming the planet in a rover, and the story captures your attention even more.
As it’s a story-centric game, I won’t spoil anything. Beyond what I previously said about the story beats, I can tell you that, in time, The Invincible shines. Just give it the benefit of the doubt, working through those first two or three hours, you’ll find an exceptional sci-fi story beneath the surface!
If you’re a fan of the walking simulator genre, especially titles such as Firewatch, you’ll feel right at home in The Invincible. Furthermore, if you’re a fan of Stanisław Lem, while the game doesn’t hold up to his novel, you’ll enjoy the experience!