The Invincible review: Going out of your mind on a forbidden planet

But The Invincible confounds expectations in myriad ways, using as its foundations the 1964 novel of the same name by revered sci-fi author Stanisław Lem. The Polish writer is best-known for the moody deep-space thinkpiece Solaris, later made into film versions by Andrei Tarkovsky and Steven Soderbergh.

However, in this game adaptation of The Invincible, Polish studio Starward Industries bravely approaches the plot from a different direction while retaining the Soviet-like retro-futuristic aesthetic. Instead of focusing on the giant cruise ship of the title – which in the book lands on the remote planet Regis III to investigate a mystery – the developers look sideways to a smaller rival mission on board Dragonfly aiming to beat Invincible to the punch.

This is where we meet our protagonist Yasna, a mild-mannered biologist who stayed in orbit on Dragonfly while most of the crew explored below. She comes to, her head hurting and her mind befuddled as she realises she’s seemingly alone on the surface with no idea how she got there. Regis III may be apparently empty and potentially hostile but Starward renders it nonetheless a magnificent sight – all gorgeous skyboxes and heartstopping vistas. Yasna’s tools – trackers, scanners and the like – conform to the 1950s theme with their delightfully analogue buttons and dials.

Her first task is to survive this environment so she makes for the crew’s base camp, where to her immense relief she realises her mission commander Novik is still alive aboard Dragonfly and able to contact her over the radio. Thus begins a two-hander in which Yasna and her boss work together over comms to survey the dusty landscape of Regis III, solving problems and making sense of this unfriendly place.

It's a set-up reminiscent of the atmospheric slow-burn of Firewatch. Like that superb piece of human drama, the Invincible plays out as what has often been dismissively called a “walking simulator” – exploration, observation and deduction, with little in the way of gameplay challenge. Unlike Firewatch, the relationship between the two leads is anything but warm. Initially, Yasna and Novik are clear on the chain of command – he imperious and pragmatic, she deferential and empathetic. But as Yasna treks deeper into Regis III, that connection between the two frays and changes. Novik’s irritation begins to make her suspicious. Can he even be trusted at all?

Given that you spend a sizeable chunk of the listening to the two spar, Starward did a fine job with the voice casting – the two largely unknowns of Daisy May and Jason Baughan convincingly bring to life the push and pull of desperation meets officiousness.

Regis III holds many secrets, not least its strange metallic structures, its alien lifeforms and the anomalous effects it has on any humans exposed to them. Starward leaves you to marinate in these themes while pulling you gently through its linear plot. It’s a compelling experience, obviously lacking in conventional gameplay and still utterly fascinating. From the vaguely sinister undercurrent throughout to the stunning landscapes, The Invincible is a thought-provoking slice of sci-fi worthy of Lem himself.