Recent reviews by Galatefica

Everything I hoped for since BG2.

'Tis well, I rather would consort with spirits.

Technical stuff that didn't really matter (in the end):
- Launching and loading screens took long but not forever.
- I got some use out of a dusty PC controller, then I discovered I liked it.
- In game, walking onto stairs in some areas required few super-awkward approaches (and poses in real life), but not enough to break mentioned controller.

Design:
Syberia wasn't supposed to play like a typical action adventure and it also wasn't pretending loyalty to point & click. Having avoided being just a copy of its shape from 13 years ago it still conserved its essence well! It had to graphically evolve (I'm ok with nostalgia but perhaps not obsessive nostalgia) and it did, with the unchanged vibe of old.
Character rendering is definitely adequate to nowadays standards; the environments slightly less so. I'm relatively pleased with the overall design, while some things just didn't seem all that important to justify a complaint.

Localisation:
To me, Polish translations unfortunately came off as dispassionate. :) I recognize these voices of multiple identities, living in way too many characters and beginning to sound a little repetitive AND bored. I mean, they must be!
Voice acting in English however was truly satisfactory. Kate Walker sounds lively, soulful, caring, and everything that makes for her personality and wisdom is reflected by the voice of irreplaceable Sharon Mann! She worked on previous games and she is super talented.
Most NPCs sounded decent. And did I hear Jesse Eisenberg - his voice so distinct - also as Steiner? Because the age disparity can't go unnoticed, man. Ok so it's just a minor oversight: he plays someone 2 generations (oops!) older, let's hope nobody notices!

Unity of story and gameplay:
The story is brilliantly designed and was clearly an inspired project. Like in previous Syberia gems it focuses on the high road journey of the protagonist. The moral purpose behind Kate's decisions couldn't be more relatable, personally...
It's probably just me, but I think that puzzles in all games should occupy very little space in my awareness whenever I'm solving them. I don't want to be presented these like standalone problems that have no relation to anything and are devised just to slow me down.
Syberia 3, like her predecessors, isn't like that. It has places worth going that these puzzles enable, but they are melted into the reason why you care. And while they are an integrated part of the journey, they become just things you are actually delighted to tinker with.
Syberia 3 has upheld the standard of its beautiful world, though admittedly it is less detailed when not drawn. But it's still reminiscent of steampunk, art nouveau aesthetics that visually defined first two.
Last but not least: I love that the series has quietly embraced, perhaps without meaning so, the often solitary lifestyles of the many encounters throughout it. We peek into fascinating lives organized outside of society, so often around some passion or necessity, ocasionally a need to escape... I'm happy to see the game hold onto the old traditions it created for itself and that it celebrates individualism.

I would recommend it to all, but not all will be able to appreciate it. And that is a fact I'm all right with.

Ending:
I have a lot to say about it, but I'm not going to. It begged for a sequel, certainly. The future a mystery, maybe.

The reason I no longer need a car is not that I live on an island. That's a technicality!

My standards have been raised.

What I look for in a vehicle NOW is: that it sails, flies, glides, dives, moves underwater, shoots and pulls with a grapnel when out of gas, occasionally crashes but does not break, extends survivability for eggs, is able to accommodate my minimalist needs for many weeks or months... You know, like a hydraflot?

Thanks, Amerzone.