There's snow business like old adventure business
By Paul Hunter
There is something strangely comforting about booting up Syberia Remastered on PS5 and seeing Kate Walker’s world rendered with fresh tech. This is not some loose spin-off or side project. Virtuallyz Gaming and Microids Studio Paris have gone back to the very first Syberia and rebuilt it for modern hardware, under Microids’ watch, while trying to keep that same oddball European adventure vibe intact.
If you have history with early-2000s adventure games, you probably know exactly where this sits in your memory. Syberia was that slow, moody game about strange automaton towns while everything else chased spectacle. Syberia Remastered taps into that same energy, but now you are moving through updated 3D spaces with an improved camera, smoother controls and a cleaner interface that makes the whole adventure feel more modern.
What really grabbed me is how careful this version feels about Benoît Sokal’s world. The clockwork machinery, lonely streets and slightly off-kilter tone are all still there, only now dressed in lighting and detail that feel built for a big screen and a couch.
So for those of you who already know Kate’s story, the real question becomes simple. Is Syberia Remastered on PS5 the best way to revisit that first journey, or should you stick with your memories on PC? Let’s find out!
From the moment you find the town in mourning for Anna Voralberg, that clear plan starts to crumble. Kate learns that Anna has passed away, and the person whose approval really matters is Hans, the brother everyone thought was gone for good. His signature is still needed, and he appears to be somewhere far off in the east, wrapped up in his own obsession with mechanical creatures and distant places.
The script uses that setup to peel Kate away from her old life. You hear her boss push for quick results, you sense the distance in her relationship back home, and you watch her slowly shift from ticking off tasks to actually caring about the people and stories she runs into. The trip stretches from Valadilene to other, more remote stops, each one giving a slightly different take on a world where heavy industry has started to rust and strange machines are part of everyday scenery.
Oscar, the mechanical train conductor, is central to that rhythm. He is rigid, fussy and very literal, yet slowly develops a connection with Kate that carries a lot of the emotional weight. Their back and forth is often funny in a gentle way, and it keeps the long trip from feeling empty. Some lines and performances definitely echo the era the game came from, yet the underlying story of someone leaving a hollow routine to chase something stranger and more honest still lands.
The big shift is how you move. You can use the familiar cursor approach or steer Kate directly with the stick. Both options work, but the stick controls make the game easier to settle into on a console. Movement is smoother than in the original release, even if Kate sometimes takes odd paths around scenery or is forced to walk in certain areas when you would rather jog.
Maps that were once a chain of individuals scenes now come across as joined spaces. Valadilene is a good example. You move along streets and paths in one go while the camera follows you. That camera setup usually helps you see more of the scene, but in some rare wider spots it can lead to angles that make an exit harder to spot.
Puzzles are still the main focus. Most of them revolve around machinery and automatons rather than obscure codes. You flip levers, align parts and work through small chains of interactions that fit the challenge. Some puzzles have extra steps or small changes for the remaster, which keeps them fresh even if you know the old answers. I had one moment where I spent a solid stretch walking between the train and nearby buildings to find a part I had missed, and the small burst of satisfaction when the engine finally rolled forward reminded me why this style still works.
If you want guidance, Story Mode highlights goals and gives puzzle hints. If you miss that old style of adventure logic, Adventure Mode lets you figure things out with minimal help. It is a nice way to tune how strict you want the game to be without changing its basic structure.
Character models are sharper across the board. Kate’s face and outfit look far better than they did on old hardware, and Oscar also receives a nice bump up in detail. At the same time, a lot of the animation data is clearly carried over, which means some movement can appear stiff or puppet-like, which does fit the theme well but can look a tad rough versus modern standards.
On PS5, Quality Mode gives a very steady 30 frames per second with good image quality, and load times stay short. You will notice some pop-in, small clipping issues and a faint outline around Kate in certain shots, yet these are light blemishes more than serious faults. The game also offers a Performance Mode, but I didn't really notice a big jump in frame rate so I played most of the game in Quality Mode.
On the audio side, the orchestral soundtrack returns and still does a lot of the emotional work, with piano and strings setting the tone for quiet scenes and travel segments. Voice acting is carried over too. It can sound stiff or a bit formal in places, but there is a charm in hearing the same deliveries supporting this remaster. Environmental audio has been upgraded with extra detail such as crackling fires and echoing footsteps. The overall presentation feels like a careful refresh of an older adventure rather than a total rebuild, and for this game that is a good fit.
Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Developer: Microids Studio Paris, Virtuallyz Gaming
Publisher: Microids
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.
By Paul Hunter
There is something strangely comforting about booting up Syberia Remastered on PS5 and seeing Kate Walker’s world rendered with fresh tech. This is not some loose spin-off or side project. Virtuallyz Gaming and Microids Studio Paris have gone back to the very first Syberia and rebuilt it for modern hardware, under Microids’ watch, while trying to keep that same oddball European adventure vibe intact.
If you have history with early-2000s adventure games, you probably know exactly where this sits in your memory. Syberia was that slow, moody game about strange automaton towns while everything else chased spectacle. Syberia Remastered taps into that same energy, but now you are moving through updated 3D spaces with an improved camera, smoother controls and a cleaner interface that makes the whole adventure feel more modern.
What really grabbed me is how careful this version feels about Benoît Sokal’s world. The clockwork machinery, lonely streets and slightly off-kilter tone are all still there, only now dressed in lighting and detail that feel built for a big screen and a couch.
So for those of you who already know Kate’s story, the real question becomes simple. Is Syberia Remastered on PS5 the best way to revisit that first journey, or should you stick with your memories on PC? Let’s find out!
Story and Narrative
The story in Syberia Remastered does not try to reinvent Kate Walker’s journey, and that is exactly why it works so well. You start as a corporate lawyer from New York sent to Valadilene, a quiet Alpine village tied to the Voralberg family and their once famous automaton factory. On paper this is a straightforward assignment. You arrive, meet the owner, sign what needs signing and head back to your regular life.From the moment you find the town in mourning for Anna Voralberg, that clear plan starts to crumble. Kate learns that Anna has passed away, and the person whose approval really matters is Hans, the brother everyone thought was gone for good. His signature is still needed, and he appears to be somewhere far off in the east, wrapped up in his own obsession with mechanical creatures and distant places.
The script uses that setup to peel Kate away from her old life. You hear her boss push for quick results, you sense the distance in her relationship back home, and you watch her slowly shift from ticking off tasks to actually caring about the people and stories she runs into. The trip stretches from Valadilene to other, more remote stops, each one giving a slightly different take on a world where heavy industry has started to rust and strange machines are part of everyday scenery.
Oscar, the mechanical train conductor, is central to that rhythm. He is rigid, fussy and very literal, yet slowly develops a connection with Kate that carries a lot of the emotional weight. Their back and forth is often funny in a gentle way, and it keeps the long trip from feeling empty. Some lines and performances definitely echo the era the game came from, yet the underlying story of someone leaving a hollow routine to chase something stranger and more honest still lands.
Gameplay and Mechanics
On the gameplay side, Syberia Remastered keeps the structure you remember and gives it just enough polish to look fresh and modern. At its core, this is still a methodical adventure. You guide Kate through towns and stations, talk to locals, grab items and use them to coax strange machines and automatons back to life.The big shift is how you move. You can use the familiar cursor approach or steer Kate directly with the stick. Both options work, but the stick controls make the game easier to settle into on a console. Movement is smoother than in the original release, even if Kate sometimes takes odd paths around scenery or is forced to walk in certain areas when you would rather jog.
Maps that were once a chain of individuals scenes now come across as joined spaces. Valadilene is a good example. You move along streets and paths in one go while the camera follows you. That camera setup usually helps you see more of the scene, but in some rare wider spots it can lead to angles that make an exit harder to spot.
Puzzles are still the main focus. Most of them revolve around machinery and automatons rather than obscure codes. You flip levers, align parts and work through small chains of interactions that fit the challenge. Some puzzles have extra steps or small changes for the remaster, which keeps them fresh even if you know the old answers. I had one moment where I spent a solid stretch walking between the train and nearby buildings to find a part I had missed, and the small burst of satisfaction when the engine finally rolled forward reminded me why this style still works.
If you want guidance, Story Mode highlights goals and gives puzzle hints. If you miss that old style of adventure logic, Adventure Mode lets you figure things out with minimal help. It is a nice way to tune how strict you want the game to be without changing its basic structure.
Presentation and Audio
Visually, Syberia Remastered does a very good job of pulling a 2002 adventure into 2025 without losing its identity. The old pre-rendered backgrounds are gone. In their place you get full 3D locations built from the original vision, with lighting and weather that suit the mood of each stop. Snow-covered streets, creaking bridges, clockwork workshops and old train cars all show a level of detail that fits Benoît Sokal’s world and makes it easy to stop and just look around for a moment.Character models are sharper across the board. Kate’s face and outfit look far better than they did on old hardware, and Oscar also receives a nice bump up in detail. At the same time, a lot of the animation data is clearly carried over, which means some movement can appear stiff or puppet-like, which does fit the theme well but can look a tad rough versus modern standards.
On PS5, Quality Mode gives a very steady 30 frames per second with good image quality, and load times stay short. You will notice some pop-in, small clipping issues and a faint outline around Kate in certain shots, yet these are light blemishes more than serious faults. The game also offers a Performance Mode, but I didn't really notice a big jump in frame rate so I played most of the game in Quality Mode.
On the audio side, the orchestral soundtrack returns and still does a lot of the emotional work, with piano and strings setting the tone for quiet scenes and travel segments. Voice acting is carried over too. It can sound stiff or a bit formal in places, but there is a charm in hearing the same deliveries supporting this remaster. Environmental audio has been upgraded with extra detail such as crackling fires and echoing footsteps. The overall presentation feels like a careful refresh of an older adventure rather than a total rebuild, and for this game that is a good fit.
The Verdict
As a complete package, Syberia Remastered lands in a very good spot. It respects the 2002 adventure while giving it sharper graphics, better camera work and modern quality of life tweaks on PS5. The original script and performances are still here, so the tone and character work stay true to what made Syberia stand out. Some older quirks remain under the surface, yet they barely matter. What sticks with me most is how cosy and human the journey still is.Final Score: 8/10 - Great
Syberia – Remastered details
Platform: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PCDeveloper: Microids Studio Paris, Virtuallyz Gaming
Publisher: Microids
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Modes: Single-player
A key was provided by the publisher.