My Playtime: 7.5h (finished the game)
Intro
Syberia is a point and click game about automatons and traveling. You'll play as a woman that travels between places in a world full of automatons, a term used for robots that have souls.
Pros:
- Beautiful-looking backgrounds that have aged
- Some solutions can be tricky to solve
Cons:
- Objects tend to be hidden very well
- A lot of backtracking at the beginning
Specs
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Should you buy this game?
Yes.
If you like to play point-and-click games with a lot of walking around, buy this game at a sale.
In-Depth Review
Visuals
The game boasts multiple beautiful-looking backgrounds, but sadly, the visuals have aged. Characters look weird with their low-poly count and animation isn't looking as smooth as how it usually is in newer games. The buildings are still good if you account for the game's age though. The water reflection looks clear enough and the multiple perspectives that are shown when you are walking around the area makes traveling not boring.
Story
The game focuses on the premise that was told at the beginning. Everything that you do in the game will go towards that premise, although some dialogues between the main character and the automaton that aids her travel, Oscar, leave me amused sometimes. Oscar is an automaton that follows strict rules and is a selfish being, to the point that it can irritate the main character due to its annoying regulations. On the other hand, the main story feels bland to me, and the weak conclusion doesn't seem to help either. The last cutscene might look great to watch, but it feels too predictable to me.
The Game
Gameplay
As a point and click game, you'll travel between places, picking objects and using them for other objects. It can take some time before you get the hang of it, especially since some objects require you to interact in a certain order that is uncommon to be found in point-and-click games. Some objects are also placed in a place that is hard to see, changing the game to be one where you have to hover your mouse around the area until you see the cursor change.
The backtracking at the beginning was horrible. The game offers 4+ huge areas that you need to explore around, and the character walks very slowly. Moreover, you need to wait for her animations, whether it's just running to the other screen, going upstairs, or operating a machine, before you can switch to other screens. It can be exhausting to wait, especially since you need to go back and forth a lot if you don't know what you are doing. Luckily, it doesn't feel as bad from the middle half. Each new location is made smaller with important objects being made more obvious, making it easy to finish the area. I started to enjoy the game more after the change, and I'm glad that they keep it until the end.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2583431240
Solutions can be tricky at the beginning, but you'll get used to them. I didn't know that I need to interact with a mechanism in a certain order and some solutions require brute force to complete for example. The solutions will become simpler as you play, although some are still made tricky to make it more interesting. If you just want to brute force everything, the game also makes it easier by changing the cursor to indicate whether you can or can not use a certain object for another.
Length and Difficulty
I finished the game in 7.5h. I admit that the game was hard at the beginning, to the point that I didn't know what to do next. Most of the problem comes from the obscure objects and weird mechanics though. I didn't even know where an area was located at the beginning because it was so hard to see. The same also goes for interactable objects - some objects will appear after an event happen, and you'll need to be very attentive to see these objects. I wasn't particularly fond of these mechanics since I either have to read a guide to preserve my sanity or become frustrated with finding a needle in a haystack.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2613536697
Problems
The game crashed on me once and it doesn't have an autosave. You are also forced to play the game on full screen. Lastly, you need to remember some numbers manually to progress the game.
Conclusion
While Syberia is still good enough to be seen as a walking simulator game, you need to be aware that the game was released years ago - the graphics surely have aged from all those years. Some objects aren't looking as good as it was, and there are some oddities in the animations. The point and click elements might be lacking at the beginning, especially due to the useless backtracking and hard-to-find objects, but they soon start to improve starting from the latter half. I started to enjoy the game more because of it, and the character started to grow on me. Although I couldn't recommend it at the full price, it can still be enjoyed at a sale if you don't mind playing an old game with some downsides.
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