Stanisław Lem adaptation The Invincible is out in November
Firewatch, but with space stuff
Calling a spaceship The Invincible might seem like an initially hopeful idea, but boy oh boy, does it open the door to some ironic and probably deadly occurrences. We’ll see just how lucky the ship is when The Invincible comes out on its newly-revealed release date, November 6th, though some readers may know how this story ends already, since it's based on Stanisław Lem’s 1964 science fiction novel of the same name.
Set on the sandy and gorgeous planet Regis III, our titular ship lands to investigate the shady disappearance of its spacecraft sibling. One missing crew is definitely a bad sign, but it's also fuel for good environmental storytelling. Think of all the footsteps, equipment, and maybe audio diaries left behind.
But we’ll mainly be chatting with our boss over a radio, à la Firewatch. Our Alice0 checked out the game’s Steam Next Fest demo earlier this summer, which made those Firewatch comparisons even clearer:
“It's a lot of walking about, solving the mildest of puzzles, and chatting with someone over the radio," she wrote. "And like Firewatch, you can choose conversation options, little details and directions that might not change the plot but let you define your character's identity. I like that. It's quite slow but I enjoy looking at this sci-fi world and throwing a little improv into my sci-fi radio drama script.”
For those who have already read Lem’s rescue mission gone wrong: worry not. Starward Industries' Marek Markuszewski told RPS that the game isn’t a “one-to-one adaptation” of the book. Instead, our playable protagonist and her crew are new to this version, while returning characters from the book “might” show up. Wink wink, hush hush.
All will be revealed on November 6th, when The Invincible launches on Steam and GOG. I’ve yet to read the original book, but I’m excited to play it regardless and scratch that Firewatch walkie-talkie itch - an itch that's been there ever since Campo Santo gave their long-since-paused follow-up In The Valley Of Gods a probably meaningless release year of 2029. I should probably get that checked.