Summary
The Invincibleis the newest sci-fi adventure game to be released by indie studio Starward Industries. Based on Stanisław Lem’s novel of the same name, the developers worked hard to retain the heart of the novel while building upon it, leaning into the interactivity of gaming to bolster the original narrative.
Recently, Game Rant has a chance to speak with director Marek Markuszewski about some of the processes and challenges the team faced while working to adapt Lem’s novel into a video game.
RELATED:7 Open-World Games That Explore Complex Moral Dilemmas
The Invincible Allows Players to Explore and Question Humanity’s Place in the Universe
The idea forThe Invinciblestarted with a simple chat, says Markuszewski. Though he was familiar with Lem’s work from his school days, he did not know about the book until a coworker introduced it to him in conversation, praising the novel for how it addressed several “important moral topics.” Once Markuszewski picked it up he couldn’t stop reading; he finished the book in two nights after which he knew the content therein was exactly what he had been looking for to makea sci-fi game.
“I already knew the themes Lem explored in it were still incredibly relevant and that it was material for a game I had dreamed of creating for a long time.”
The story of Starward Industries’The Invinciblefollows the highly capable astrobiologist Yasna after she awakens on the planet of Regis III without any recollection of how she got there. Throughout her journey players will search for missing crewmates while stepping ever closer to danger, uncovering the planet’s secrets and discovering “mind-boggling scientific phenomena,'' tools, and technology.
Much like its predecessor, the game tackles many humanitarian and philosophical conundrums as players continueto explore the world of Regis III in search of their cohort. A stand-out point, according to Markuszewski, is that players get to step into the shoes of the character and make their own choices based on experiences in-game.
These choices may change the course of gameplay and even bring players to reconsider their idea of friend and foe.The Invincibleencourages players to make decisions and chase mystery, but it also reminds players to take care as “not everything everywhere is for us.” Maintaining these characteristics would be vital to help the heart of the original novel persevere in this new, interactive medium.
“I wanted to create a game where players can step into the shoes of a character fromThe Invincibleuniverse and make decisions themselves.”
The Invincible’sforeboding tagline “not everything everywhere is for us” exemplifiesthe allure of its retro-futuristic adventurismand calls humanity’s place in the universe into question, but the process of getting there wasn’t without its challenges. As it turns out, books and video games are vastly different mediums, and adopting the narrative of a novel into an interactive art form like gaming wouldn’t be without its difficulties.
Markuszewski tells Game Rant that one of the greatest challenges was designing the characters’ narrative systems. In the novel, the heroes were concrete and representative of certain world-views meaning their traits were rigid, decided upon and described solely by the narrator. To solve this problem, Starward Industries allows players to be the narrator of their own stories,emphasizing a dialogue systemthat grants players freedom of choice to react how they want.
Whether it’s preserving themes of humanity and exploration or capturing the atompunk aesthetic of the era, Starward Industries ensure that their gameremains true to Lem’s iconic novel while also incorporating innovative elements that uplift the original work in the gaming space.The Invincibleoffers an experience that is sure to delight players regardless of whether they’re familiar with Lem’s work or not.
The Invincibleis slated for release June 03, 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X.
