Unreal Engine powers stylish stellar mystery The Invincible

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Trauma-inducing survival horror game Alien: Isolation and charming narrative adventure game Firewatch hardly seem like they could both be inspirations for the same new game.

But developer Starward Industries believes it managed to weave together the sense of personal journey found in Firewatch with the unnerving sense of constant threat that terrorized players in Alien: Isolation.

The result is The Invincible, an intriguing new take on a masterful piece of hard science fiction of the same name written by famed Polish author Stanisław Lem and published in 1964. The book, which deals with the nature of life and weighs heavy philosophical questions about humanity, is so steeped in future tech creations and interstellar landscapes that the one attempt to turn it into a movie failed for a lack of funding.

While this video game take on the book will focus on the narrative and analogue, retro technology found in the original story–which is about the search for a lost interstellar spacecraft on Regis III–it’s being told through a set of different eyes and another crew.

We chatted with some of the team at Starward Industries about the game’s inception, why Unreal Engine was a perfect fit for the team, and the advice they would give other indie studios hoping to create an atmospheric story-driven game.

To read the rest of this story, which first ran on Aug. 2, 2023, visit UnrealEngine.com.