Syberia: The World After

Recently, I decided to finally finish Syberia: The World Before. The fourth installment in the Syberia franchise, and the last one from series creator Benoît Sokal, before he passed away on May 28, 2021. So, it took me a minute to work up the courage to finish the game that I started two years ago. It's funny to think about this because I had only finished the original trilogy like a month or two before Sokal had passed away. The question to be asked is, why did I feel so deeply for something in such a short time?

The answer lies in the writing. Syberia 1 is a point-and-click adventure game from 2002 that was developed by Microids. This first outing had some issues when it came to movement and visibility, yet the environments and characters were so enriching. It made me miss the wide usage of pre-rendered backgrounds. Not to mention the wide usage of automatons and other mechanical works that defined the series as a whole.

But to get back on track, the draw for me was how engaging and intriguing the writing was. This is especially the case for me when it comes to video games in general. I say this because many times games will suffer for the sake of being a videogame. And there is nothing you can really do about it. Yet, there was this French point-and-click adventure franchise that seemed to have cracked the code. There are definitely other games that can fit this mold as well, yet Syberia manages to strive for more and exceed expectations.

In Syberia 1, you play as Kate Walker, a lawyer from New York, and your task is to get the papers signed for the acquisition of an Automaton Factory from Anna Voralberg. But just Kate as arrives in Valadilene (A fictional town in the French Alps), she is informed of the passing of Anna Voralberg, the owner of the factory. So, the task then becomes a search for the next-in-line. That leads Kate to the one-and-only, Hans Voralberg, Anna's Brother.

Syberia 1 to me is Kate discovering herself. Grasping with unexpected obstacles and figuring out what she really wants out of her mundane life. It felt like I was being radicalized alongside Kate. Like, yeah your life in New York does suck. Your friends are terrible, and your Mom doesn't quite understand the rut that you're in. To be given the option of going on an adventure with an automaton named Oscar or going home and giving the keys of the art factory to the slop lords. Then, I think the answer is simple. Me and Oscar are traveling all over Europe if we must.

And that's what makes Kate feel so real. Kate is making decisions that benefit her interests, and I can't help but smile. I remember getting to the end of Syberia 1, and watching Kate slowly walk up to the Sea Plane but then turn back and rush to the departing train with Hans and Oscar. A character defining choice that I think makes the game. It not only ensures that the show goes on, but that Kate really does evolve.

Committing to world altering decisions is important. It lets me know that I'm not being lied to. There is no walking back. Again, the commitment is something that I know a lot of titles fail to act upon. And that trend towards commitment continues on into Syberia 2. The game where Kate actually ends up going to Syberia. A perfect send-off for Hans Voralberg as his declining health is made more apparent across the runtime.

While I much prefer the first game for the focus on Kate, I couldn't help but empathize with Hans's desire to achieve his dream. To finally see the Mammoths that hail from Syberia. A child-like pipedream that no one took seriously aside from Kate, and Oscar to an extent. And when you finally get to see the realization of it, the moment is very bittersweet. Hans lived long enough to be with the creatures that he loved the most. And Kate knows that he doesn't have much longer. But with that done, where do you go?

The answer to that question is to help the people most in-tune with the Mammoths and Syberia, the Youkols. And that's what happens in Syberia 3. A very flawed game that very much needs the remaster/remake treatment due to the many gameplay issues. Yet, the writing and environments still don't miss a beat. You even get more of the Red Scare that was building up from the previous titles. And it all culminates in a decision that sees Kate sacrifice herself so that the nomadic tribe can move across borders safely.

Syberia 3 also reintroduces Kate's former Law Firm and their desire for revenge. They even send a Private Investigator with the task of sending Kate to the US and imprisoning her for the breach of factory contract. You now have this subplot where Kate's adventuring has incurred the wrath of a large company, and her former friends start to really show their asses moreso than they already have. I'll talk about that more at the end. But, the subplot to send Kate home is done really well. It makes you hate everyone trying to bring her back. So, Kate then becomes more emboldened and justified in her decisions to never go back as a result.

Yet, none of that matters when Kate is actually imprisoned by the antagonists of Syberia 3. So, going into Syberia: The World Before, Kate is imprisoned in a mine. Where I can only assume that she had been romantically involved with her cellmate Katyusha. Which, not long after the game asks the player and Kate, "What I am I fighting for?" Kate has no more goals, and she has no one to lean on.

But lo and behold, Syberia has a couple more tricks in that old silk hat. STWB follows not only Kate Walker on another self-discovery journey, but adds Dana Roze to the protagonist list. You go from 2005 as Kate Walker, and 1937-? as Dana Roze. A decision that I was ultimately grateful for because not only was Kate superb once again, you now have Dana Roze to add to the experience. To see their journeys intersect was enthralling.

I was fully ready to keep going, even though I knew that the game was ending. There was so much depth to Kate and Dana Roze that I felt the hunger. The hunger for knowledge on these fictional women. Dana Roze is a woman who loses everything. Her family, her friends, and even her love for art at one point. Seemingly for the crime of existing, on top of being from Vaghen, Osterthal (An area with a high Jewish population in this world) as much of Dana's sections are during World War II. It doesn't take much to understand what the game was going for in some aspects.

Regardless, it was Dana's parts that made me really hate all the antagonists and villian-esque characters. Nearly, all of them are Brown Shadows (Name for Nazis in this game) or the Upper-Class. Some of the most detestable wretches that mostly end up dead or jailed. Like, Dana becomes pregnant and is told that her Baby died. But what actually happens is that her family's rich friends steal her baby. Leading to her trying to find them year's later, but then becoming disillusioned at the person that her child had become.

A child that looked like her, yet didn't resemble her in any other way. It sucked to watch that scene through Dana's perspective because it just invoked so much anger. But that's good. The emotional response that I got was the one that felt right. Like, yes I should hate the people that take from those in worse-off positions. It's what Sokal and the Microids team intended, trust.

So, Kate's newest journey culminates in a callback to the first game. Go home to New York, or get on the train to a new world. And what do you know, Kate hops on a train to find Dana Roze. A decision that I respected so much. Not only because it feels very much like Kate Walker, but because that means I get to keep playing more Syberia in the future.

However this statement is not without worry. Is Syberia without Benoît Sokal, still Syberia? I would say yes and no. On the one hand, Syberia has been so ingrained with Sokal's vision that making one without him in some capacity can feel wrong. Yet, I felt a little reassured when reading the interviews in the "The Art of Syberia: The World Before" that was compiled by the team at Pix'n Love in conjunction with Microids (The Microids Devs that got interviewed were Lucas Lagravette, Xavier Tual, Amanda Goengrich, and Adrien Lauriere). They are just statements, yet they made me feel hopeful. If the team that finished the most recent game feels up to the task, then who am I to question them?

The next stop is the Syberia 1 Remaster. Going back to where it all began will be fun. Especially with the quality of life aspects from STWB. So, I will continue to be cautiously optimistic until proven otherwise. While we may be done with the the world before, there is still the world after.

And remember to Free Palestine, Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Venezuela and to Free Lebanon from the onslaught of their oppressors. Never stop talking about them. They think that we don't care, but we see everything. Never forget that. They are trying to suppress our voices because they matter, remember that. There may have been a ceasefire in Gaza, but Palestine still needs to be completely free.