Here’s a walking simulator I can’t wait to play. Question: What’s a walking simulator? Answer: A game whose mechanics include little other than exploring a virtual space. They’re not mechanically complex, but they can be engaging. Every time I’ve seen the Invincible, I’ve become that much more certain it’s exactly the kind of narrative game I will find engaging. The demo I played during June’s Steam Next Fest has done little to dissuade me: in fact, it’s made the narrative of the Invincible all the more appealing. The constant tension of being alone on a desolate alien world, surrounded by alien flora and corpses, while trying to piece together a mystery that goes against your character’s understanding of the universe–it makes for an excellent hook to the story told by studio Starward Industries.
So what if this game is an absolute walking simulator? And there really is no question about that. I don’t mind – an interesting enough story can make for an excellent gaming experience, walking simulator or not. Just think of What Remains of Edith Finch, one of the finest examples of this genre. Whether the Invincible shapes up to be one of those walking simulators we mention in the same breath as Edith Finch is something we can tell only once it sees full release. This slice of the game certainly has me hopeful.
Players of the demo are dropped not at the game’s opening but later on. No special introductions are made of Yasna, whom we control, or of the voice in her ear. That voice belongs to Yasna’s commanding officer, who will be a constant companion from afar. The relationship between the two promises to be complex, defined by loyalty and guilt and secrets held far too long. Yasna is an astrobiologist, a frighteningly capable woman who does not back down from a challenge even as her head is pounding and she’s close to total unconsciousness. I love the voicework on both parts – atmospheric to no end, and acted out well. You can really feel the emotions of these characters, the curiosity and want and fear they are pursued by. What’s more, Yasna’s iron will comes through in a variety of different ways, from her decisiveness to uncover the mystery before her to the resigned way she gets down to tackling every new challenge.
The game is based on Stanislaw Lem’s novel of the same name – something I’d forgotten until sitting down to research this. Lem is one of the sci-fi grandmasters whose works I haven’t yet touched and while I’m tempted to jump into the novel before this title is released, I think I’ll wait and see what I make of the game first. A comparison video might be called for later down the line–how will the game tackle the themes of the novel? How close to its source material does it keep the plot?
I have so much fun setting goals for the future. Back to the Invincible, though – I’m such a nerd about dialogue options, and this one tackles dialogue in a way that reminds me of Firewatch, that wonderful and intimate story about a man recovering from loss in the Wyoming wilderness. The set-up of both is similar insofar that a single person on the other side of a radio serves as your lifeline. Here in the Invincible, of course, science-fictional mystery is king. Corpses, machines breaking down and getting stuck in loops from the nonsensical to the murderous–something is amiss on the planet of Regis III. I plan on finding out what – will you be joining me? Let me know in the comments!
The Grimoire Reliquary 
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