 |
Proton again offers this experience for Linux players. Surprise of surprises, it becomes choppy and slow at times, evident when I first time entered a camp. There have been claims that switching to Proton Experimental could improve things, but I saw no real difference. I downgraded a few graphics settings, which I shouldn't really need to do, but the effect mostly persisted and I just persisted with it.
What about the game? The Unreal engine visuals are nice, replete with retrofuturistic old-timey equipment, trackers, telescopes, scanners. As a member of an impromptu expedition to the planet Regis III, the player has to reconnect with the other crew and begin unraveling the mystery of what has happened.
It's immediately clear you are not a free explorer of a planetary environment. Often items tend to work only for the "event" at hand. For example, the beginning where the backpack condition and contents are meticulously inspected, suggests the backpack could be an integral part of the gameplay, but it isn't. Finding your bearings is a contained task, not something you figure through the geometry and the maps on your own.
 |
| Using the tracker |
Although the tracker, scanner and telescope can be used nearly all the time, the points where they can meaningfully forward the plot, are automatically activated or otherwise made very clear.
It's of course possible there are many secret locations and easter eggs that require more creative uses of the tools, but I'll reserve this for some later time.
The Invincible is best seen as a walking simulator, a game genre which generally conflates a rigid narrative with travel. One could almost say the player character is the playhead of a narrative, but these games tend to obfuscate and produce enough choice so the player feels there's perhaps more agency than there really is.
 |
| Exploration continues... |
As in Firewatch, much of the play is about moving from one place to another, while communicating with one person through radio. Similarly, you can choose what to say on occasions, but it is always uncertain whether this affects the overall narrative much.
Typical to this genre, there really aren't any complicated puzzles, so it's not like a point'n'click adventure in first person. Occasionally things and locations need to be figured out, and some tools and interfaces might prove to be tricky, but that's it. Anyway, difficult puzzles might break the story flow and trivialize the more important themes.
 |
| A vehicle is on offer too |
Having read the book a few times, the secret of Regis III wasn't much of a mystery to me, but the story could still throw a few surprises. It is also interesting to see the way the game meshes with the book. Some of the story elements are almost inevitably the same as in the book, and although I didn't explore every nook and cranny, I feel some topics were also left untouched so it won't "spoil" the book.
