Syberia

This game might be 12 years old (as of writing this comment), but the story and the concepts of the game world are timeless. I first played it as a demo back in 2002-2004 era, but the game is still great. A New York lawyer, Kate Walker, is sent to out by her firm to finalise the sale of an automaton factory currently owned by the Voralberg family, located in a town called Valadilene in French Alps, . Unfortunately, upon arriving she finds out that the last member of the Voralberg family passed away just before she arrived. The mission appeared to be a failure... Until Kate found out that there is one more, previously unknown member of the Voralberg family. He can finalise the sale, but first he requests that Kate fulfils his wish - his dream of finding the last surviving mammoths, something that he spent his entire life on. Of the game's concepts, the most intriguing one is the idea of automatons. Automatons are devices whose function is not based on electronics or electricity, but on sophisticated clockwork mechanics. This makes them distinct from the mainstream technology, but no less advanced. In fact, sometimes much more advanced than what has been achieved with mainstream technology, as you will find out. At the promo price currently, I definitely recommend buying this game. If you enjoy adventure games, get this one as well, plus the sequel Syberia 2.

Its an amazing game with a great story.

When I was 15, I saw this game get reviewed in the TV, and I was very fascinated by the serious but also thoughtful look of the game, it was art I was not used to at all. The game is all about immersive storytelling and wonderful locales to visit and explore, and the characters are so full of life it's absurd. It inspired me so much that I wrote a short-stort inspired by the game and was praised by my teacher for it. Be sure to play the first 30 minutes with the lights off.

I've heard for a long time that Syberia is one of the best adventure games ever made, and when it was recently made available for free due to the passing of its creator Mr. Sokal, I figured I may as well give it a try. In general, I'd sum it up as being overrated, but without the negative connotation that word usually possesses. The atmosphere is what salvages it. From the start the player is dipped headfirst into environments rich with Art Deco style but covered in a growing layer of decay. Each place is nearly abandoned: a dying town, a university with what seems like five students total, an abandoned Soviet mine and factory complex, a hotel on the edge of the world where the rich and famous once came to take the air. Rust eats away metal. Grass and plants are a sickly green. Bombed buildings lurk in the distance. Characters speak of past glories and the exhaustion of old age. To me it's clearly a metaphor for post-WWII Europe (and post-Soviet Eastern Europe/Russia). The rest of the game is unremarkable. Subtitles frequently depart from spoken dialogue. Many characters have oddly American accents and it seems like maybe three or four people voiced the entire cast. Characters are often abandoned and never heard from again (although to be fair this can be a strength as well, with how well the game conveys abandonment). The music (as heard in cutscenes; I turn off in-game music) sounds carousel-like and doesn't suit the environments' heart-piercing loneliness. The ending is abrupt and the heroine's development is nonexistent, her inner monologue never conveyed to the player. Puzzles can be unintuitive. The obsession at the heart of the story isn't well-conveyed. It takes an age for the heroine to cross each screen even at a run. Backtracking through cavernous locations becomes unbearable. The heroine's animations are frustratingly slow. I would recommend playing Syberia for atmosphere alone, if you can bear how poorly it's aged. It can be unforgettable.

Syberia is probably one of the best, if not the best adventure game ever written. Each step of the game is like descending into a dream world, like our own and yet just strange and different enough to be enchanting. The game follows the story of a young lawyer who is sent to get the last surviving heir of a famous toy and automaton factory to sign it over to a large corporation. This chase leads her across the country in a clockwork train, following an elusive and brilliant adventurer searching for the last living Mammoths on Earth. The voice acting is superb, the puzzles both challenging and logical and the scenery breath taking. If you missed Syberia the first time, as so many people did, you missed out. This game is well worth your time.