Syberia Remastered Review: A Few Stones Left Unturned

The early 2000s saw significant improvements in visual quality, presentation, and atmospheric immersion, resulting in truly surreal experiences. In 2002, Syberia stood out as a key milestone, introducing Benoît Sokal’s clockpunk universe—a stunning blend of intricate automata, elaborate clocks, and dreamlike landscapes intertwined with human stories, perfectly showcased in the Syberia series.

Since its release, Syberia has become a cult classic with a dedicated following. It’s widely regarded as a hallmark of the adventure game genre, celebrated for its clockpunk universe, unique atmosphere, narrative depth, and artistic vision. However, with Syberia 3, developer Microids seemed to struggle in recapturing the charm of its predecessors. Now, following the success of the Amerzone remake, the team has unveiled the Syberia remastered edition, aiming to bring back the magic of the 2000s that made us fall in love with its enchanting universe.

Syberia Remastered is an updated version of the 2002 classic point-and-click adventure, was released on November 6, 2025, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with a VR edition launching on November 13, 2025, for Meta Quest 3; the remaster features enhanced graphics, refined animations, and an updated interface while preserving the emotional journey of protagonist Kate Walker, and is available in both physical and digital editions across platforms, with VR offering a fully immersive experience.

Back to Siberia

Syberia Remastered follows Kate Walker, a sharp New York lawyer sent to the remote French village of Valadilène to finalize the sale of an old automaton factory owned by the recently deceased Anna Voralberg. Kate quickly discovers that Anna’s long-lost brother, Hans Voralberg, is still alive and is the true legal owner of the factory. Hans is obsessed with tracking down the last living mammoths on the mythical island of Syberia, inspired by Wrangel Island, Siberia. Kate, accompanied by Oscar, a humanoid automaton, embarks on a surreal journey across snow-covered Eastern Europe, navigating a series of eccentric towns, industrial ruins, and strange folk.

Along the way, Kate encounters complex puzzles, unusual characters, and challenging obstacles. Notable episodes include retrieving crucial artifacts for Hans, assisting eccentric townsfolk such as the opera-obsessed Serguei Borodine, and restoring Oscar’s mechanical hands. The story culminates with Kate meeting Hans, aiding him in his lifelong quest, and choosing to abandon her previous life—including her job and fiancé—to pursue a deeper purpose alongside Hans, ultimately embracing self-discovery and adventure.

It’s a brief 4-5 hour point-and-click adventure that has truly stood the test of time, remaining as resilient as ever over the years. While certain elements, especially the puzzles, have been slightly tweaked for modern audiences, the game is largely unchanged. Unfortunately, the pre-rendered cutscenes are still from the original version, which feels like a missed opportunity since they could have been rendered in real-time.

A Debatable Remaster

This remaster gets a lot of things right on the surface, but a few elements feel lacking beneath. It retains the narrative depth of the original but struggles to capture the same atmospheric essence. Ambient sounds like rain, in-game dialogues, and background music often feel off, clipping out or sounding too loud, which disrupts the immersion.

On the bright side, several elements have been revamped in the recent Oblivion Remastered. Thanks to significant advancements in video game graphics, the game now boasts fully recreated environmental assets with real-time lighting and shadows, unlike the original, which relied on a fixed camera perspective and static environments to create stunning visuals for its era. I really enjoy how the new camera system follows Kate as she runs through the landscapes, unlike the old view, where the camera transitioned to a new perspective every time she moved.

There’s still a good chance you might encounter visual bugs, along with the irritating shimmering of reflections and shadows, which will hopefully be patched in upcoming updates. The game crashed for me once or twice, often after phone calls, and sometimes Kate wouldn’t respond to any inputs after answering a call. During one of the crashes, I even lost my entire save. Since there’s no manual save system, I’d suggest making a backup after each playthrough.

The Future Roadmap

Despite the game having several technical issues, I still feel lucky to have a remaster of this classic after so many years. While significant effort has been made to tailor it for modern audiences, the game feels quite dated and lacks enough content to justify its price tag.

Adding a camera system with both legacy mode and a modern third-person perspective would be an excellent feature for this title. The fixed camera angles in the factory and rooms often made it challenging to locate doors or puzzle sections, restricting the freedom to explore the world. A great example of this concept is the recent Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which lets players switch between camera perspectives based on their preference.

While it provides an excellent experience as a point-and-click adventure with a mouse and keyboard, using a controller feels awkward and stiff in terms of control. Hopefully, the team will continue remastering Syberia 2, incorporate a new third-person perspective like Syberia 3, and patch the current game to resolve the numerous technical issues it currently faces.

Real Talk

Syberia Remastered successfully brings a beloved classic to a modern audience while preserving its core gameplay. However, it suffers from several technical issues and design choices that detract from the original’s atmospheric charm. The puzzles, though easier than before, still feel somewhat outdated from a modern perspective.

FINAL SCORE: 65/100