Syberia

it looks beautiful, sounds great, the voice acting is pretty good, and the puzzles are nicely integrated, if a bit obtuse. My one gripe is how damn slow Kate is even when running -- she loves to pause and reposition herself and leisurely walk up the stairs... but if you don't mind that this game is quite fun

I absolutely love this game! I've lost count of how many times I've played through it, yet I still find myself coming back to it regularly, even though I know the story almost by heart. Maybe it's partly nostalgia, but this series has something special that I still can't find in many newer games. The visuals, based on Benoît Sokal's artwork, are beautiful and have a unique atmosphere. On top of that, the soundtrack is fantastic and remains a pleasure to listen to even years later. And then there's the story itself, which is honestly one of the main reasons to play this game - engaging, charming, and memorable long after you've finished it. This is definitely one of those adventure games that stays with you for years. It's absolutely worth giving a chance despite its age.

It feels like a very tactile, intriguing search through watercolor scenery and live orchestra. Revisiting this precious quarter-of-a-century old artifact is a joy to behold <3

[b] "Stares Walker" is a warm fuzzy feeling that does its best to annoy you at times with moments where you think you made progress and can finally move on with it only to have yet another obstacle be conjured out of nowhere. These obstacles mainly include Oscar being the most pricking character in gaming history. I hate that robot. Yeah - I said robot! Oh and also, so much fun to see Kate walking up and down stairs. That makes 50% of the game time! Slowest animation ever. Other than that, nice warm cup of tea. From Wimp to Keen - Keen game, Wimpy Oscar! [/b]

I have no idea why this game is a cult classic. It's thoroughly mediocre and forgettable. The "Key Features" section on the store page are all lies. The "gripping script that goes beyond your imagination" is a boring nonsense with lots of walking around (Kate "Walker", I get it, hahaha) trying to figure out wtf I need to go and wtf I'm supposed to do ("this machine is missing a part" without any hints), and an unrewarding finale [spoiler]thanks for bringing my train to me, I have no further dialog[/spoiler]. The "rich and intriguing characters" are all retarded (yes, this is the only source of humour) and unhelpful. The "film-like camera angles" are disorienting, it's hard to see where I came from and where I can go, and sometimes the screen can scroll but there is no indication. The "original and creative puzzles" are nonsensical roadblocks to increase the length of the game with zero hints on how to proceed, so it's trial-and-error and pixel hunting, and going back-and-forth between characters in hope that they have new dialog options. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the LucasArts classic adventures?

It's just painfully slow. Going back to some place to check something means manually walking across multiple scenes. That's what you will be doing for half the game. Some puzzles can be a bit obscure, but the biggest challange is staying awake. Which is a bummer because the story is actually good and the world has lots of charm. But the moment to moment gameplay is insufferable.