Syberia 3

13 years is a very long time, and the video gaming world has changed a lot since Kate Walker's escape from the island of Syberia. Fans of the New York lawyer, however, never gave up the hope of seeing their heroine back, and their patience has been rewarded with Syberia 3. Rewarded, however, is not the correct word, in this case, as the game is filled with so many issues that make playing it extremely frustrating.

Kate Walker is once again abandoning city life to hang out in the cold mountains of Siberia. So, grab some winter boots and the fluffiest coat you can find and let's get solving some puzzles.

In any way you look at it, the story of Syberia 3 cannot be described as anything other than heart-breaking. Not only for the player or the characters themselves – if ever they were capable of realising the technical mess they were a part of – but for developer Microids. So long have they been working on this game with an ambitious attitude hoping to satisfy long-time Syberia fans after an excruciating 13 year wait. There is a great adventure game here just begging to be broken out, however for now as Syberia 3 stands, Kate Walker’s story is one best left washed ashore.

Having made the transition to full 3D with Unity, Syberia 3 suffers from a litany of performance issues, at least on consoles. Framerate dips are pretty much constant regardless of what’s happening on-screen, character animations also have a tendency to bug out and lip syncing is pretty bad. In one particular sequence, I also found a recurring game-breaking glitch and level geometry that simply wouldn’t load.

Syberia was once a well-received point-and-click adventure series, telling the tale of a young woman’s exciting journeys in a vaguely steampunk world. Syberia 3 marks the return of the series after a decade, but fails to modernize it in a captivating way due to its clunky mechanics, frustrating puzzles, and poor presentation.

Memories fade in the coldest winter.

The easiest way to sum up Syberia 3 is to say it is disappointing. There is so much to like about it. The world and characters are interesting, and it feels unique when compared with other mainstream games. I was excited by the prospect of exploring the cold harsh environments and discovering all the implied mysteries, but my enthusiasm was crushed by poor optimization, bad voice acting and frustrating controls.

You wouldn't be ignorant if you haven't heard of Syberia 3. It's a point-and-click adventure game developed by French studio Microïds, and it's part of a cult franchise known for its pre-rendered backdrops, distinct mechanical puzzles, and eccentric characters and settings. Syberia 2 was released a mere two years after the original, followed by the third entry five years later – well, if the original release plan had gone through. Instead, 13 years have passed, since the developer lacked funds and had to partner with a publisher. Now we finally have the next instalment in Kate Walker's Europea...

Syberia 3 manages to squander all the series' charm with a low-stakes plot, clunky gameplay, and a number of distracting bugs. It is playable, but severely lacking in entertainment value.

Syberia 3's seven year delay wasn't long enough.

And that'll do it, really. Horrible to control, horrible to listen to, really surprisingly ugly to look at, and and all-round mess, I've no desire to put myself through this. So, I shall state for the record: Maybe it's amazing! I mean, it obviously isn't, because it seems unlikely they'll fire the voice cast and implement a new control system some hours into the game, but I can't assure you they haven't. What I can assure you is I've been here too often, seen this too many times, to put myself through it again.

Every now and then a beautiful gaming gem makes its way out of the dusty vaults and makes a much welcome return, It’s been 15 years since the release of the point and click game Syberia, a delightful game with steampunk elements, darkness and mystery that helped create a loyal cult following. The follow up, Syberia 2, was an equally entertaining adventure and took players on a more in-depth journey with Kate Walker, contributing further to her story. This brings us to Syberia 3, the third ...