The Invincible Reviews
The Invincible is a spectacular adaptation of Stanisław Lem's book, but it's limited in terms of what you can do in it, and the impact on the story you have.
But even with a few technical hiccups, checkpoint woes, and a sense that maybe going this big with such an intimate game wasn’t the best choice, The Invincible is an enjoyable experience. The Invincible is a '60s sci-fi novel brought to life that is best suited for those who love to get nerdy about hard science and love that retro sci-fi aesthetic. More casual fans will likely find plenty to enjoy with the game, but they should know that this a game about getting immersed in a world that wants to tell a story instead of the usual space-faring adventure shtick. When The Invincible gets its hooks in players, it can be a narrative experience that is thrilling, thought-provoking, and worth the ride.
The Invincible might have a strong inspiration in the 1964 novel, but every time it attempts to make it more interesting as an interactive experience it ends up doing the opposite.
An admirable adaptation of a classic sci-fi story, despite a few stumbles.
The Invincible is an engaging sci-fi adventure that can leave you cold and confused the moment it stops holding your hand.
The Invincible is a great walking sim that tells a solid science fiction story, with a likeable protagonist and some strong writing.
Annoyances and bugs aside, The Invincible is as bold and smart as its protagonist, and I can only hope it starts a trend of equally thoughtful takes on big ideas from history and literature.
The Invincible is a walking simulator that, starting from a good story, fails to adapt it to a video game in a satisfactory way. It's a slow game, with accessory and sometimes unnecessary mechanics that at times feels more like a visual novel with playable "globs". And that's a shame, because there was potential in its atmosphere.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Invincible is a novel brought to life, blending its story and stunning visuals with engaging exploration. The Invincible goes back to the roots of sci-fi, offering something both classic and new when it comes to exploring the relationship between humanity and the final frontier.
The landscape of Regis III is as stunning as it is haunting, and Yasna's journey in this unusual land is rife with philosophical and moral conundrums that leave you with plenty to think about even after the credits roll.
The Invincible is a true old school science-fiction with an emphasis on science rather than some personal drama. It's a great experience with a perfect sense of style, just beware that the game part is lacking or rather almost non-existent.
Review in Russian | Read full review
I enjoyed exploring Regis III and uncovering the various mysteries that it holds. However, while the gameplay is simple and basic, The Invincible excels in its fantastic writing and performances from main characters, Yasna and Novick. As I played through the game, I was driven deeper and deeper into its narrative until the big reveals were finally unleashed.
The Invincible has a strong narrative and treats its source with respect and imagination. Pair that with a beautiful world and you should have a classic. The only things holding The Invincible at arm’s length from greatness are some dated-feeling controls and pacing that drags more than once. The Invincible is a convincing homage to a popular novel but slightly less convincing as a game.
In short, The Invincible is a relatively comfortable experience that I could recommend to fans of thrillers and science fiction. I don't think it could be scratching an itch for horror fans specifically because it certainly doesn't have much going for it when it comes to cosmic horror. Still, its twists and turns can leave an impact on those seeking a psychological thriller, especially with the kind of questions it poses at the end.
When you're not going all-in on fast-paced action, focusing on story and atmosphere, you definitely need to capture the player's attention to avoid falling into the walking sim trap. The Invincible succeeds from the very first minutes, plunging us into a situation in which the last thing we want is to run like crazy into the unknown, preferring to move cautiously aware that every step could be the last. This is thanks to a superlative narrative technique combined with a perfect graphic representation. It's not a survival horror but a novel written in the form of an adventure, and lovers of the genre will love it.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Invincible is hard to recommend on the basis of its gameplay alone, as its walking sim core doesn't always feel like the best use of its potential. Its best features can be found elsewhere, however, with a competent take on a great story and a truly staggering success in the looks department keeping the engine running across a modest runtime. Branching possibilities may not be enough to incentivize a second bout of slow exploration, but as a one-time dip into a mysterious tale of beauty and danger, The Invincible might just do the trick.
The Invincible has a wondrous story to tell and dazzling graphics to match, but it's held back from greatness by gameplay that struggles to ever break away from the genre structure of old. Mostly walking and talking, it never feels anything more than serviceable. Still, there's an interesting narrative to experience, and with your own decisions changing events, The Invincible should still be played by sci-fi fanatics.
The Invincible proved to be a successful homage and an adventure capable of capturing the complexity and disquiet of Stanislaw Lem's work. Despite some negligible lightness, the attention to detail and the depth of the story fully repay the gaming experience by offering all lovers of narrative adventures (or those who want to approach the playful model) a title to be taken into serious consideration.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Invincible is an interesting game and with an adaptation of a best-selling novel, however, the game falls a little short in different aspects. Although you will find a title that will be able to entertain you for a while, perhaps from three quarters of the game onwards you can start to notice those shortcomings, especially when it comes to moving between places. Since it seems that the developer wanted to extend the duration of the game a bit to give you more time glued to the controller. A more compact story that gave a few more moments of action would have been great, since at times it is easy for you to lose the rhythm of the game, since the title itself gives rise to it.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Once we stop sharing in Yasna’s discoveries, the storytelling never quite clicks. Apart from a few stiff flashbacks, players simply don’t get to know enough about Yasna’s fellow researchers to get invested in how their fate drives her search for answers. Yasna’s quest feels detached rather than desperate, with all the game’s themes coldly laid out in dialogue choices. The Invincible does remain reasonably engrossing through to the end, but it never recaptures the interactive vigor of its first half, eventually becoming a bout of scientific calculus on autopilot.