History VideoGame / Syberia

* CompanyCrossReferences: ''Syberia 1'' and ''The Old World'' both feature references to [[Amerzone: The Explorer's Legacy]], another Microids-published adventure game created by Benoît Sokal. In the former, berries from the titular Amerzone are necessary to solve a puzzle; in the latter, Kate can find a magazine whose headlining article is on the Amerzone.

Microids has announced ''Syberia 3'' as far back as 2009, with Benoit Sokal back in the director's seat. The game was originally to be an IntercontinuityCrossover with the ''VideoGame/PostMortem2002''/''VideoGame/StillLife'' series (also by Microids), where Kate would have teamed up with Victoria [=McPherson=], -- although this ultimately proved to be an AprilFoolsDay joke by the publisher. At some point after the initial announcement, work on the game has been apparently quietly stopped, before it was UnCanceled again in 2012 and eventually just as quietly released onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and the [=PlayStation 4=] on [[SequelGap April 20, 2017]].

* SaharanShipwreck: Aralbad prominently features a couple of beached ships. {{Justified}} since they're not far from the receding shore, and the place is based around the real-life Aral sea.

* DramaticIrony:
** The Brown Shadow sends off an expedition to China to find proof for their "superior human" ideology. [[spoiler:Not only does the expedition find it in the form of the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Gorun]], but one of them not only shelters Leon, a member of one the races the Brown Shadow considers sub-human, but also follows him home and joins the resistance against the Brown Shadow.]]
** [[spoiler:Kate Walker and Dana Roze actually met decades before the events of the game during one of Kate's mother's birthday parties - and even played the Hymn of Vahgen together. However, due to Kate's mother, Dana Roze's estranged daughter, not knowing of her true parentage, young Kate mistook Dana for a partygoer who got lost trying to find the bathroom.]]

* {{Doublethink}}: [[spoiler:The Brown Shadow engages with this in its propaganda against the Goron in the Valgarian Resistance. They have an open public bounty for him while simultaneously distributing propaganda flyers stating "the super-resistance does not exist". This is likely due to the Goron [[DramaticIrony representing one part of the chain of "superior human" evolution in their state ideology]].]]

* NeverGivenAName: "Ludvig Hardtack" is the given name of the Goron child Leon rescued in China when the child has moved to Europe with Leon. From all the evidence provided by the game, including Leon's pictural diary, it's implied the Goron [[NoNeedForNames don't use names]], making Ludvig's name a necessary invention so he can fit in to society.

* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Leon attempts to non-lethally incapacitate the expedition leader with a [[TapOnTheHead knockout punch]] when he tries to kill the Ludvig's mother. Instead, the blow, possibly combined with the leader's head landing on the rocky ground, kills him.]]

* BloodlessCarnage: Despite people being shown shot on-screen, blown up with grenades, and [[spoiler:being literally being torn apart by a Goron resistance fighter]], the most blood shown is some cartoonish spurts from bullet impact and blood shown from where a wound would, presumably, be.

* DramaticIrony: The Brown Shadow sends off an expedition to China to find proof for their "superior human" ideology. [[spoiler:Not only does the expedition find it in the form of the [[BigfootSasquatchAndYeti Gorun]], but one of them not only shelters Leon, a member of one the races the Brown Shadow considers sub-human, but also follows him home and joins the resistance against the Brown Shadow.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Ludvig goes on a literal one after the Brown Shadow assault on resistance headquarters leaves most of his fellow resistance members dead. We don't get to see [[BattleDiscretionShot the most brutal part]], and [[BloodlessCarnage there's no blood or gore afterwards]], but from the sounds of it, Ludvig ''literally tore into the Brown Shadow soliders''.

* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Leon attempts to non-lethally incapacitate the expedition leader with a [[TapOnTheHead knockout punch]] when he tries to kill the Goron's mother. Instead, the blow, possibly combined with the leader's head landing on the rocky ground, kills him.]]

* ConcealmentEqualsCover: During the fight scene against near the end, the resistance fighters use tables and chairs as barricades. It holds up surprisingly well against rifle and machine gun fire.

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Komkolzgrad's name. It does seem to follow the pattern of syllabic abbreviations common in the Soviet Union, with "grad" meaning "city" and "kom" presumably standing for "kommunistichesky" (communist), but the "kolz" element has no discernible meaning. [[labelnote:Possible explanation]]"Kolz" may be a corruption of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz "kolkhoz"]], which is itself another Soviet syllabic abbreviation, standing for ''kollektivnoye khozyaystvo'' (collective farm)[[/labelnote]]

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: Komkolzgrad's name. It does seem to follow the pattern of syllabic abbreviations common in the Soviet Union, with "grad" meaning "city" and "kom" presumably standing for "kommunistichesky" (communist), but the "kolz" element has no discernible meaning.
** May be derived from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkhoz "kolkhoz"]].

''Syberia'' (not to be confused with that cold, unfriendly place in Russia called S'''i'''beria, or with an older game titled ''VideoGame/{{Cyberia}}'') is a ClockPunk AdventureGame duology, developed by Microids, designed by Benoit Sokal, and written by Catherine Peyrot. Originally planned as a single game, it was [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo split in two]] due to ExecutiveMeddling, with ''Syberia'' being released in 2002 and ''Syberia II'', in 2004. The original game became an epic FlameBait immediately after the release: while the hardcore, long-time adventure gamers panned it for a simple story and primitive puzzles, the newer generation (many of them introduced to the genre through ''Syberia'' in the first place) universally admired its artwork and atmosphere, considering it a SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/TheLongestJourney'' classic. When the second game came about, most players who expected a repetition of the ''Syberia'' wonder were disappointed, for the original atmosphere has been lost in development, which many attributed to Sokal's lack of involvement with it.

* NoPronunciationGuide: Dana Roze's name. Her mother, father and music teacher all pronounce her first name in a different way. Not to mention the teacher, who has a German accent, saying Dana's last name with an English pronunciation ("rows") instead of what should be a German one ("rho-ze").

In August 2019, Microids announced that work is underway on the next chapter of the franchise, ''Syberia: the World Before''. A demo called ''Syberia: The World Before - Prologue'' was made available October 9, 2020. Sokal [[DiedDuringProduction tragically died of illness]] in May 2021, leaving his co-writer Lucas Lagravette (who also worked on ''3'') to lead the project to completion.

* AnachronismStew: If it wasn't for Kate's cell phone and the existence of a fax machine in Valadilène, the player would be forgiven for thinking the game takes place in some {{Clockpunk}} version of the early 20th century.

* BigNo: Kate does it at the end of the demo, [[spoiler:as Simona the guard shoots her gun at her and Katyusha]].
* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Katyusha bites it at the end of the prologue, courtesy of a bullet in the gut. However, it is averted by Kate.]]

* TheReveal: [[spoiler:Dana and Leon's daughter Anna wasn't actually stillborn, but she was brought to the US where she grew up as Sarah Walker. Ergo, Dana is Kate's grandmother.]]

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Katyusha bites it at the end of the prologue, courtesy of a bullet in the gut. However it is averted by Kate]]

Microids has announced ''Syberia 3'' as far back as 2009, with Benoit Sokal back in the director's seat. The game was originally to be an IntercontinuityCrossover with the ''VideoGame/PostMortem''/''VideoGame/StillLife'' series (also by Microids), where Kate would have teamed up with Victoria [=McPherson=], -- although this ultimately proved to be an AprilFoolsDay joke by the publisher. At some point after the initial announcement, work on the game has been apparently quietly stopped, before it was UnCanceled again in 2012 and eventually just as quietly released onto UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} and the [=PlayStation 4=] on [[SequelGap April 20, 2017]].

* BuryYourGays: [[spoiler: Katyusha bites it at the end of the prologue, courtesy of a bullet in the gut.]]

* AdultFear:
** One of the redeeming qualities of Mr. Voralberg is that of his feelings towards Hans' fall, in which he will never inherit the factory.
** Mrs. Walker in the second game is concerned to the point where she threatens Mr. Marston for sending Kate into the wastelands.

* BigNo: Kate does it at the end of the demo, [[spoiler:as Simona the guard shoots her gun at either her or Katyusha]].

* TimeSkip: Kate's story takes place in winter 2004, a little over a year after ''Syberia 3'' ended.

* ThoseTwoBadGuys: Ivan and Igor. [[spoiler:They're the main antagonists of the game.]]

In August 2019, Microids announced that work is underway on the next chapter of the franchise, ''Syberia: the World Before''. A demo called ''Syberia: The World Before - Prologue'' was made available 9 Oct, 2020.

* OddCouple: Kate and Oscar.

* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Youki, Kate's NonHumanSidekick from the second game. He's basically [[BuffySpeak sort of... like a... young polar bear crossed with a baby seal... thing...]] And [[BigEater eats]] ''[[BigEater a lot]]'' and [[AllAnimalsAreDogs acts pretty much like a dog]].