Syberia 3

Syberia 3 marks the return of a great saga and, above all, the return of Kate Walker. The story is deep and the puzzles offer some freshness, even if they are not complicated. Artistically it is very beautiful and it is maintained at the level of the previous games. Pity about those optimization problems.

If you can get past the hideous graphics and glitches and don't mind using an online guide every now and then, Syberia 3 is actually quite a fun game. Most of the puzzles are just the right level of challenge and the story stays interesting throughout.

Surely this is not the final Syberia game we were hoping for.

A game that shows a clear artistic design and a continuity with the first two games of the series, mostly with respect to the puzzles rather than the narrative aspect. Still, there are many flaws: the gameplay is rather clunky, the control system is far from precise, and the game design shows several bad choices. If you loved the series, you may think to buy Syberia 3. Be aware, though: the game is not well-polished.

If this is the final Syberia game, perhaps it’s for the best. Pure point-and-click adventure games are becoming rarer and rarer these days, and this entry does nothing to instill confidence in the genre. Between the glaring technical issues, over-the-top antagonists, and even lazy captioning, Syberia 3 is not recommended at its launch price of $39.99. If you absolutely need to complete Kate Walker’s story, then perhaps wait until the price comes down, and play an adventure game that got things right, such as King’s Quest.

Syberia 3 isn’t a bad game by any means and offers up an immersive story… If you can make it past the horrific graphical hindrances that is.

Flawed and often out of touch, Syberia 3 only serves a dedicated clutch of fans that have spent the past decade looking for closure to a beloved series. To anyone else, it will come across as a bizarre and mostly impenetrable relic that feels out of place among 2017’s slate of releases.

The Syberia series is a product of its time, and Syberia 3 doesn’t bring back any excitement. It is plagued by bugs, a disappointing storyline, cliché characters, and puzzles that are more frustrating than fun. This return fails to do the series justice, feeling more like an unpolished and dated adventure game instead of a revival.

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.

We didn't actually need Syberia 3: a senseless tryout for bringing a perfectly closed series back in the spotlight. Syberia 3, with its mediocre (disappointing) narration and its poor technical design, should have remained Microïds' secret wish.

We've waited a long time for this threequel and unfortunately, the results do not live up to expectation. Technically, it's even a bit obsolete. Only true fans will be able to appreciate this.

Other [puzzlers], unfortunately, rely on easily-missed collectibles or suffer from a lack of explanation. Combine all this with terrible acting(not helped by the script), technical flaws (including a consistently awful frame rate and occasional clipping), and a boring script, and you'll find that Syberia 3 leaves you cold. [July 2017, p.83]

Syberia 3 feels like a game that was made because everyone involved in the project felt an obligation to make it. It has its moments, and as a fan it’s great to see Sokal’s work reach a proper conclusion, but it’s also difficult to see how this game will find an audience; even among existing fans of Syberia, tastes change over 13 years, and it’s hard to see how this game has done anything to encourage people back for one more spin with Kate Walker.

This game feels like it should've come out over a decade ago, and even then, it still wouldn't have been ready for release. Some sprawling mechanical puzzles, an intriguing world, and a solid soundtrack can't save Syberia 3 from its disappointing delivery. Poor writing and even worse voice acting make its humdrum story a chore to chew through. With major technical issues in tow along with too much errand-like gameplay, the series should've waved a final goodbye like its protagonist in her last outing.

Syberia 3 is a mess of a game with appalling performance issues, terrible graphics and a lacklustre story. Whilst a weak story and poor graphics could be excused, particularly given the clever puzzles, the terrible performance issues all but ruin this game. I couldn’t even recommend this for fans of the first two games as it will just tarnish your memory, you’d be better off just reading a summary of the plot.

Getting to the handful of good puzzles Syberia 3 has isn't worth it for all the rubbish you'll have to wade through. This is a jittery, stuttering, mess of a videogame. [Issue#188, p.80]