Starting life as a comic book series before being adapted for television by Amazon, Invincible has won over a legion of fans thanks to its more adult and nuanced take on superheroes and their powers. Much like The Boys, this is a series that doesn’t shy away from topics that Marvel wouldn’t touch with a barge pole, and is also generally much more gory and violent. The world of Invincible is soon set to infiltrate the world of videogames, too, with Invincible Presents: Atom Eve launching on PC via Steam this November.
We’ve been hands-on with a preview version of Invincible Presents: Atom Eve, getting a taste of what to expect when the game launches. Essentially a visual novel, it’s presented in a comic book style, which is a nice touch given its roots. Assuming the role of Atom Eve, conversations play out via text bubbles, with you in control of the pace. Although this isn’t simply a passive experience – boxes will occasionally appear on-screen giving you a range of options as to how to reply to questions or respond to actions. You’re somewhat in control of the story, then.
You’re often also given the choice of what to do during your days. As a young Atom Eve, you’re at an important time in your life where you need to consider your future. Your parents are on your back about going to college, you’re not to sure about the relationship with your boyfriend, Rex, and then you’ve got the whole superhero thing going on with the Teen Team. You don’t seem to get a minute for yourself. What do do get, though, is to prioritise. Via a town map, it’s up to you whether you choose to meet Rex for breakfast, for example, or you might choose to investigate a lead and end up in a fight with a villain. Alternatively, you could be good and simply head straight to school.
No matter what you do, you earn valuable experience as you go, and this can then be invested into numerous skill trees. There are special moves to learn, stat boosts to unlock, and perks that will make your everyday life that bit easier. It provides a nice sense of progression and development, and somewhat allows you to make your version of Atom Eve your own. Ultimately though, you’ll appreciate most of your upgrades when you find yourself in combat.
Every once in a while you’ll face off against a powerful foe, engaging in battle via a turn based system akin to one you’d find in a typical RPG. A range of actions are available to you, such as hitting your opponent with your fists, putting up a shield, or sticking them to the ground with glue, though each action costs one or more units of energy that are regenerated between turns. Thanks to certain skills such as a powerful beam that uses all stored energy, with the damage dealt scaling with how much energy is used, there’s a real sense of strategy. Fail to use your energy efficiently, and you may be the one getting a pounding. Thankfully in some fights you’ll also have assistance.
We’ve only played a small portion of Invincible Presents: Atom Eve, but we’ve very much liked our time with it. It looks absolutely fabulous, as you’d expect, and it’s engaging taking control of Eve’s daily life. If you’ve ever wanted to navigate the life of a superhero, this is your chance. Though you’ll probably soon find that fighting crime while pleasing those around you and yourself isn’t all that easy.
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve launches 14th November on PC via Steam
Wishlist Invincible Presents: Atom Eve on Steam
