Point-and-click Adventure games are a niche genre now, but there was a time when weren’t just quaint reminders of gaming’s innovative past. They once enjoyed quite a large degree of popularity in the world of gaming, providing players with a more contemplative and often more narrative counterpoint to the many platformers and shooters that were also quite prolific at the time. Microïds’ Syberia – which came out in 2002 – arrived near the tail end of the point-and-click’s life cycle. But it (and its sequel, Syberia 2) are regarded by Adventure game fans as one of the most thematically beautiful and emotional entries in the genre.
Today, Microïds announced that the newest entry in the series, Syberia 3, is slated to release on December 1, 2016. The date can be found on the game’s official Steam page.
Additionally, the French studio has released the latest trailer for the game, which contains commentary on the game’s 4-year development process. Syberia 3 will feature writing and visual designs by the series’ original developer, Benoît Sokal. As a first for the series, Syberia 3 will also be fully rendered in 3D, with motion capture to boot.
Exploration and puzzle-solving is no longer executed through mere clicking, either. Players will be able to physically move objects around the game world, with the aim of helping them immerse themselves further into Syberia’s fantasy universe.
It’s been over ten years since the last installment of the Syberia franchise (2004). This new tale, though, picks up right where Syberia 2 left off. Protagonist Kate Walker has been rescued from death by the Youkole, the nomadic, gnome-like people from the second game who inhabit the remote regions of Russia’s snowy hinterlands. Kate will accompany the Youkole and their snow ostriches on an epic journey, all the while racing against their “common enemy” and exploring the classic Syberia themes of coping with the past.
If you’re curious about what happens in the first two entries in the series, Kate was originally a lawyer from New York City who was sent to a small French village to negotiate the takeover of a toy factory. Her adventure sprang from there and embroiled her in an enchanting journey filled with clockwork automatons, woolly mammoths, and train rides across Russia’s snowy wastes.
Though we recommend you play the original Syberia games. They’re quite unique, even for the imaginative tapestry of point-and-click Adventure games.
Syberia 3 is set to release on December 1, 2016. You can visit its Steam page here, and view its official Facebook page here.