Grave new world: Firewatch meets Alien Isolation in Edge 371’s cover game, The Invincible
Makers of science-fiction videogames tend to reach for a grab-bag of familiar influences, so there’s something immediately distinctive about The Invincible, given that it’s based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Polish writer and satirist Stanisław Lem. It’s a book that clearly means a lot to its creators at the Krakow-based Starward Industries, a studio comprising talent from a series of high-profile studios (CD Projekt Red, Techland, Bloober Team) and that’s abundantly clear from the early hours of this narrative-led adventure, which we explore in detail in the brand-new issue of Edge.
The Invincible is set on Regis III, a beautifully desolate planet that’s almost but not quite fit for human habitation. You’ll get to find out just what that ‘not quite’ represents in our exclusive cover story. If you’re familiar with the source you’ll have an inkling of what to expect, but not entirely. Starward Industries has made changes to the original plot, including player-character Yasna, an astronaut on an expedition to investigate the disappearance of the titular ship. It’s not too much of a spoiler to say that she’s not alone – indeed, her interactions with her crewmates and the other survivors will partly determine how the narrative plays out – yet it’s the encounters with the planet’s indigenous life forms that provide both otherworldly shivers and raise provocative philosophical questions.
Yet this is no hifalutin chin-stroker. It’s a deeply atmospheric slow-burner of a story with jolts of something close to survival horror: Firewatch and Alien: Isolation are two key influences, both apparent from our time with an early build. Moreover, it looks gorgeous: from its flame-propelled drones to crustacean robots and chunky
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