Remastered, but not what I expected
I have mixed feelings about this remastered version. I was really looking forward to play it when I saw the updates on facebook, and when it was out I bought it immediately. However, I found that while the main gameplay appearance was improved, many things that are so well-made in the original were either removed and / or replaced with basic placeholder text instead, which to me kind of ruined the experience. In addition, I didn't even get to the factory and encountered many bugs and incorrect gameplay behaviors that makes this feel like an unpolished release. Before I dig into it, I just want to say that I rated the game as 4/5, but it's mainly because I appreciate the effort that was put into it, and I don't want my review to affect the overall rating of the game. But honestly, I think that at its current state, this release deserves less than 4 stars.
I played the original game a few times, and while its pre-rendered backgrounds and game style are outdated, to me they're still stand, even in 2025. However, it is very nice to see that such great game is not forgotten behind and get a remastered version. But there are some caveats:
1. The cutscenes don't seem to be remastered at all. I think they were only cut from top and bottom to fit nowadays widescreens, as if I remember correctly, the original was in a 4:3 aspect ratio.
2. The user interface miss a basic thing that a 'point & click' adventure game should have, and it's a convenient inventory window where you could view what items you possess, and better from the actual game window from which you could either look on items or pick them to use on something else. Here however, you have them all in Kate's diary, which requires one click on the diary to open it, and then another click to either access the document section, or the rest inventory items section. But what's more frustrating is that you can't pick an item from there but only to look on them. To use an item on something, you have to interact with whatever it is that you wish to interact with, and if there's an item that can be used there then you'd see it in a circle to pick it up from. But if you don't possess the required item, you'd just see an empty circle - there's not even a way to scroll between other items to try them out on that interaction area. So it feels like the game is built like a "movie" in mind, and you just have to click here and there to make it progress, without any way to try "side scenarios" like using an item on whatever and get a "That doesn't work" feedback.
3. Looking on document items lacks a way to zoom-in to view them properly, and some of them are just too small while there is quite enough room on the screen to make them larger. They did however add a "Read" feature that shows whatever text on the documents in an overlay with big font, but it's still not like reading the actual graphic document.
4. I was surprised to find that some authentic elements from the original were completely removed and replaced with text based placeholders instead. For example, Kate's phone - she has an old mobile phone in the original; I think it was a Nokia. And you could search through your contacts by pressing the phone buttons. Here however you just get an overlay text showing to whom you can call. And if that's not enough, when you call someone you hear a "ring" instead of a dialing tone, which is both irritating and technically incorrect. Another example is the dialogue topics notepad you had in the original - the same as with the phone, this one was also removed and replaced with a text based placeholder as well. But why? The notepad was so authentic. It feels like playing an incomplete game with text based placeholders all over the place...
5. Walking in the new 3d world seems unpolished. I really wanted to like the fully 3d environment where you could move your mouse to examine the area. But it doesn't let you freely move the camera like I thought it would; you only get a camera pointing at some point (depending on the scene), and you can move it just a little to each side, so it's kind of limiting you from freely exploring the area in 360 degrees. I really struggled with it when I began walking in Valadilane, until I even got branches from the trees getting in the way, covering the camera view. I also found bugs where Kate speaks to other NPCs but not looking towards them, and even scenarios where Kate just "disappears" behind walls and even walking "into" the floor. It was then that I decided to stop playing and ask for a refund, as I didn't want to ruin my Syberia experience any further - I'd prefer to remember the original as it was.
I really wanted to like this remastered version, but unfortunately I did not. So that is my review. It doesn't say that it's a bad game - it's just that to someone who played the original, the things I mentioned above may come in the way and ruin the playing experience. However, if you never played the original, you may enjoy this game nevertheless as you don't know what you miss.
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