Syberia Analysis: The World Before, a posthumous work

Syberia: The World Before This is the last episode of the saga now Siberia. After two episodes in the 2000s and a closed trilogy years later, Benoît Sokal gave life to another Kate Walker adventure, albeit a very special one. Without having been able to see it finished by its author and by the hand of Microidsthe game was released on PC at the beginning of this year 2022. We now receive the release of this graphical adventure in playstation5 there Xbox series X|S. What will happen to this posthumous work of Sokal’s genius?

Syberia: The World Before, a sequel and a prequel at the same time

Syberia: The World Before is a direct sequel to Siberia 3but it’s also a prequel to the whole trilogy. The action will be divided into 2 between the present and the past in what will be a journey of great introspection and knowledge for Kate Walker, the protagonist of the saga. The game can be played by itself without having played the previous ones, since it understands itself, and also the game gives us a summary of the trilogy in the form of cutscenes.

In this new opus, through his dialogues, we will also control Dana Roze, a new character. Dana lived in 1937 in Vaghen, the capital of the Osthertal, a fictional country in Central Europe. This country will be at the center of the action and the story, moving the action a little further west. Dana Roze physically resembles Kate Walker a lot, which will motivate her, in 2004 and 2005, to seek the trace that remains of her.

Travel between the present and the past

As we have indicated, in this episode the protagonist will not only be Kate Walker. The action will be divided between 1937 and 1944, with Dana and other characters, and 2004 and 2005 with Kate. Through the experiences of other characters, documents or Dana’s diaries, the action will move from one side to the other. In this way, we and the protagonist of the saga will find out what happened in this troubled time in Europe.

Both at one time and another, we will have to solve puzzles to move forward. In fact, there will even be some in which we will have to alternate between Dana and Kate at will in order to solve them. Of course, Kate will know what we find out with Dana through documents, not some kind of connection. Even though it’s a fantasy saga with animatronics and other fantasy elements, it’s a pretty realistic episode. The puzzles are one of the highlights of the game, using environment elements for each of them. They feel incredibly organic. For those times when we get stuck, the game has a hint system.

Syberia’s Background: The World Before

The story of Syberia: The World Before it’s very personal for Kate Walker. However, the story of this episode also applies to many people in Europe and even America. The main object of the story is Brown Shadow, a fascist group with a black and red logo that threatened Europe in the 1930s and eventually started World War II. The action takes place in Osterthal, a fictional country located between Germany and Switzerland, whose capital is Vaghen. The Dark Shadow has taken it out on the Vaguerianos, who are systematically victims of their attacks.

The inspiration is clear. The whole game is an allegory of Nazism and the Jews through the brown shadow and the waverians. And, precisely, Dana Roze is a vaguerienne, so discovering her story, that of her city and her family can be painful. Moreover, the beginning of the game is also connected to other historical events, in this case to Syberia.. Kate Walker and his girlfriend, Katyusha, started a riot at the end of Siberia 3precisely for the rights of homosexuals, and at the beginning of the game we see them imprisoned in the Siberian steppe. Of course, at some point in the plot, the whole story ends up making sense on a global level.

A great graphic section with a magical soundtrack

Syberia: The World Before It’s a visually stunning game. The graphic section manages to faithfully convey the inspiration it takes in terms of environments, combining it with its own elements to create a great immersion. The character models are also very good and expressive.. However, the hairstyle of the models and, above all, the animations can be improved. In fact, the gameplay for moving around the map is somewhat crude for this reason. Great basic work, but can be polished.

As for the soundtrack of the game, it is magnificent. Counting on Inon Zur (along with other works such as the soundtrack of Siberia 3

Ultimately, Syberia: The World Before…

Ultimately, Syberia: The World Before can proudly say that it came out the same year as Return to Monkey Island and it’s doing well in comparison as a graphic adventure. With an almost pristine art section and an emotional story heavily inspired by real historical events, combined with fantasy elements, it ranks as one of the best games in its genre, giving glory to the saga in this field. Siberia.

As for the negative points, it is necessary to underline the coarseness of the movement for the overworld at times, and the lack of Spanish dubbing, something we had had until now. However, we will continue to enjoy its more than 10 hours. In addition, the physical editions of the game (both the 20th anniversary and the collector’s) are gorgeous and both come with an art book. Finally and as always, if you want to know more about games and news, we are waiting for you here in the Xbox area.

We thank Meridiem Games for sending us the key to carry out this analysis.