I Don't Understand the Story Direction Of Syberia Anymore... (Spoilers)

[SUGI]

Now ... i just finished all the 4 Syberia games. The first two games had a connection with each other Syberia 2 being a continuation where we left off in the first game (in lot of ways these two games are almost identical to each other)

Then we entered into Syberia 3, which didn't exactly explain anything that happened after events of Syberia 2 ending - except Kate got stranded into the mainland and youkols found her. So the devs didn't want to continue the hans storyline and his ultimate quest in Syberia Island, now thats fine, since there weren't that much to be explored in terms of story.

Syberia 3 focuses on Youkols (Which was cool) and also the Mercenary group. Obviously Syberia 3 ends on a cliffhanger, then we get into "Syberia the World Before" which totally "again" drops the previous storyline and starts off from new table again....

Syberia TWB is a beautiful creation in terms of level design and puzzles, which were high end at times. But fundamentally abandoned core themes from previous games like Spiritualism, Light Fantasy & Nomadic Lifestyle.

It felt to me that devs wanted to push their own political narratives here instead of playing the elements that made Syberia what Syberia is.... Now yes automatons were there, which integral part about this series too (but that in itself is nothing but an aesthetic element)

The concept of playing 2 timelines is not bad either, but also missed opportunity to show Han's father for example, which could have been perfectly written into Vaghen or even Hans himself.

Lastly, i felt that Kate lost bit of that comedic/sassy/sarcastic side to her in TWB, but to be fair i felt that she changed a bit in 3rd game vs. first two games.

I really hope if they are going to continue doing Syberia 5, they will actually
1) Bring hans back or give him proper ending/burial
2) Wrap up the mercenary arc (olga etc.)
3) Drop the political narratives, there are trillion games talking about nazis and commies, they aren't that interesting - outside from the level design standpoint.
4) Wrap up what happened to the Youkols
5) Finally return to Syberia Island and make it playable hub (Let us ride mammoths)


The Rant Ends here - Now this game was "Great" but it didn't feel like Syberia title to me as much, more like smth that was influenced by them. If the automaton stuff wasn't there, i probably would argue this had nothing to do with Syberia in general.

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

If the automaton stuff wasn't there, i probably would argue this had nothing to do with Syberia in general.

Syberia TWB definitely charts a new territory for the series, particularly in how it mostly drops the villains of Syberia 3, which honestly weren't very well liked to begin with. The fact that authorities raided the mine and were dismantling their network is as good an ending as any for me tbh. Bringing Hans back, returning to Syberia, revisiting the mercenaries, would honestly only cheapen the story imo if we do get a sequel. Nostalgia is never the way forward.

More than anything, the series is Kate's story. Syberia 3 and TWB together tell a story of Kate being lost, chasing moonbeams, jumping on any train she can find. By the end of this game she finally acknowledges she has been running away from things, and instead finds something to run towards in her grandmother.

I find it interesting that you mention this didn't feel like a Syberia game, while imo it's filled to the brim with the types of motifs, tropes, characters, scenes, mechanics, and ideas that are present in each of Benoit Sokal's games. It might even be my favorite version these motifs. Not just the automatons, Kate, Oscar, trains, and plenty other references to the previous games. It goes deeper than that with:

- The traveling, journey without a destination, and the spirit of adventure (even if somewhat more contained to the location of Vaghen, which allows for more depth)
- Transportation being a big deal with the tram, following in the footsteps of the Hydraflot, the Train, and the Krystal
- Sokal's love for tinkering with fantastical devices being more present than ever
- The European locale, interesting architecture, different languages, mingling with the locals, staying in a guest house, reading the brochures
- Reflecting on Kate's world before in New York through Olivia and Cantin, once again mostly by phone and written text
- Exploring the stories and history that shape the places we visit
- More primitive forms of humanity with the Gorun (similar to the Youkols and Ovo-volahos before)
- The nostalgia of the past, and encroaching modernization being a big recurring theme in all of these games
- Same with loss of identity, and rejecting the expectations of a more traditional life

And honestly so much more, but I don't want to make this response longer than it already is. Every second of this game screams Benoit Sokal to me. It's sad that he never got to see this game's release, but for me this the most well executed version of his vision. It captures everything present in previous entries in the series, without feeling like it just retreads the same ground.

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

If the automaton stuff wasn't there, i probably would argue this had nothing to do with Syberia in general.

Syberia TWB definitely charts a new territory for the series, particularly in how it mostly drops the villains of Syberia 3, which honestly weren't very well liked to begin with. The fact that authorities raided the mine and were dismantling their network is as good an ending as any for me tbh. Bringing Hans back, returning to Syberia, revisiting the mercenaries, would honestly only cheapen the story imo if we do get a sequel. Nostalgia is never the way forward.
.

It requires little effort to wrap up an existing storyline - the soldier guard that gets shot in the mines could've been the mercenary leader or the nurse. This just created a fundamental disconnection here between two stories.

[mistimo]

I'd expect some DLCs for filling the gaps...

[SUGI]

Originally posted by mistimo:

I'd expect some DLCs for filling the gaps...

that would be smth.

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Syberia TWB definitely charts a new territory for the series, particularly in how it mostly drops the villains of Syberia 3, which honestly weren't very well liked to begin with. The fact that authorities raided the mine and were dismantling their network is as good an ending as any for me tbh. Bringing Hans back, returning to Syberia, revisiting the mercenaries, would honestly only cheapen the story imo if we do get a sequel. Nostalgia is never the way forward.
.

It requires little effort to wrap up an existing storyline - the soldier guard that gets shot in the mines could've been the mercenary leader or the nurse. This just created a fundamental disconnection here between two stories.

The game does wrap it up though, at least as far as Kate's involvement goes. Granted, it doesn't do much with it, but TBW does acknowledge these events, even if the characters themselves don't appear in the flesh. They were just a foil for the Youkols' journey anyway, which they did succesfully complete with Kate's help.

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

It requires little effort to wrap up an existing storyline - the soldier guard that gets shot in the mines could've been the mercenary leader or the nurse. This just created a fundamental disconnection here between two stories.

The game does wrap it up though, at least as far as Kate's involvement goes. Granted, it doesn't do much with it, but TBW does acknowledge these events, even if the characters themselves don't appear in the flesh. They were just a foil for the Yukols' journey anyway, which they did succesfully complete with Kate's help.

It was never explained why they were after Jukols and Kate - its just fundamentally really poorly written without proper closure.

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

The game does wrap it up though, at least as far as Kate's involvement goes. Granted, it doesn't do much with it, but TBW does acknowledge these events, even if the characters themselves don't appear in the flesh. They were just a foil for the Yukols' journey anyway, which they did succesfully complete with Kate's help.

It was never explained why they were after Jukols and Kate - its just fundamentally really poorly written without proper closure.

I mean it's explained that they were part of a oppressive militia that was racist towards the Youkols, and wanted to rid their country of any subversives, which Kate Walker clearly was.

That's also why their story didn't matter after both Kate and the Youkols left their country. That was the point after all. Get the Youkols across the border and they'd be safe. After Kate escapes, all that was left to do is shut them down, which she did through an anonymous tip.

It's honestly no worse than Ivan and Igor just kinda wanting ivory in Syberia 2 or Borodine in Syberia 1. These games don't tend to have the villains with the deepest motivations and that's fine imo.

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

It was never explained why they were after Jukols and Kate - its just fundamentally really poorly written without proper closure.

I mean it's explained that they were part of a oppressive militia that was racist towards the Youkols, and wanted to rid their country of any subversives, which Kate Walker clearly was.

That's also why their story didn't matter after both Kate and the Youkols left their country. That was the point after all. Get the Youkols across the border and they'd be safe. After Kate escapes, all that was left to do is shut them down, which she did through an anonymous tip.

It's honestly no worse than Ivan and Igor just kinda wanting ivory in Syberia 2 or Borodine in Syberia 1. These games don't tend to have the villains with the deepest motivations and that's fine imo.

It was explained partially, but not fully.

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

I mean it's explained that they were part of a oppressive militia that was racist towards the Youkols, and wanted to rid their country of any subversives, which Kate Walker clearly was.

That's also why their story didn't matter after both Kate and the Youkols left their country. That was the point after all. Get the Youkols across the border and they'd be safe. After Kate escapes, all that was left to do is shut them down, which she did through an anonymous tip.

It's honestly no worse than Ivan and Igor just kinda wanting ivory in Syberia 2 or Borodine in Syberia 1. These games don't tend to have the villains with the deepest motivations and that's fine imo.

It was explained partially, but not fully.

All of the above at least is from ingame dialogue or notes. It is nice to see you were so invested in the storyline of Syberia 3 though! I'm happy with how TWB ended, though if we did get a sequel, that would be a day one buy.,

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

It was explained partially, but not fully.

All of the above at least is from ingame dialogue or notes. It is nice to see you were so invested in the storyline of Syberia 3 though! I'm happy with how TWB ended, though if we did get a sequel, that would be a day one buy.,

I'm not saying it wasn't. "Racism" isn't a motive

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

All of the above at least is from ingame dialogue or notes. It is nice to see you were so invested in the storyline of Syberia 3 though! I'm happy with how TWB ended, though if we did get a sequel, that would be a day one buy.,

I'm not saying it wasn't. "Racism" isn't a motive

I'd say wanting to get rid of people due to racism is the very definition of a motive. :)

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

I'm not saying it wasn't. "Racism" isn't a motive

I'd say wanting to get rid of people due to racism is the very definition of a motive. :)

No, they had more to this plotline originally for sure, but just didn't explore it. They wanted some artifacts or some ♥♥♥♥ most likely.

[J_Whatever]

Originally posted by S.ug:

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

I'd say wanting to get rid of people due to racism is the very definition of a motive. :)

No, they had more to this plotline originally for sure, but just didn't explore it. They wanted some artifacts or some ♥♥♥♥ most likely.

Oh, I meant in Syberia 3 specifically. Them also having the mine that they send Kate to is of course a TWB addition. Though that likely isn't much deeper than "they can't stash all their prisoners in a hospital or military camp" and "they like money". I wouldn't say that's indicative of a larger storyline.

[SUGI]

Originally posted by J_Whatever:

Originally posted by S.ug:

No, they had more to this plotline originally for sure, but just didn't explore it. They wanted some artifacts or some ♥♥♥♥ most likely.

Oh, I meant in Syberia 3 specifically. Them also having the mine that they send Kate to is of course a TWB addition. Though that likely isn't much deeper than "they can't stash all their prisoners in a hospital or military camp" and "they like money". I wouldn't say that's indicative of a larger storyline.

I'm pretty positive that they wanted to explore Syberia and needed kate walker for that. Thats the only plausible explanation going after her - that she would give/help them in X way.