The Invincible

The Invincible is an upcoming adventure video game developed by Starward Industries and published by 11 Bit Studios. It is an adaptation of the 1964 Polish novel The Invincible. The game is set to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 6, 2023.

Gameplay
The game is an adventure video game played from a first-person perspective. In the game, the player assumes control of astrobiologist Yasna, who must explore the planet Regis III for her missing crewmates while facing an unknown threat. Yasna has access to several tools, such as a scanner and a handheld telescope that can be used to identify objects and aid her survival in the alien landscape. The developer described the game as a "branching narrative with an emphasis on player choice". Other characters include astrogator Novik, who guides Yasna throughout her journey on Regis III.

Development
The Invincible is currently being developed by Polish independent developer Starward Industries, which was founded in 2018. Members of the team had experience working for triple-A game development companies such as CD Projekt RED and Techland. The game is an adaptation of The Invincible, a science fiction novel written by Polish author Stanisław Lem. The team chose to adapt this novel because they felt that the book is "stunningly picturesque", and that it "reads as a ready-made movie script". Despite this, the game is not a one-to-one adaptation. While the story is largely the same and the game features several returning characters, the game's main cast of characters including the playable protagonist are original. For the game's art style, the team was heavily influenced by atompunk aesthetics, citing works from Chris Foss, Chesley Bonestell, and Syd Mead as their inspirations. In addition, the team also researched on Soviet designs of spaceships, vehicles and tools to fit the game's retro-futuristic style.

The game was described to be a science-fiction thriller for its use of emotional suspense rather than a straightforward horror game. Firewatch served as the game's inspirations, especially how gameplay was handled during conversations with other non-playable characters.[6] Road 96 was also an important influence as it showed that there was "space for narrative experiences that are more mature and philosophical"  The game's director Marek Markuszewski added that the game's narrative was "unhurried" but "very intense", and that the tone of the game was "bitter, but not without a spark of hope for the future".