Syberia (Nintendo Switch) Review

Kate Walker, a lawyer by trade, gets embroiled in the journey of a lifetime when on a mission to get the signature of one Anna Voralberg, owner of a toy factory that her business wishes to take control of. Sadly, upon arriving, Kate finds out that Anna has died. However, Hans, Anna's brother, may well still be alive, just missing because of various intriguing reasons that Kate attempts to get to the bottom of as she delves deeper and deeper into the odd happenings across the various European locations she visits, and even parts of Eastern Russia. Eventually, after witnessing events she never could have imagined, she begins to wonder if the lifestyle she had back in New York was right for her, and so begins a life-changing journey.

There were issues with how Syberia was ported to PlayStation 3 a few years back, but Microids has made a great effort to make this new update as suitable for Nintendo Switch as possible. Whilst still somewhat clunky at times when docked due to the way the gamepad system is employed (a curse for all games of this ilk making the transition from PC to console), it really comes to life in portable mode.

When docked, regular controls are used, and transitions between different areas are not as smooth as they could be. Kate can be guided freely around most places, which works well, but players have to wait for an on-screen icon to appear when nearing the edge of an area so the action button can then be pressed in order to move onwards. It works well enough most of the time, but sometimes the icon does not appear unless Kate has been positioned in exactly the correct place, which leads to confusion, and ultimately frustration, as players try to keep searching for an exit.

When the touch screen comes into play, though, Syberia truly is a joy to play through, and the engrossing story can definitely be enjoyed to the maximum, exploring the enchanting world, solving the intriguing puzzles at play, and interacting easily with the vast array of endearing characters met along the way, including the quirky Oscar, just one of the automatons created by genius inventor, Hans Voralberg.

Microids has also taken the small screen of Switch into account, choosing to leave on-screen hotspots visible as default. This may aggravate older point-and-click adventure fans that wish to discover things themselves, but it actually removes any possible frustration involved in having to otherwise tap all over the tiny screen, hoping for a result. Should it prove to be too bothersome, though, it is possible to turn them off in the settings. Use of the inventory screen can sometimes be a bit fiddly for those with chunkier fingers (trying to tap items for use, but instead clicking out of the menu), but this can be adjusted to, and if using a soft-ended stylus there is far greater accuracy. Fingers will suffice the majority of the time, though, and the adventuring is all the better for it, bringing the original PC's point-and-click approach back to the fore.