The Invincible just barely scrapes by with my positive recommendation. It’s less polished, more clumsy Firewatch, with a saving grace in form of excellent artstyle and soundtrack which help in forging a strong player fantasy of exploring an alien planet.

Unfortunately, there is a lot that goes against you enjoying this game fully. Graphically, there is noticeable object pop-in in places. Some 3D models could be seen through while in first person view (ie. arms, while hanging from the rope). Additionally, at one scene, planet’s soil turned into a checkered pattern which looked like a shader error.

Game softlocked me in level geometry multiple times with a lot of consistency. Cutscenes can break in some spots and some objects can be stuck in a “picking up” animations. Dialogue’s interactibility often falls flat - not reacting correctly to player’s actions, with awkward cuts and resumes.

Story might be a real treat for people who didn’t read the book - with mystery of the planet being really novel and engaging hard sci-fi bliss. While technically The Invincible: The Game is a side story to The Invincible: The Book, both ultimately share similar narrative beats. This is not a bad idea in a vacuum, but it can be a disadvantage of a kind: It may invite some unfavorable comparisons. Book is leagues better in writing quality, having no baffling contrivances for plot progression and no characters that can be unnecessarily annoying to listen.

Game was really working hard against my goal of fully immersing myself into it. What I mentioned above are some serious flaws, which slowly but surely were eroding my good will towards the game. Despite all of that, I ultimately decided to go for the positive judgement. Why?

If you have a soft spot towards unique artstyles, retrofuturism and highly atmospheric and ambient soundtracks you will love how this game can look and sound. Not only this game is an wallpaper generator with stunning alien vistas to gasp at, but it can reach its immersive goals when bugs don’t interfere. While this game has none of the gameplay depth of Outer Wilds (being a Walking Sim of course), it does scratch that exploratory, adventurous itch of its contemporary at multiple times. This is the aformentioned saving grace of the game that moves needle into more favorable direction for me.

I do recommend this game for sci-fi aficionados, but please wait for sale. With none of the graphical bugs and other issues I could recommend it at full price, but alas, we are on the wrong planet for that unfortunately.

I was very hyped long before this game even came out. They released a demo back then and it was very promising.
Well let me start with that: the demo totally spoiled the game because not only (in my opinion) has a huge spoiler on what's happening in the story, but is also the most action / interesting part that you will see in game.
Considering that, maybe my review is biased BUT honestly and objectively, the game is nothing special. Was I expecting a Firewatch in space? Yes. Is it? Not at all. Very basic gameplay on rails with few very well executed locations, fine voice acting, but the whole thing gets SO slow, interactions are SO lbland and imited (like "press this to go on"), invisible walls that get in the way in the (even then) limited exploration.

It could be that I had too high expectations, in any case it left kind of a bitter taste.

The Invincible, based on the book of the same name by Polish author Stanisław Lem from the 1960s, lets us slip into the role of cosmonaut astrobiologist Dr Yasna, who explores the planet Regis III in the distant future after an involuntary diversion on the journey home. When contact with the expedition on the planet suddenly breaks off, it becomes clear that the initially dead surface of the planet harbours a very strange, ancient secret. Dr Yasna, who travels to the surface after her lost colleagues, must now find out what happened down there... I can't agree with some of the sometimes very polemical reviews both online and here on steam, and for me the game also doesn't fall into the category of a classic walking sim. The graphics, sound and the general atmosphere, the retro-futuristic atompunk design are largely unique and very well done. The design was clearly inspired by the hopeful and flowery vision of future space travel in the early days of the Soviet era. In this respect alone, the game has a unique selling point. The game also tries to reconcile philosophy, adventure and suspense thriller. The developers deserve respect for this attempt alone. The exploration of the planet's surface, initially quite excitingly staged, becomes a little monotonous over time. It doesn't really pay off for the player whether they inspect every corner or opt for the shorter route. There are some (very small) alternative paths through the game, but few and far between. Generally, that´s a major problem with the game: there are some very interesting approaches in the plot, almost all of which lead nowhere. Unfortunately, there is no real replay value for me - exept for the different endings. And speaking of which: If you want to collect achievements and play through some of the not-so-obvious alternative endings, you will hardly be able to find out which of the monologue options lead to the desired ending without help from the internet. The end of the game comes relatively quickly and abruptly, and raises more questions than answers for some options. And yet: I somehow really liked the game. The basic mood is bitter, characterised by the atmosphere of an intangible threat. But despite the powerlessness of the protagonist, face to face with an seemingly invincible enemy that lingers in the shadows until the very end, a tiny glimmer of hope shimmers on the horizon. The game is not perfect. But it is clever. At times you run through a strange world that is so picturesque and yet strangely familiar and believable, as if you were standing in a painting. If you take your time and appreciate the atmosphere, you will experience a thoroughly interesting adventure. This game requires time and inner peace, as well as the ability to surrender to the imagination and get involved in what is happening. It is not a game for in-between times. Fortunately, you won't find cheap jump-scares and slimy aliens typical of the genre here. ‘The Invincible’ is a retro-futuristic fairy tale for adults, a book brought to life from a bygone era, from the other side of the iron curtain - born in a time when, despite the Cold War, technological progress seemed more promising than it does today and yet raised moral and ethical questions that remain still unresolved.