The (overdue) Invincible and Jordan Mechner's Replay
A long-pending analysis of Starward Industries' debut reveals a narrative delight that's quite rough around the edges. Plus, a quick look at Jordan Mechner's hot-off-the-press graphic memoir
Which game/s do you credit with getting you into gaming?
In other words, which game (or series of games) was it that made you sit up and think, “Hmm, I don’t mind this. I don’t mind this at all. In fact, I rather enjoy it”? And before you knew it, your life and gaming were inextricably entwined.
For me, those games were Prince of Persia and Karateka. In fact, I credit Karateka’s opening with introducing me to the word ‘craggy’. The sense of accomplishment I felt after using the word ‘craggy’ correctly was rivalled only by the sense of achievement I felt after figuring out how to kill Akuma’s hawk. Here is that opening text in full:
“High atop a craggy cliff, guarded by an army of fierce warriors, stands the fortress of the evil warlord Akuma. Deep in the darkest dungeon of the castle, Akuma gloats over his lovely captive, the princess Mariko.
You are one trained in the way of karate: a karateka. Alone and unarmed, you must defeat Akuma and rescue the beautiful Mariko.
Put fear and self-concern behind you. Focus your will on your objective, accepting death as a possibility. This is the way of the karateka.”
Disclaimer: These days I only remember the first line verbatim.
A few years later, I would get my hands on Prince of Persia, and at first glance, it looked vaguely similar.
And yet, it was completely different. Akuma had been traded in for the vizier Jaffar, Mariko had been swapped out for an unnamed princess, and empty-hand combat had been substituted for swordplay and light parkour. The protagonist’s movements seemed somehow more fluid, the challenges seemed a lot more open-ended, and there were new dangers lurking at each stage.
The game also featured a very interesting mechanic that allowed you to skip upto the first four levels, but in exchange, you had to complete the rest of the game in only 15 minutes. Naturally, my first instinct was to check out what the world of Level 5 (and onwards) was like, even if it was only for 15 minutes. Over time I realised that I could zoom through the first four levels without breaking a sweat or using up very much time.
Over the years, my relationship with the titular prince has ebbed and flowed — skipping some of the titles and having a great time with the rest. The most recent among the latter was this year’s Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. And you can read my thoughts on the game right here. While I enjoyed the title for what it was, my mind frequently went back to the original by Jordan Mechner and Brøderbund. It also occurred to me also that in all these years and beyond the games he’d designed, implemented and developed, I’d never learned very much about Mechner. At all.
It’s fortunate then that his graphic memoir Replay: Memoir of an Uprooted Family dropped last week and even more fortunate (for me anyway) that I got hold of a copy of it:
I’ve yet to complete it, because it isn’t really a comic book that you quickly flick through. It’s a deeply personal story of three generations of Mechners that draws you in to linger on each frame and savour it. And thus far, I’m equally hooked on the story as the charming hand-drawn and hand-written nature of the images and text respectively. Expect a more fleshed-out set of thoughts on the book at a later point. For now, it already feels like a must-read.
Review: The Invincible
Developed by Starward Industries and published by 11 Bit Studios
Rating: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
From the time its original teaser trailer dropped some time in October 2021, I was intrigued by the prospect of this game. At the time I hadn’t even heard of Stanisław Lem’s hard science fiction novel Niezwyciężony (The Invincible). By November last year when the game finally launched, I was a fair bit more au fait with the source material.
That it’s taken me over three months to write about the game is down to a number of reasons, not least of which are the falling through of plans with one publication and the editorial policies (“nothing but AAA games”) of another. Regardless, here we are now. I’d be remiss not to point out that this was the first time I was sent a review code and failed to follow up with an article about it.
And before we press on, I’d like to express my gratitude to the fantastic Shawn Petraschuk of Evolve PR for both finding a space for me on his list of code recipients and being incredibly patient throughout the past few months. Thanks a tonne, Shawn (check out his running updates and truly awful jokes here)!
Now on with the show. The Invincible is the debut outing by Starward Industries — an independent Kraków-based studio founded by people who worked on a bunch of AAA franchises including The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077, Dead Island, Dying Light and Call of Juarez. In February 2022, I had the chance to interview studio founder-CEO and the game’s director Marek Markuszewski to learn more about what he and his studio were cooking.
“We want to go beyond narrative minimalism and provide players with a new combination of sensations. They will find among other things, a detective mystery, a host of moral dilemmas, all sorts of political tensions, and scientific content,” said Marek.
I’ve completed the game twice — on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X — in order to see just how much my choices influenced the narrative. I am pleased to report at this point that the journeys were different in fundamental ways. According to the internet, there are a total of 11 different endings to be found. While this development does have me fascinated in the manner Blade Runner did with its 12 (or 13 depending on whom you ask) endings, I am wary of them being just variations of one another. However, that is a bridge to be crossed at a later time.
Now, having mentioned that the game was inspired by such titles as Firewatch and Alien: Isolation, I had a vague idea of what to expect when I loaded up the game: Deeply atmospheric, lots of choices within the branching narrative and a generous serving of suspense. The first thing that struck me about The Invincible was just how marvellously well-rendered the planet of Regis III was. As harsh and punishing as the environment may be, it certainly looks picturesque with the planets and stars looking as gorgeous as the dust that wafts across your path, and frequently gathers on your visor.
Sure, the game takes its own time to get going but that’s par for the course with narrative adventures. Within an hour or so, we find ourselves somewhat upto speed with the overarching story and given reasons for why our protagonist, Dr Yasna, has to embark on a quest across a section of the planet. The game, as Marek had stated in the interview, isn’t directly based on the novel; instead it introduces some new characters in a storyline that runs parallel to the events of the eponymous book.
In brief: Dr Yasna, astrobiologist and crewmember of research vessel The Dragonfly, finds herself on the hostile Regis III, far from her companions and with faint recollections as to why she’s even here in the first place. Over the course of some lengthy discussions with Astrogator Novik back on The Dragonfly and some exploration, our protagonist begins to piece together the puzzle. Along the way, she (a member of the Interplanetary Commonwealth) runs into various machines, a host of unfriendly environments and a few members of the rival human faction, the Cosmosolidary Alliance.
And gradually, the brief for Dr Yasna expands from merely doing astrobiology research to investigating what happened to the Alliance crew and finding out what the planet’s seemingly sentient ‘creatures’ are doing to humans. Overall, I found the story engaging enough, and an expectedly ‘lite’ version of the far more complex one on offer in the novel. However, this did mean that there were narrative corners cut and you’d have to grope around a bit for backstory, character motivations etc.
Disappointingly, gameplay is where The Invincible falls tragically short… and by some distance. As I’ve stated above, I was under no illusions that this would be a game that focussed more on telling you a story than with complex gameplay loops, but I expected more. For starters, a vast majority of the game entails you walking (or driving a vehicle) from one place to another. I’ve no problem with doing so, except that this is where a lot of rough edges are exposed.
For the most part, walking is fairly straightforward with the left stick dictating movement, right stick directing the camera and a shoulder button allowing you to move marginally quicker. Seeing as how we’re on another planet, I’m willing to concede that ‘sprinting’ here might not be as speedy as it is back on Earth. However, what is less forgivable is the dry and characterless nature of commuting by foot, with signposted interactions to climb up and down surfaces.
What’s strange is that certain areas that seem far easier to scale (than the ones signposted) are locked behind invisible walls. I also found myself frequently getting stuck behind rocks or between metallic stalagmites (can’t elaborate because spoilers). Driving around in an Alliance Rover is an exercise fraught with far less jank, however, manoeuvrability — particularly in tight spaces — is far from ideal. Prepare yourself for a fair bit of reversing, creeping forward, reversing again, going forward again and so on.
And when you’re not walking or driving, there’s a whole host of point-and-click interactions to keep you busy. By and large, I found these to be almost entirely shorn of anything resembling a challenge. From aimlessly meandering around (often with minimal direction) while traversing the rough terrains of Regis III to the game’s (somewhat extreme) handholding when it comes to other gameplay loops, the shift is stark.
Further, outside of a few choices (again, telegraphed ones where your decision will affect the story), most interactions and activities feel rather humdrum. Interactive objects are marked, but they either perform basic tasks like opening or closing doors, or lay thick reams of lore on you. Most conversations with the astrogator feel less necessary than existing simply to fill a void. It’s only deep into the game’s second half that conversations and interactions begin to feel more weighty and meaningful.
You’ll have noticed above that I’ve given The Invincible six stars out of 10, and for the most part it’s the branching narrative that does the heavy lifting for this rating. Your choices will shape your story, and to a large extent, the events play out in different ways — at least, that was the case with the two endings I found. Unfortunately, even though a playthrough takes anywhere between nine and 10 hours, the tedium of the core gameplay loops makes jumping in to find another ending quite a slog.
And so no matter how good Regis III looks, how wonderfully the sound design and musical score goes with the world and how intriguing and mouldable Dr Yasna’s story (especially her relationship with the Cosmosolidary Alliance) is, the game is hampered by sub-par gameplay. Perhaps this is something that could be patched (maybe with a skip button for certain jaunts once you’ve completed the game at least once) But for now, it goes a long way in compromising everything that is wonderful about The Invincible. Which is a damn shame.
Game reviewed on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. PS5 review code provided by publisher
In closing…
This week, I expect to be diving back into Rise of the Ronin (check out my review if you missed it last week) in search of a story crafted by very different narrative choices. I’ll also be wrapping up some loose ends with WWE 2K24 ahead of my review and Wrestlemania XL.