Ah, Syberia...
A much loved point & click adventure game series (I am specifically referring to the first 2 games) that somewhere, somehow, lost its way...
Can the series enjoy a strong comeback after the mediocre 3rd game ?
Let's find out...
The first thing you'll notice after you install the game, is that it's horribly optimized. Sprite animation and screen scrolling can become very slow indeed - especially if you play on a high detail graphics level. (I'd recommend to play on the lowest setting, just to get through this demo as hassle-free as possible).
Despite the awful optimization, the graphics are actually quite nice to look at. The sound / music is also very good.
Control-wise, the mouse driven interface brings games like "The Walking Dead" in mind. Perhaps it could have been more intuitive, or maybe even simpler; it does its job though, without being too obtrusive.
Now, the game's one of two main characters, is an aspiring young pianist, Dana. A couple of minutes into the game, and after Dana's encounter with two nasty fellows, it becomes apparent that the setting and time strongly resembles that of Germany, right before the National-Socialist Party assumed complete control.
Dana and her family are "Vagerans" (the equivalent of Jews?), and the ♥♥♥♥ party are now called... "Brown Shadow". Yes, it's about as corny as it sounds.
Ok, let me just say this: I've been dealing with nazis in computer games since.... oh, I don't know; Castle Wolfenstein, probably. (yes, I'm talking about the original 8-bit game).
After all these years, and after playing many-many WWII-themed games (especially the action & strategy kind), I believe it's pretty much established that the nazis were a much hated bunch... Honestly though, I expected a somewhat more original idea and / or setting, to serve as a basis for this game's scenario.
Ok, now brace yourselves; remember earlier when I said that Dana was one of the main characters ?
Well, there's another one, and unsurprisingly enough, it's Kate Walker, who is now doing hard labor in what seems to be a soviet gulag.
...aaaand then it HITS you; and it hits you HARD. My God ! In the name of sweet Jesus of gaming, WHAT did they DO to Kate ? She looks.... horrible. Well, obviously she was imprisoned & roughed-up, but still... something feels... "off"...
She wears a leather jacket, tight pants, and leather boots; Her head (as well as her cellmate's head) are shaved and their top hair are painted blue. The game's excuse for this transformation is that Kate and Katyusha are the "blue team" workers, so they sport blue markings on their clothes and accordingly painted hair.
It sounds like a pathetic excuse, and indeed it is. It's as if the people behind this travesty, purposefully went full-woke, and tried to make Kate look.... like a lesbian !
Nah ! That couldn't be true.... right ? Why mess with an established character ? Why make her look lesbian ? Just to virtue-signal to SJW mainstream "urinalists" in order to get a positive review ? No, no, they wouldn't do that, absolutely not. After all, she may LOOK like a lesbian but that doesn't mean she's actually lesbian !
....except that SHE IS ! Consider your expectations SUBVERTED !
Oh, yes, indeed, they've actually done it ! Katyusha & Kate call each other "babe" and "love" far too many times to just pretend it's "not true".
This is it, then; Kate is now officially more "stunning & brave" than ever. Mission accomplished, I guess (?)
Later on in the game, Thelma & Louise.... ah, sorry, I mean Kate & Katyusha, find a motorbike that will help them escape from the soviet gulag - if only they just manage to convince their female guard to let them go, by bribing her with a huge ♥♥♥♥... er... "brown shadow" treasure they found in an abandoned train.... (somebody call "The Monuments Men", ASAP !)
....(sigh)....
Sorry, I can't possibly go on.... I'm getting too old for this kind of crap.
Whatever hope I had for a revival of the Syberia series, is now gone....
The technical issues can always be fixed in the final release.... and I could probably also stomach the cliche "bad-nazis-rising-to-power" story, as long as, at least the game's puzzles were innovative & clever....
But the "lesbian Kate" is what finally sealed the game's fate; The disgusting wokeness, the absolute, horrible cringe, is just too much for me to bear...
So, heed this warning, dear fellow adventurers: If you want to keep the nice memories of the classic Syberia games (1 & 2) intact, stay far, far away from this new, hellish incarnation !