Syberia 3 is a game developed and published by Microids, released on April 20, 2017 and its DLC, released on November 9, 2017
The following overview will be split in two. The first part will be about the base game and the second part, the DLC A Well Oiled Plan.
History
The game being the direct sequel to Syberia 1 and 2, what follows may reveal the story of the first two opus
The story of the game is therefore a direct sequel to Syberia 2, released 13 years ago! We find ourselves at the helm of Kate Walker a few months after Hans Voralberg and Kate Walker finally find the island of Syberia on which they meet living mammoths and Hans decides to stay on the island and leave with them.
Kate is found injured and dying, in a boat that ran aground on the shore, by the Youkol people who were on their way to carry out the Ostrich Transhumance. They bring her back to a hospital so that she can be taken care of.
After being treated and she is cured that we start the game at the controls of Kate Walker! Being a point-and-click, it's hard to talk about without spoiling the game.
The story is interesting and follows the first two opus well. However, I find it unfortunate that, when you start the game, there is no summary of the first two games. Which is really a big lack, especially since the second opus was released 13 years ago and the first one 15 years ago! Personally, I had to watch, on YouTube, a video summarizing the history of the first two opus to remember it and get back in the right way!
However, it is quite possible to play Syberia 3 without having played the first two games. The main plot of Syberia having ended at the end of the 2, a new plot begins in this opus. Of course, the latter is still linked at least to that of 1 and 2 and you risk missing out on a lot of references and, sometimes also, you risk wondering who this or that person is or what the character speaks. But that won't stop you from enjoying the title.
Game and gameplay
The game is like any other point-and-click game. There is not much to say about it.
As for its gameplay, on PC, the game can be played as well with the keyboard / mouse combo as with the joystick. Unfortunately with the keyboard / mouse, it is really not practical or well optimized. It is very difficult to direct Kate. It very often gets stuck in the decor and when you have to take stairs to change areas, it's a horror.
At the controller, it is much more pleasant, even if there are still problems, such as the change of direction of the joysticks following a change of camera. The selection of the elements is sometimes also impractical with the joystick, it goes through the joystick directing the camera.
But let's get to the central element of this style of play: puzzles. These are interesting and very logical. The problem is that they are sometimes, even often, too easy and simple to achieve! I remember that the puzzles of the two previous opus were much more full-bodied and difficult. However, even if the puzzles are relatively simple, they are well thought out and integrate perfectly with the world of the game and its atmosphere.
During the adventure, you will also have many conversations with the characters. During these dialogues, it will sometimes be necessary to choose certain answers to guide them in order to unblock a situation, obtain an object, be able to pass, etc. For that, it will be necessary to be very careful what you say, because it risks closing doors for you! In addition, exploration is key, allowing you to gain additional information that you can use in new conversations to put pressure on your interlocutors.
Graphics, sounds and optimizations
Let's start with the graphics, they are splendid and the game offers us very beautiful panoramas. The environments and characters are also very well detailed.
On the sound side, the music is always magnificent. The themes stick perfectly to the atmosphere and the places. All these scores will make you travel while being very pleasant to listen to.
And finally, optimization. The latter is very correct, even if in certain specific places, the game has drops in IPS for no reason. But this only affects 2-3 locations in the whole game and doesn't really cause much discomfort.
DLC
I will speak briefly about the DLC A well oiled plan (An Automaton With a plan in VO). Be careful, because the following will contain spoilers!
A well-oiled plan
The DLC takes place after the events of Syberia 3, so it is advisable to have finished the main story of the game before starting the DLC, otherwise you risk spoiling very important elements!
In this DLC, we play Oscar, our favorite robot! With the latter, it will be necessary to investigate the disappearance of Kate Walker who ... well, disappeared during the transhumance of the ostriches!
The mechanics and gameplay are exactly the same as the base game.
The DLC is interesting, on the other hand it is very (and even too) short. It takes about 45 minutes to complete it. It doesn't add much either to the understanding of the storyline or to the game.
Conclusion
It's nice to find Kate Walker at the top of her game! After more than 10 years of waiting, it is pleasant to dive back into this wonderful universe. The main game, however, is quite short (count around 8 hours) and the DLC, while interesting, also ends very quickly (count around 45 minutes). The game has some minor optimization and gameplay issues (especially keyboard / mouse).
But if you like points 'and' clicks and you want to find Kate Walker, do not hesitate to take the plunge!
