Too Close for Comfort

"The Invincible" was originally a novella by science fiction author Stanisław Lem, but has since been adapted into a comic and video game.  It is also the name of the titular starship which plays a notable part in the story.  Unlike the comic, which is more-or-less a direct retelling events in the original story, the video game acts as a prequel of sorts.  In theory, this sounds like a great idea.  It gives the developers, Starward Industries, an opportunity to expand on the setting and characters.  Sadly, the game sticks a bit too close to the source material.

Stanisław Lem's writings have a deliberately incomplete quality to them that is a significant part of his appeal.  His stories tend to emphasis the unknowable in that encounters with extraterrestrial life end up in either a complete inability to communicate or (perhaps worse still) miscommunications that lead to disaster.  It's a theme that pops up in some of his other most famous works, such as "Fiasco" and "Solaris".  "The Invincible" is no exception, and exhibits this almost trademark aspect to his style.  The problem I have with it is there isn't a strong narrative arch.  Practically by necessity, the story must end in a dissatisfactory way.  However, this doesn't mean that there can't be some kind of payoff at the end.  The ending of "The Invincible" novella feature one of the POV characters volunteering to recover the bodies of dead crewmates who fell in the field.  It's somewhat of a harrowing final chapter that could have had a uplifting twist.  Perhaps one of the crew thought to be dead is actually still alive and in need of rescue?  I'm not an editor for a science fiction magazine, so I can't say for certain how the story could have been improved, but I definitely feels like it's missing a certain special something that would make it stick with the reader...and for better or worse (probably the latter) the game sticks with Stanisław Lem's signature way of drawing to a close.

There are actually three possible endings to the game.  None of them are particularly compelling.  They don't really expand on the lore, nor do they give us much more in the way of insight into characters featured in the novel itself.  Mostly, the story of The Invincible is a retelling of what people who have read the original story already know.  This lack of ambition also extends to the gameplay, which is very much of the walking simulator variety.  That's not to say I dislike the genre, it just feels like a missed opportunity in terms of all the different ways players could have experienced exploring the exoplanet Regis III.  It's all a bit baffling considering how much time was spent on development.  What were they spending all their time working on?  Was there a lot of cut content?  Maybe the team at Starward Industries held the author in too high esteem?...so much so they were unwilling to stray too far or build too high up from the foundation?  It's hard to say...regardless, The Invincible is kind of bland outside of its retro-future visual aesthetic.  Also, why the heck is there no way to play this game with characters speaking in Polish?