Review of Syberia: The World Before – a story full of emotions

In summer, in addition to the drought around us, there is also a wild drought. And although I would say that in recent years it has become less and less, there is always time to catch up, which, of course, we also have. One of the biggest was the adventure game Syberia: The World Before, the fourth installment in the popular series of adventure games developed by the French company Microids. Unfortunately, there is one important news related to the development, the father of the entire series, Benoit Sokal, died in May last year, and the developers had to finish the title without his help. The game finally came out in March of this year, but the Czech localization was added only in June, which, of course, is a great reason to finally take a closer look at the title.

• Platform: PC (review), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch (all console versions coming later)
• Publication date: 18. 3. 2022
• Developer: Studio Microids in Paris
• Publisher: microids
• Genre: Adventure
• Czech localization: yes (subtitles)
• Multiplayer: Not
• Data to download: 21 GB
• Price: €39.99 (Steam)

Return of the classics

New Syberia takes place in two time periods. In the first, we follow the continuation of the story of Kate Walker, who is imprisoned in salt mines, but she manages to escape and she begins to look for the girl from the found photo. She looks exactly like her. We play as this girl in a second timeline that mostly takes place before and during World War II.

In terms of gameplay, this is a relatively classic point-and-click adventure game. The main content is exploration of locations, collecting key items and, of course, solving logic puzzles. From other games of the same genre, the most pleasant novelty in my opinion is the switching between characters, which sometimes happens. In short, you have to solve some puzzles partly in the past and partly in the present, which is immediately more interesting.

I enjoyed the game’s walkthroughs, the puzzles are of moderate difficulty, and I rarely get completely stuck. Anyway, I have to mention the somewhat clunky controls that sometimes complicate the gameplay. It’s mostly about walking, which is controlled by the mouse and doesn’t always work the way I imagined. It’s nothing to worry about, but you’ll definitely run into some pretty embarrassing moments.

On the other hand, I liked the fact that in addition to the main quests that continue the current story, additional side quests are available. In them you will always find out some interesting additional information, for example, about Wagen, the capital of the fictional state of Ostertal, where most of the action of Sybery: The World Before takes place.

And speaking of Wagen, I would like to emphasize how beautiful the whole city and all locations look. You will see new and historical areas, take a unique tram ride and the journey will take you to the picturesque landscape of the local mountains, for example. The places are very diverse, but they all have in common that they look beautiful. Of course, the interesting architecture is supported most of all by the general graphic side of the game, which is at a very good level, and I, frankly, was pleasantly surprised by its quality, because this is not a blockbuster.

However, I should note something on the technical side. The game sometimes has problems with short crashes, mainly when switching cameras during cutscenes, but also at some points in the gameplay. From what I’ve noticed, it’s not actually an FPS drop, so it’s quite possible it’s inconsistent frame sync, which is a pretty common problem in games. Fortunately, this is not too bad for such an adventure game.

On the other hand, I have to praise the musical accompaniment that was provided by the experienced composer Inon Zur, and he did an absolutely flawless job. In particular, it’s the Wagen anthem that you’ll remember long after you’ve finished playing it, but almost all of the music in this game is great and fits the scene.

Better than ever

And now to the main thing, this is, of course, the story. I am very happy that I can only praise him. Connecting the two lines works great, and as you progress, the individual pieces of the puzzle start to come together. You will find several twists and turns and, above all, many highly emotional moments, including the denouement itself. All this the authors were able to create to perfection. I also really liked the connection with the real story, which is persistently written here.

Of course, a fascinating story is not enough, but Syberia is betting not only on it. It also boasts believably written characters. Not everyone is the kind person who will help everyone and give Kate whatever she asks for, although you will find them here for obvious reasons. There are also more humorous passages, especially with the Oscar machine gun, which is forced to use the body of an animal whose name I dare not guess. So I’ll just say that he’s very cute.

The dialogues are also well written, backed up by very good dubbing. There I have a claim only to Kate Walker herself, who once again was given the voice of Sharon Mann. But she’s an older woman, after all, and you can really hear it in her voice, which doesn’t sit well with Kate’s age. Otherwise, she did a great job, and you get used to the inconsistency after a while.

Finally, I should also mention the Czech localization of the dialogues. And I am very happy that I can only praise her. This was taken care of by an experienced translator, Petr Tikhacek, who also has Czech subtitles for many other adventure games, such as those from the Ukrainian studio Frogwares. It is quite obvious that this is not a “machine” literal translation, but the author plays with words in different ways to make the sentences sound as natural as possible. In short, this is an absolutely first-class translation, which is definitely a big plus for all Czech and Slovak players, even if you speak English, in a genre where understanding the text is absolutely key.

After a not-so-successful trio, the Microids had a daunting task ahead of them. They needed to prove to the fans that they could still make a good game out of this series. But with the title Syberia: The World Before, they couldn’t do that. The fourth part is almost the absolute pinnacle of what “old school” adventure games have to offer. In addition, the game will please not only avid fans, but also complete beginners, because The World Before can be played even without prior acquaintance with the series. Because of this, I can recommend it to absolutely anyone who wants to experience this very emotional story.