IT WAS, IT IS AND IT WILL BE THE BEST ADVENTURE GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED. EVERY THING IS BEST.
The story in Syberia is unbelievably fascinating. At the very beginning, you witness a funeral procession made up of wind-up toys outside the small French village Valadilène, immediately stimulating your curiosity. It turns out the person who died is Anna Voralberg, the proprietor of an unusual toy factory specializing in mechanical automatons. You play the role of Kate Walker, a young American lawyer who arrives on the scene from New York to seal the sale of that toy company to a major American multinational corporation. You quickly discover that the elder brother of the deceased, Hans Voralberg, is not dead as suspected, but very much alive and heir to the business. So, you must try to find him to complete your assignment. The storyline is original, easily as absorbing as best-selling novels, and full of unexpected twists that will keep you wondering what will happen next.
The female lead character, Walker, undergoes significant transformation in the course of this quest. Initially, she is obsessed simply with her immediate assignment, which is getting a signature on the certificate of sale. Constantly nagged through her mobile phone by her repulsive and self-centered boyfriend and her nasty and demanding boss, she nonetheless slowly begins to question the vacuous, fast-paced lifestyle she used to live. She gradually starts to trust her own initiative and judgment rather than relying on those who previously directed her life. This self-awareness about her own values leads to a shocking decision by Walker at the very end of the game. It's rare that any recreational title charts such subtle and yet dramatic changes over time in a central character.
The other human characters in the story are not just NPC placeholders, but deep and captivating individuals that evoke either sympathy or pity on your part. For example, even though you do not actually meet Hans Voralberg until near the end of the story, you learn about his brain damaged childlike state stemming from an accident in his youth, his genius at mechanical creation and his love of mammoths. Everyone with whom you interact, from three supercilious university administrators, to a passionate factory director, to a still talented but forgotten former singer, has something dysfunctional about them. To tell the truth, this makes the adventure far more interesting than if everyone were normal.
Even the automatons are utterly absorbing. In the early stages of the gameplay, automatons of all sizes and shapes abound. The one who you learn the most about is the rigidly rule-oriented and obsequious Oscar, who accompanies you on many of your travels after you give him a pair of new feet. When it's attacked and its hands are stolen, you have grown to know him so well that you feel a sense of genuine concern for the mechanical creation. In the last setting, an automaton appropriately named James has all the characteristics of a stiff upper-lipped British butler. Interestingly, the secret source of the automatons' non-stop energy is never revealed.
The locations are always riveting. Beginning in France and then moving on to Germany and Russia, the physical and cultural environments change realistically as you progress. More specifically, the search for Hans Voralberg takes you from Valadilène to the university town of Barrockstadt, then to the industrial city of Komkolzgrad, and finally to a relaxing spa in Aralbad. Each of the settings is crumbling and in a state of total disrepair, preventing you from ever having a sense of comfort. There's an overall surrealistic quality to these physical locales, as nothing seems quite right, taking you away from a sense of contemporary reality.
The puzzles in Syberia are fun, but definitely not the most outstanding component of the game. You have to pay close attention to conversations you hear and objects you see, which often are needed in settings far from where you find them, and you sometimes have to retrace your steps to resolve an enigma. All of the challenges do fit directly into the plot, rather than being artificially grafted into the adventure, and there's no obscure "hunt-for-the-pixel" action to be seen. You frequently are required to get mechanical devices functioning properly, usually by finding keys. When you locate voice cylinders, you learn critical parts of the background story. So while always presenting interesting challenges, the puzzles are not particularly memorable.
Yet this is no lighthearted play experience. From the moment you begin, you experience the melancholy emotions of depression, despair, dreariness, loss, regret, sadness and sorrow. Irreparable decay is everywhere, and rarely do you encounter any sign of hope or potential for improvement. You hear a lot about past glories, when for example the toy factory ran smoothly, the university thrived, the industrial center hummed with efficiency, and the seaside resort was the vacation spot for celebrities, but you never get an actual glimpse of any of these happier days. I have not played such a downcast adventure since Morpheus from Piranha Interactive.
Graphics: The visuals are unbelievably gorgeous, with the background scenery the real highlight. While each graphic element does not exceed the sky high state-of-the-art, reflected by the DVD-enhanced visuals in Dreamcatcher's Lightbringer and Schizm, the overall artistic impact is overwhelming, with every aesthetic choice approaching perfection. The color scheme is full of subtle pastel shadings that stimulate an acute sense of curiosity. Some of the most amazing panoramas occur during transportation, as you move from place to place; the blimp ride is particularly sumptuous. The architecture of each locale is inspired and perfectly representative of the actual time and place. When viewed at a distance, the characters have more convincing appearances and movement than figures in most computer releases do at close range. The cinematic changes in viewing perspective during gameplay are as professional as in any well-produced movie.
Special visual effects abound, including the excellent rendition of water - whether in a stream or a fountain - and the frequent appearance of flying birds. The cutscenes are an absolute highlight, so it's nice that you can view the ones you have seen over and over again if you wish. The third-person perspective offers a far wider view of the action than a first-person title ever could, and so is an excellent design choice on the part of the developers. Syberia utilizes to its best advantage an 800x600 graphics resolution, 32-bit color and anti-aliasing. If you own a slower computer, you may reduce the level of detail or the color depth.
Interface: The interface in Syberia is both elegant and functional, a real treat to look at and use. Rarely have I seen game menus receive the same lavish attention as the rest of an offering, but such is the case here. As is traditional in adventure-puzzle releases, you control everything with the mouse. The cursor clearly transforms to show what you can do at any point in time. When you pick up an object, it will briefly appear in the upper right of your screen before going into your inventory. Right-clicking the mouse accesses the inventory, and a notebook opens with question options when you talk with other characters. It's also a snap to read through the many documents you collect. The load-and-save system is also beautifully and flexibly implemented.
Gameplay: Syberia captured me from beginning to end. At night, when I thought back about the day's events, I could focus on nothing else. There's no time pressure or meaningless mazes to distract you from the central pleasure of the gameplay. As you progress through the journey, you share the sense of self-discovery Walker does as she learns from her experiences. Although the adventure is relatively linear, you never feel constrained in your exploration. There are, of course, parts that prove a little cumbersome, such as boarding the train and keeping it running. However, unlike Amerzone, which was a bit short, the more substantial material in Syberia is just the right length. While the surprise ending may not satisfy everyone, it's certainly thought-provoking.
The oft-cited similarities to Funcom's The Longest Journey are overstated. Yes, both are adventures have spunky female heroines (April Ryan and Walker) and a third-person perspective, but beyond that, the two offerings have distinct tones and different objectives. Frankly, I find playing Syberia to be the far more intellectually and emotionally absorbing experience.
Multiplayer: Syberia does not have a multiplayer component.
Sound FX: The audio in Syberia is almost as wonderful as the visuals. There are tons of fascinating ambient environmental noises, such as birds chirping and the wind blowing, and you hear varying sounds as you walk over different surfaces. The vocal effects are superb, with the voice acting giving a ring of both authenticity and passion to the characters. A couple of small qualifications are that some of the conversations are drawn out, and some of the idioms and common sayings are not perfectly reproduced in English when translated from the French.
Musical Score: The music is intermittent, but absolutely enthralling. The pensive, exploratory and mournful atmosphere of the full orchestral soundtrack perfectly suits the story and contributes greatly to the way in which this title totally envelops you. The music enters the picture at just the right moments, gradually rising in power and heightening the suspense in the transition among different dramatic elements. The only problems are that, at the default volume, the score sometimes overwhelms the vocal effects, and there's a touch of repetitiveness. But the score is so magnificent that you don't mind hearing its thematic tones many times over.
Intelligence & Difficulty: Like most adventure titles, Syberia offers no selection of difficulty levels. This is, however, not a glaring omission because the puzzles are not overwhelmingly hard to solve. Persistence and patience are what you need most to succeed, for no brain-melting abstract logic puzzles are to be found. With this pattern in mind, novices and seasoned aficionados alike will find fulfillment in this offering, with neither feeling frustrated or inappropriately challenged.
Overall: Syberia is, without question, the best adventure games I've ever played. The near-perfectly crafted combination of story, gameplay, graphics and audio makes it utterly enchanting. Both the personality of the characters and the look of the physical environments draw you inexorably into the spirit of the adventure. The logic of the mechanical automatons provides a consistently intriguing counterpoint to the blatant irrationality of many of the humans. The mix you encounter of handicap and genius, madness and passion, and inspiration and decay is downright haunting. Days after finishing the story, I still cannot get it out of my head. Even if you are not a fan of computerized adventures, I strongly recommend that you give this release a try, and if you do, you may begin to realize how much you've been missing.