Syberia 1 & 2

Genre: Compilation / Graphic Adventure

Players: 1

.

Review:

Syberia and its sequel, Syberia II, are both Graphic Adventure games originally released on multiple platforms in 2002 and 2004, focusing on the tale of a contract lawyer whose initial journey to close a deal with a small-town factory ends up leading to an increasingly epic quest across the continent.

The first game had players investigating clues to try to seek out the heir to the strange factory of clockwork toys, with said automatons often featuring heavily in the puzzles. Meanwhile, the second game takes place right after the events of the first, with players joining said heir as he travels in search of the mythical land of Syberia (not to be confused with real Russian region of Siberia).

These games bear the mark of their era with graphics that are conceptually inventive, but look dated now, making heavy use of polygonal characters on pre-rendered backgrounds. Think of the Final Fantasy and Resident Evil games on the original PlayStation, and you have an idea. It makes for this strange combination of impressive and archaic. At the very least the voice acting here is all solid, although it’s jarring to see these characters speak without their faces moving or their mouths opening.

As for the gameplay, as years have passed, this style of game has fallen by the wayside, and to their credit the folks who ported the game tried to make things as user-friendly as possible here, but the game is still beset by issues caused by its set camera, as well as the old puzzle design of the era with unclear goals and bizarre logic (some fans have dubbed this “Sierra Logic”, after defunct game-maker Sierra, who was infamous for it).

While the presentation of Syberia 1 & 2 is certainly dated, they still have a unique look and feel to them, and the original story may interest those looking to explore strange foreign lands and odd machinery in a Graphic Adventure. However, I feel that most players will find these games to be relics best left in the past.

tl;dr – Syberia 1 & 2 is a compilation of two Graphic Adventure games that were once celebrated but now really show their age, with dated graphics, confusing puzzle design, and occasional interface issues. There’s still some real quality work here, but it’s buried under a decade and a half of dust.

Grade: C

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