The Invincible from 11 Bit Studios and Starward Industries is a first-person journey that adapts a sci-fi classic to PlayStation 5. Learn more about it in our The Invincible review!

The Invincible from 11 Bit Studios and Starward Industries is a first-person journey that adapts a sci-fi classic to PlayStation 5. It’s based on the 1964 novel by Polish writer Stanislaw Lem. You’ll be placed in the role of Yasna, an astrobiologist who, along with her crew, ends up on Regis III. It’s an unexplored planet, which makes for an interesting turn of events, given Yasna’s natural scientific curiosity for the unknown. Unfortunately, this is not going to be a smooth journey since you’ll soon need to start searching for lost crewmates.

It’s an experience that feels more like an interactive visual novel with a 3D look. Basically, it’s what would nowadays be called a walking simulator, which gives you an idea of how you might end up feeling about what The Invincible has to offer. Your choices matter, so the decisions and dialogue options selected along the way will set things into motion. This will lead you to reach one of the different endings that the game has to offer.

Yes, the game’s protagonist is different from the novel’s, but that was an intentional design choice by Starward Industries to bring a new perspective to the events from the novel. This allowed the team to make some creative choices along the way – including with the endings you can reach. Having Yasna as the game’s lead also makes it possible for fans of the novel to get something new from the story while also making it possible for those who are new to The Invincible to not feel alienated.

While exploring Regis III, you’ll walk with the left analog stick and look around with the right one. Pressing and holding down the L1 button will allow Yasna to run, but she won’t be able to do this for long before feeling tired. You can interact with the R2 button, which will allow you to check and review elements near and far. The L2 button will be for replying to any communication you might have… even if it seems your crewmates can hear you, but you can’t hear them back due to a malfunction on your equipment. When talking, you’ll have dialogue choices to make by pressing the X, Square, and Triangle buttons.

You can check your map by pressing down on the D-Pad, which will be updated as you progress further and further, and take notes on the different elements you run into. You have a tracker that can be activated by pressing right on the D-Pad. There’s a handy telemeter at your disposal, which is mapped to the D-Pad. Press up, and you’ll be able to zoom in and out and focus as needed to find something of interest in the distance. There’s also a detector that you’ll find at the camp, which will allow you to see through objects, which will come in handy at different moments of your adventure.

Trophy-wise, this one has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to work on. The list has 14 Bronze trophies, 10 Silver trophies, and 4 Gold trophies, with all of them being hidden. This is to be expected since having any of the trophy descriptions available right from the start could end up spoiling the experience. Rest assured that trophies will pop at a steady pace, with some of them tied to some of the specific choices you make along the way. Because of this and the different endings you can reach, there’s some replay value in The Invincible.

The Invincible is a first-person journey that adapts Stanislaw Lem’s sci-fi classic novel for a new generation. You’ll be taking on the book’s story as new protagonist Yasna, an astrobiologist who, along with her crew, ends up on the unexplored planet Regis III. As you walk around Regis III while suffering from a bit of amnesia, you’ll be taking on a 3D adventure that would nowadays be described as the walking sim variety, which means this one is not going to be for everyone. What ending will you end up reaching based on the choices you make along the way? The Invincible is out now on PlayStation 5.

Disclaimer
This The Invincible review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by 11 Bit Studios.