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General discussionThrowback Thursday: <b>Syberia</b>(10 posts)(10 posts)
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Posted March 17, 2022
It's another episode of Throwback Thursday, the GOG-made series on classic games we think you should definitely check out! As the next entry in the series is coming out tomorrow, with The World Before, we thought it'd be good to look back at where it all started. Today, folks, we're talking about Syberia!

This monumental classic, created by Benoit Sokal, is one of the most famous point'n'click adventure games ever created. In it, you'll help Kate Walker a young lawyer from New York, solve a life-changing mystery, and discover much about herself in the process. A very human adventure taking you on a trip from the west to the east of Europe, in a gorgeous world full of ingenious machines with a unique atmosphere, that's what Syberia has to offer.



Recommended by Boris, Comms Team


[i]I don't even know where to start when it comes to Syberia. At a time when games weren't as mainstream as they are nowadays, it introduced me to something that never left me ever since. This medium was meant for story-telling, for feelings, for art.
Syberia is about a journey and it WILL take you on a ride. Thanks to the numerous meetings with a host of touching and fascinating characters during my travels with Kate through time and space, the mystery crafted by the late Benoît Sokal pulled me in with a subtlety and inescapable force I wasn't expecting.
The blend of realistic locations and steampunk elements made me both believe in this world and be entranced by it. A waking dream that brings the struggles of being human in a gentle light. Please, give it a chance. [/i]

The Throwback Thursday series is done in cooperation with The Video Games History Foundation – a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and teaching the history of video games. If you want to support them, we encourage you to check their donation page. And if you'd like to see all the games in this ongoing series, go to its dedicated page.
Posted March 17, 2022
I enjoyed Syberia 1 and 2 considerably (looking past some of the shortcomings in the gameplay), but I wonder what's left of the series for me. The third game was kind of a technical mess, and most importantly, it had probably the weakest plot so far, paired with less emotionally engaging moments and pretty dry gameplay (it was also fairly depressing, rather than being melancholic like the first two, resulting in something far from the "bitter-sweet" feeling I associate with the series).

The next one seems even more depressing, and Kate seems to have gone through some considerable changes as well. Now, I certainly hope it's a good game, but if neither the feeling nor the protagonist give the same vibes, I wonder if I can find something to enjoy.
Posted March 17, 2022
Imo Syberia should have been ended with the final of the first game. I think Sokal and cia didn´t understand their own game. I mean, if Kate arrives or not to Syberia is not the plot. Syberia is a Mc Guffin, the Shangri-La of Hans. The choice that make Kate is the most important, to leave her life, the routine, in front a dream, unclear but thrilling. In my humble opinion of course.
Posted March 17, 2022
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argamasa: Imo Syberia should have been ended with the final of the first game. I think Sokal and cia didn´t understand their own game. I mean, if Kate arrives or not to Syberia is not the plot. Syberia is a Mc Guffin, the Shangri-La of Hans. The choice that make Kate is the most important, to leave her life, the routine, in front a dream, unclear but thrilling. In my humble opinion of course.
I mean, yes and no, right? I get your point, but I don't think the sequel where they reach the destination undermines the story arc in Syberia. It also provides an interesting look in her new priorities (and how commited she is to them), as she helps the person that effectively made her realize there are more important things in life fulfill his dream.

Now, if we are talking about which one is better, I'd say the first one, and if you ask if the sequel was necessary, it wasn't, but I think it works pretty well as a sequel.
Posted March 17, 2022
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argamasa: Imo Syberia should have been ended with the final of the first game. I think Sokal and cia didn´t understand their own game. I mean, if Kate arrives or not to Syberia is not the plot. Syberia is a Mc Guffin, the Shangri-La of Hans. The choice that make Kate is the most important, to leave her life, the routine, in front a dream, unclear but thrilling. In my humble opinion of course.
I loved syberia, was pissed when it turned out to be half a game, basically, then found the sequel so bad it even soured the memories of the original, so I never touched the rest.
Posted March 18, 2022
Despite the bumps in the road this series had I really liked the universe that was created in these games, the clockwork steampunk style was really unique when the first game came out.
Posted March 18, 2022
Imo Syb 1+2 are amongst the finest and most beautiful point and click adventures ever made. The idea with the phone calls alone was genius and then all those contraptions - such vision and creativity. And then there are the characters. It is a pity that they destroyed basically everything they built up with Syb 3 but I still hope that they manage to get some sort of closure with the upcoming Syb 4 ... even though Sokal passed away (RIP) before it was finished.
Post edited March 18, 2022 by MarkoH01
Posted March 18, 2022
I prefer Sokal as a comic artist - Inspector Canard is a must read, mature oriented comic book with anthropomorphic animals. Syberia 3 could be easily fixed to be made better but at this point it looks like it will be left in that state. I have enjoyed the demo of the 4th game - oh don't tell me, another demo desaparecida. I am happy that they still bother to localize the game with voice. Being release day I can only hope that this time they haven't messed it up.
Posted March 19, 2022
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mdqp:
I'm glad you liked them too, I enjoyed a lot too with Syberia 2, it had still better graphics, the same great music, much more puzzles, is more long, the first could take me about 6-8 hours and the second about 15-20 hours. But an excess of villains imo.

The only thing i would delete is the story of the detective because is unnecessary (what company follow a employee) if at least they had said that Kate had been taken the contract of the factory it has make more sense. I´m writting of memory.

Only that the final of the first imo is perfect, she makes a choice, the choice that not all of us have the courage to make. The first has some great points of view. Regards!
Posted March 22, 2022
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argamasa: Syberia 2, it had still better graphics, the same great music, much more puzzles, is more long, the first could take me about 6-8 hours and the second about 15-20 hours
Actually, music for the first game is written by Dimitri Bodiansky and Nicholas Varley. While the composer of Syberia 2 is Inon Zur. Personally, I like Syberia 1 soundtrack more.)

And, as far as I recall, the original game is longer and has more puzzles, than the sequel.
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General discussionThrowback Thursday: <b>Syberia</b>(10 posts)(10 posts)
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