REVIEW – After a little more than a dozen years the second chapter was out, it’s a risk to create the third episode for a series. You’re making your product look different than what it could have been, and what was good in the past might not cut it in the present. Syberia 3 is something from the past, and with its appearance, the future of the franchise might be on the line.

 

What’s the problem with Syberia 3? Being stuck in the past? Maybe… but let’s not run ahead of ourselves. Syberia was released in 2002, and it was mostly successful because of Belgian comic book artist Benoit Sokal, who already made a game before Syberia. It was Amerzone in 1999, originally on PC, Mac, and PS1, followed by 2011 ports to iOS and OSX. Syberia came, saw, and conquered, resulting in a sequel during Spring 2004 on PC, and Autumn 2004 on PS2/X, respectively. Sokal pulled out another amazing adventure game, which is still something that can be named as one of the best games of that year (in its genre, at least).

Silence

Then, the development hell came. It’s coming! No, it’s not coming at X. It’s Y now, guys! Oh sorry, it’s now Z… and then, the videos started appearing. I thought to myself; this game looks ugly. Why doesn’t it utilize the PS4’s abilities? The game is far behind what you can expect visually. Sure, Syberia 3 jumped to three dimensions, leaving the pre-rendered backgrounds behind, and yes, it uses the Unity engine, but it looks horrendous!

You may be thinking that the gameplay decides the success for this kind of game. You’re right, but even this has problems. Why does the AUDIO stutter and cut off? Sometimes, even the frame rate goes all over the place. It’s not The Order 1886, which utilizes the power of the PS4! Sure, you may say that this comparison between a PlayStation 4-exclusive AAA game and a multiplat title is not fair, but if that game could run normally, why can’t Syberia 3 do the same?

So, awful graphics, lack of optimizing (and the PC version has weird sh_t going on: one update removes the Denuvo, then the next one puts it back…), flawed audio, and even the dialog can cut off at a few points. OK, turn on the subtitles… only to see that it can show something entirely different from what Kate and the others say. What’s the point of life…?

Why?

Why couldn’t Microids keep Syberia 3 in 2D? With that move, the devs could have focused on good backgrounds, which is important in Sokal’s work. At least, there could have been less technical issues then what it has now (and if not, then Syberia 3 could have easily become the LOL category). What about the story, you ask? Is that good? Yes, I think so. It’s decent, and it can already get you at the start: why is Kate in an asylum…? Another question: can you play this game without knowing the first two? Yes! Can beginners play Syberia 3?

Yes. There are two difficulty levels – if you pick the harder one, you will see fewer tips and hints than on the easy one, and while most puzzles are not-that-cliché-ish, the game isn’t that difficult. For me, beating the game on the harder difficulty took ELEVEN HOURS. Is this a joke? To avoid spending money on Syberia 3, here, look at the retarded ending, which might mean there will probably be a Syberia 4…

NO!

This game has probably broken Syberia fans’ hearts, and the franchise might be dead, too. Period. It’s just not as powerful as it could have been. Sokal deserves better than this. If only Microids didn’t spend money on Denuvo for seemingly no reason whatsoever, then we could have probably received a less buggy product than this version.

The plot is decent (except for the ending, which pulls down the rating), the characters are likable, and the puzzles are fine. I can’t say anything more as a positive. 5/10.

-V-

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Publisher: Microids, Anuman Interactive, Ubisoft, PQube

Developer: Microids

Genre: Adventure, 3D, Third-Person

Release date: April 20/25 (NA/EU), 2017