PLATFORM: Nintendo Switch
DEVELOPER: Micröids
TYPE OF GAME: an enchanting adventure full of puzzles and interesting characters
PLAYERS: single-player
FILE SIZE: 6.8 GB
AVAILABLE: available on the eShop and in a physical edition
A gripping adventure, perfect for cold winter nights
Syberia 3 is the latest entry in the long running Syberia series. Under the direction of Benoît Sokal, this adventure series, featuring a New York lawyer turned adventurer Kate Walker, has captured the imagination and received praise from fans worldwide for its unique atmosphere and story. Syberia 3 continues that trend. While the first two games being released on Switch are remastered versions of older games, Syberia 3 is a whole new game made with the Unity Engine by the talented team at Microids for the latest generation of consoles and PCs.
A GREAT INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES
Don’t let the fact that this is the third game in the series put you off purchasing it. The developers give you the option to view a short video detailing the important events of the first two games in a ‘previously on Syberia’ fashion. This impressed me a lot because even in 2018, very few games in long-running series offer something to make it easy for new fans to be introduced to the games. If anyone from the Syberia 3 dev team is reading this, thank you. Another pleasant surprise was the fact that Syberia 3 on Switch also includes the DLC ‘An Automaton with a Plan’, an adventure in which players play as the automaton Oscar, discovering a whole new part of Kate Walker’s journey. You’re getting a very nice deal with Syberia 3.
CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE
The game offers you two ways to play. A ‘Voyage’ mode, which allows you to enjoy the story and have an easier time going through the game through the use of visual cues and hints and a more challenging ‘Adventure’ mode, which allows you to enjoy the sensations of Syberia 1 and 2 by giving you less hints and making you use your head more. You can switch between these modes at any time through the game’s pause menu if you change your mind.
CHOICES MATTER
I really liked the fact that almost every conversation you have has options. You can choose the questions you want to ask characters and in which order. You might even choose to keep your mouth shut and move along with your adventure. Everything you do impacts Kate Walker’s relationship with the characters around her and might have important implications in the way the events of the story will turn out. The game even gives you the option to listen to Kate’s thoughts on the matter if you cannot decide what to answer yourself. I also liked the fact that if you take too long, all characters have fully voiced dialogue commenting on you taking a long time to say something. I like neat touches like these in games because they make the characters feel less robotic and video game-y.
EASY TO CONTROL
All the actions and dialogue options are mapped in such a way that you can quickly pick up the way the game works and control Kate’s many actions. I had no trouble learning the controls and the learning curve is virtually non-existent. You’ll be solving puzzles, having conversations with sketchy characters and exploring your surrounding with ease in no time. A game like this needs tight, intuitive controls and the developers nailed this aspect.
ATMOSPHERIC, BEAUTIFUL
Syberia 3’s environments are simply incredible. I have to commend the team on their work and attention to detail. Every character you meet, no matter their significance to the story, is well-modelled and full of personality. In fact, I often found myself marvelling at the polygon count of some characters, with perfectly round bald heads and facial features. Colours pop and lighting and particle effects are used to set the mood in a lot of scenes. I found it very easy to engross myself in the game for hours on end. It’s funny that a story set in such a cold setting can ‘warm’ the player with the its level design and artistic direction. The game looks good on the big screen and in portable mode, displaying at what I believe is 1080p and 720p, respectively.
SOUND DESIGN
Right off the bat when you fire up the game, you will be treated to some amazing tracks from that put you right in the mood for Syberia 3’s adventure. The soundtrack is gripping from start to finish. Sound effects and voice-acting are solid all-around but with a few strange pitch changes during some conversations that make the dialogue feel a bit unnatural. What might surprise you is the lip-syncing in some scenes. It might look a bit off at times, but knowing that this is a game made by French developers and the game was recorded in French first, I’m willing to look past that. It’s a little like playing a Japanese RPG with an English voice-over. The lip syncing doesn’t always hold up but you won’t care after a while. Now excuse me while I look for the official Syberia 3 soundtrack.
ANYTHING BAD ABOUT IT?
While the game has an incredible amount of quality-of-life details that enhance the player experience, I did encounter a few things that bugged me during my playthrough. These mostly have to do with the visual aspect of the game in both portable and TV mode. The frame-rate, while mostly locked at 30 FPS, can experience a drops from time to time. These won’t affect your gameplay in any way but it’s something I feel I have to mention anyway. Additionally, during a few of the close ups, the bump-mapping shadowing on some characters might look a bit pixelated because of the lowered shadow resolution. A similar thing can happen with textures of objects viewed up close. It’s obvious some compromises were made to make this run well on Switch at such a high resolution. But like I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this game is just oozing with style and the cons I mentioned do not hurt it at all in the visual department.
CONCLUSION
If you like well-made adventure games, Syberia 3 and the Syberia series are for you. The world needs a game like this; a meaningful, fun, single-player adventure in a world of automatons, tribes, mammoths, creepy doctors and puzzle solving. Despite a few flaws, Syberia 3 is a complete package, made with love. This is a game you would be proud to have in your Nintendo Switch collection and I can’t recommend it enough to fans of the series as well as new players.
Review code provided by Micröids
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