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Syberia 3 is the third game in the series, with the first two coming out back in the days of the PS2. Now, I was a PS2 player for most of my younger years, but I never came across either of these previous two games. Syberia 3 was meant to be released on the PS3 in 2009, but had some funding issues. Fast forward to 2017 and we finally have the product – the only problem is that some of the areas of this game definitely feel more like a 2009 release.
Syberia is an adventure game similar to Broken Sword, but without the point and click elements. It’s a game where you need to uncover mysteries and solve puzzles, and it’ll give you the choice whether you want to have hints on or off – clearly, I went for ON.
The story follows on from the previous entries and sees protagonist (Kate Walker, an American Lawyer) involved with some sort of tribe called the Youkol. Kate ends up in a hospital where some real strange things are happening and you end up on an adventure to help the Youkol people, whilst evading the feds from home, as well as a mysterious agent from the military. Fans from the previous games will rave on about how fantastic the stories have been in the Syberia series, although, if you are a new player you will find yourself a little out of the loop.
Areas of this game really stand out, the most striking being the soundtrack. As soon as you switch this on, you’ll be impressed with a progressive soundtrack, perfectly suiting the images you are seeing. As I continued to play, I have to note the music on offer – it immerses you wonderfully into the story and supports the drama perfectly. Even the menu button sounds feel correct – quite often you find yourself getting annoyed with those in a game, but not in this case.
Unfortunately for Syberia 3, music and menu sounds aren’t the only area I review and I must also look at voicing – this area, they clearly haven’t spent as much time on. Kate Walker is an American from New York, yet sounds like she is from London. During my time of playing this, I’m also pretty sure she is voiced by about four different people as her voice keeps on changing. There are other characters who are voiced just as badly and this will frustrate you. I must admit I am not very good at picking up accents but, God Damn… some of these ones were definitely made up! What they should have done is get Kate to be voiced by the same actress who voices Lara Croft, because they pretty much look like the same person.
(DVDfever Dom adds: To date, nine actresses have voiced Lara Croft in English over the years – although two were Charlotte Sparey as a young Lara in Tomb Raider Legend, and Harriet Perring in the same position for Rise of the Tomb Raider, but yes, never within the same game at the same timeframe. In addition, Yuko Kaida has provided her Japanese voice since 2013)
Equally poor is the lip-sync throughout the game. I recently reviewed Mass Effect Andromeda which had some bad timing problems, but those have since been patched. Syberia’s issues are little more than just some bad timing. There were a couple of points when I was playing and thought that the voice I was hearing must have been that of a narrator, and not actually what the character was saying. I wouldn’t expect this to be an easy fix as well – it’s not that the sync is just out, but more that the character animations are saying completely different things. There is a time, early in the game, where Kurk is speaking, yet instead of his mouth moving, it looks like he is gurning. Reminded me of a night out in Manchester! As well as all the sync issues, there are times when the talking just seems to cut out. Not being a AAA game, I am unsure whether any of these issues will get sorted.
Go to page 2 for more thoughts on the game.
I have been a video game player since 1993 and a music fan since I can remember. I studied Film and Journalism at university and ended up becoming a Primary School teacher. Video games changed my life and sent me on the right track and have stayed with me ever since.