The Invincibleis the debut title of Starward Industries—a narrative-driven sci-fi adventure based on Stanisław Lem’s 1964 novel of the same name. While Starward Industries reveres Lem’s source material, they are still taking some liberties from the original novel, introducing a new cast and POV character for players to control. Releasing on November 6,The Invincibletells a mature, hard sci-fi story taking inspiration fromgames likeFirewatchandRoad 96.
Game Rant recently spoke with Starward Industries' art director, Wojciech Ostrycharz, about adapting one of Lem’scelebrated sci-fi novels into a video game formatand why the team ultimately decided to introduce the game’s protagonist, Yasna, in favor of the book’s main character, Rohan. As a fan of Lem himself, Ostrycharz is keenly aware to readers' attachment to Rohan, and Starward Industries did not make the decision to exclude him lightly. Rather, the hope is to honor its source material by making a game good enough to stand on its own merits.
Re-Imagined Rather than Rehashed
Ostrycharz explained that Starward Industries wanted to tell Lem’s story from a fresh perspective to be as widely accessible as possible. Starting with a different character gives longtime fans of Lem something new to enjoy, while those who have never read Lem’s novel do not need to worry about not having read the original book. Even more important, however, was Starward Industries' desire to avoid misrepresenting Rohan:
“We also didn’t want to translate Lem’s character Rohan directly into the language of the game, precisely because we know how significant the character is to readers, and the gaming medium comes with its own opportunities and limitations.”
If Rohan was portrayed faithfully to the book, players might feel like their autonomy in the game would be at odds with the character’s authenticity in the book. Deviating from Rohan’s actions in the novel might make the game feel like fan fiction. Worse yet, watering down Rohan’s personality to make him more broadly accessible as a POV character—or turning him intoa silent or semi-silent protagonist—would be a disservice to readers' memories.
The “opportunities and limitations” Ostrycharz refers to the potential benefit of an adaptation, and the distinction between games and novels as storytelling media. For the purposes of portraying philosophical concepts and beliefs, these media can take the same subject and reach very different conclusions, with distinctions as significant as thosebetweenAtlas ShruggedandBioShock.Given those stakes, it makes sense that Starward Industries would want a new perspective for a new medium.
Timeless Themes
Despite the shift to a new medium, Ostrycharz believes Lem’s work, andThe Invincible’s messages are timeless:
“Both the book and the game strongly reference anti-imperialism, anti-colonialism, the limits of human knowledge, and respect for nature, even if it’s alien and incomprehensible. Regis III is an alien planet, but it could also be an Earthly jungle inhabited by an unknown species into which we enter with our tanks without a hint of humility.”
Ostrycharz’s evocative analogy drives homeThe Invincible’s broad appeal to modern audiences. WhereasBioShockand other narrative sci-fi gamestell violent horror stories,The Invincibleappears to focus on horrors in a more cerebral and less celebratory sense. Ostrycharz also stated the game’s tagline, “Not everything everywhere is for us,” is a tribute to Lem and his work, and ultimately, that’s something worth thinking about.
The Invincible
WHERE TO PLAY
You are a highly qualified, sharp-witted astrobiologist named Yasna. Being entangled in a space race, you and your crew end up on the unexplored planet Regis III. The scientific journey quickly turns into a search mission for lost crewmates. Follow its trail, but be fully aware that every decision you make can bring you closer to danger.On her journey, Yasna will face decisions that will shape the outcome of the story. Help her make difficult choices and witness one of 11 possible endings to the deeply philosophical story.Discover fragments of what’s lost and report to your Astrogator. Let his voice aid you during hard times when humanity’s greatest threat emerges. The latter will force you to rethink mankind’s ambitions and biases. Go on - make decisions, follow the mystery… but remember not to underestimate the brutal simplicity and brilliance of evolution.
