The very rough French-to-English translation rivals Persona 5 in how downright awkward it is, with stilted exchanges that don’t sound anywhere close to how actual human beings talk. It’s unfortunate, then, that the way Syberia 3 tells its story actively fights against player enjoyment. I had a definite interest in seeing the story from start to finish-the writers managed to sufficiently invest me in their world and the characters that inhabited it. It tries to make some interesting points on discrimination with the Youkal’s struggles, and sometimes manages to be legitimately unnerving with the antagonists’ dogged pursuit of Kate. The narrative here isn’t bad at all, and in fits and starts, it shows a potential for greatness. The brunt of Syberia 3 involves Kate trying to piece together what, exactly, happened to her and her robotic companion-on top of lending a hand to the oppressed Youkals. She wakes up in a mental institution with a several month gap in her memory and a secret agency hot on her trail, on top of being accused of the murder of aforementioned companion.

After helping her travelling partner fulfil his dream of finding living mammoths deep in the Russian wilderness, she became lost at sea and was found by the nomadic Youkal tribe. Players once again take control of immensely likeable protagonist Kate Walker. This leads to the long-awaited Syberia 3 feeling like a game released several years too late, and even then, one that would’ve felt unfinished had it been released in 2010 or so. It’s clear, unfortunately, that Microids wasn’t paying much attention to the changes happening in the genre. A lot has changed since the mid-2000s, though, and adventure games just aren’t what they used to be.

It’s been 13 years since Syberia II’s emotionally harsh tease of a conclusion, and around seven since its follow-up was originally supposed to be published.

Game development doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and taking too long to ship a product can mean that said product runs the risk of feeling like a relic as opposed to a new title-just ask Duke Nukem.