Adventure Gamers - Forums

I finished Syberia last night, only four years after I started it.

There were times when I wasn’t loving the puzzles or pixel-hunting but I fell in love with it in the end.  The music was a true pleasure and the setting was beautiful (those wonderful machines ).

While there were points where I didn’t see it, I can now see and say that it’s a true classic and I have the next two episodes lined up and ready to go.  Though I may finish a couple of other half-finished games in the interim.

Cheers, SB.  I’ll go straight to the second game this evening.

Sir Beardalot - 24 April 2018 12:02 AM

You should definitely play Syberia 2 while the first one is still fresh on your mind. It picks up directly where the first left off and has a truly satisfying ending. Basically feels like one huge game that was split into 2. As for the the 3rd one, I haven’t played it yet and not sure what to think considering all the negative feedback it’s gotten. I still plan to play it eventually though.

Counterpoint: You should enjoy the memory of the first game for as long as you can without sullying it by playing the second game. Syberia 2 is all fine and lovely if you’re using a walkthrough and don’t plan on trying to solve the puzzles yourself; if you’re actually playing rather than watching, it’s pain. It’s so in love with its own prettiness that it thinks it’s OK to make you walk across 6 screens and back again for each attempt at a puzzle that’s basically trial and error. If it tells you to look for something a specific colour, don’t expect that thing actually to be that colour. The story is fine and it’s beautifully presented, but as a game it’s abominable.

Phlebas - 24 April 2018 10:41 AM

Sir Beardalot - 24 April 2018 12:02 AM

You should definitely play Syberia 2 while the first one is still fresh on your mind. It picks up directly where the first left off and has a truly satisfying ending. Basically feels like one huge game that was split into 2. As for the the 3rd one, I haven’t played it yet and not sure what to think considering all the negative feedback it’s gotten. I still plan to play it eventually though.

Counterpoint: You should enjoy the memory of the first game for as long as you can without sullying it by playing the second game. Syberia 2 is all fine and lovely if you’re using a walkthrough and don’t plan on trying to solve the puzzles yourself; if you’re actually playing rather than watching, it’s pain. It’s so in love with its own prettiness that it thinks it’s OK to make you walk across 6 screens and back again for each attempt at a puzzle that’s basically trial and error. If it tells you to look for something a specific colour, don’t expect that thing actually to be that colour. The story is fine and it’s beautifully presented, but as a game it’s abominable.

Eek, that’s quite the counterpoint!

I guess I shall try it out and see what to make of it.  The puzzles in part one certainly weren’t its strong suit, so I dread to think what part two might be like from your perspective.

FWIW, I’m firmly on the side of Syberia 2 being an unnecessary sequel rather than an essential second half to the story. I wrote about what made the original game’s ending so perfect here (no spoilers for Syberia 2).

Thanks, Kuru, I really enjoyed (and agree with) your take on the first game. 

[spoiler]I had seen the obvious level of Kate’s journey of self-realisation and the general theme of decay but had not considered the bigger picture.  The parallels with the decline of Europe (particularly the use of gas masks at the end!) are clear when I look back with it fresh in my mind.  The latter perhaps hints at an even quicker demise of man than global warming.

Sinking Island:
[/spoiler][spoiler]The theme of Sinking Island really only serves to reinforce the idea of nature’s revenge on civilisation.[/spoiler]

Sokal is clearly no fan of Capitalism!

I couldn’t really decide how much of that was a spoiler, so I’ve just hidden the whole thing.

Sir Beardalot - 24 April 2018 03:48 PM

It’s been over 10 yrs since I played them. I was just referring to the (full) story, which is the only thing I remember and have fond memories of. As for the puzzles, they are obviously forgettable, since I can’t remember a single one. Oh well. 

I will stand in judgement over your opinion in about four years’ time.

rtrooney - 25 April 2018 10:35 PM

dumbeur - 25 April 2018 07:13 AM

I will stand in judgement over your opinion in about four years’ time.

I think I’m going to take the middle ground. S1 was great on its own. If S2 never appeared, we would have been happy and still be speculating as to what happened after Kate boarded the train.

But immense popular demand resulted in the creation of S2. And, while it wasn’t as bad as some say, it certainly wasn’t the conclusion to Kate’s journey that anyone expected, or wanted. Instead of rising as the independent entity we thought her capable of being, she ends up, again, being the slave to the goals of others. And, at game’s end, we’re still left with the question, “Where does she go from here?”

So to resolve that question, Sokol gave us S3. I’ve not played it. Nor do I have any desire to. Everything I’ve heard or read about it says that it is a horrible game that does not resolve the end of game two issues it was supposed to tackle.

So my suggestion is to bask in the glory and greatness of S1. Fall asleep and dream about what is in store for Kate. And don’t play S2. And REALLY don’t play S3.

Sadly, you are completely right.

That said, S2 is not a bad game in its own right. If they had made it with some other protagonist it would have been fine, but as a continuation of Syberia it does the story no good.

mbday630 - 26 March 2017 02:31 PM

I just finished Discworld noir. I finally got it running on my windows 7 machine. It was so much fun playing that old classic.

Never played. Would love to. Contemplating.