Creating something fresh can be a tough creative endeavor. Much like the film industry, gaming has taken on some popular tropes over the last decade, making newer sci-fi releases feel, at times, iterative of their counterparts. That’s not the case with the new upcoming title from Starward Industries called The Invincible.
While everyone seems to be going the cyberpunk route, The Invincible plays on the nostalgia from sci-fi classics like Buck Rogers and Lost in Space from the 60s and 70s. Dubbed “atompunk,” The Invincible trades in rag-tag, post-apocalyptical raiders on an environmentally-devastated earth and replaces it with a proper 60s space adventure on an unknown planet inhabited by dangers around every corner.
You’ll be playing an astronaut who crash lands on an alien planet called Regis III. After you wake up, you’ll encounter a host of dangers there, including giant robots keen on taking you out. Based on the sci-fi novel written in 1964 by Polish writer Stanisław Lem, the events in the game will take place before the events in the novel.
Recently, we spoke to Starward Industries about their upcoming title, The Invincible.
See our full interview below:
Gamer Digest: Can you tell us more about the amazing development team and how that came to be?
Starward Industries: Currently, there are about 30 highly talented people working at Starward Industries. We are a team of independent individuals with both artistic and technical rooted education. Many of us previously worked for well-known studios such as CD Projekt Red, Techland, and Bloober Team.
We had the pleasure to work on AAA productions such as The Witcher 3, Dead Island, Dying Light, Call of Juarez, and loads more. Some of us may have worked together before in other game development companies; however, there are also many team members who have met for the first time here.
What is really characteristic for our team and which makes me really proud is that we are open-minded to the means of achieving your goal. This means that we do not stand in one place with our “creativity box.”
GD: The developers have mentioned that your choices change the story. Are there multiple endings? Are there multiple paths to take?
SI: The narration in our game is linear. However, in the course of a certain plot, the player comes across a variety of side-themes and motives. Dialogue choices play an important role and they have an influence on the relationship with the characters you will encounter on Regis III. To be precise, some choices made in the game determine the final scenes of the game. So yes, we are planning various endings.
GD: What kind of game will The Invincible be? Will it be on rails or a more open-world survival-esque experience? Survival mechanics? Will there be puzzles?
SI: Our ambition is to create a story-rich game that will remain in the player’s memory for a long time, so “The Invincible” is an emanation of the pure, immersive narrative experience.
In other words, it is an emotional story-driven game with a philosophical and scientific background. All mechanics in the game, such as driving a rover or controlling the probe, are closely related to the plot.
GD: How much will customization (ship customization, character customization) play a part in the game?
SI: We are planning small personalization elements with a range of players’ freedom. However, we do not want to reveal any details at this stage.
GD: How much is the story based on the source material? As we understand, the events in the game occur before Stanisław Lem’s novel.
SI: We are using the construction of the world created by Lem in “The Invincible”, also by taking the main points of the book’s plot. The whole story is presented, however, from the point of view of the individual, the astrobiologist Yasna and her small crew.
The story presented in the game takes place before the events described in the book but is closely related to the author’s vision and idea. The experience that the player will get in game will be unique, but the idea he will encounter remains based on book.
GD: What kind of gamers do you think will love The Invincible?
SI: Our game will be perfect for the fans of narrative games. For those who appreciate the extraordinary vision, hard sci-fi elements. We believe that the game will also be appreciated by those who like nostalgia in aesthetics. We want “The Invincible” to be a visual masterpiece of atompunk.
The story based on Lem should be close to the heart of fans who enjoy science, philosophical literature, and all those looking for a hidden agenda in the plot.
GD: Does the game plan on coming out in 2023?
SI: Exactly. We are planning to land on Regis III in 2023.
GD: Do you plan on expanding on the universe with custom DLC in the future?
SI: Of course, we think about it intensely, and we took the first few creative steps for it. However, it is worth noticing that now we are highly focused on finishing the game at the highest level.
GD: Is there anything else you’d like to add about The Invincible?
SI: Developing this game is a great experience. We hope that the eerie world into which we invite players will draw them in with its mystery and originality.
There is still some time until the premiere, but today we encourage you to follow us on Facebook and visit our website, where the side story, intertwining with the game is constantly updated.
The Invincible will be available on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store.
Follow along with the story before the game comes out on the official The Invincible website.
