One of the most intriguing announcements from last year was that some former members of Polish AAA game company, CD Projekt Red, had opened up a new studio known as Starward Industries. The studio includes talent that helped create games such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Dying Light, and Cyberpunk 2077. Now, it is looking to launch its first ambitious title known as The Invincible, a retro sci-fi cinematic epic based on the novel of the same name by Stanislaw Lem.
The Invincible was announced to be in development last year, with a few details given on its story and premise. It is set in an alternate universe where the Cold War never ended, and where humanity developed advanced space travel technology. The player is put in the space boots of Dr. Yasna, a scientist who landed on the unknown planet known as Regis III in the Lyra constellation. From there, Yasna explores the planet looking for her team, accompanied by Astrogator Novik, an ally that players can communicate with over radio.
The first teaser trailer showed off the alpha footage of The Invincible, giving players some insight into what they can expect. The footage shows Yasna scaling the mountain cliffs of Regis III, where viewers can hear her and her companion Astrogator chatting about the status of their adventure, with Yasna talking about searching for someone. As soon as she reaches the top, she looks back from where she came from, giving a gorgeous look at the sprawling world of the planet's surface, along with the base where she started her journey.
The trailer also gives a look at some of the retro atompunk inspired elements present in the setting, such as the protagonist's radio communicator and other technology used when they landed on the planet. Yasna then detects the presence of the one who she is looking for, who has her pinned down and points a gun at her, alongside his robotic assistant. The trailer very tensely ends on the man's words, asking Yasna "what have you done?"
Starward has said that this game will be a cinematic thriller, where the choices players make and the consequences from them can lead to branching storylines and multiple different endings. The trailer seems to cement this oppressive and tense atmosphere, as Yasna is put into a difficult situation where the solution is up to the player and can affect the overall narrative. While there's no moment-to-moment gameplay shown off yet, the game is looking quite promising, based on the premise and its retro sci-fi aesthetic.
The Invincible will launch in 2022 for consoles and PC.