Released in 2022, the first Syberia left an impact on the adventure genre. Three sequels followed, and enriched the universe created by the author Benoît Sokal. Now, 2025 sees the arrival of a remaster of the first episode, which takes what made the success of the original, all while adding elements to bring it up to modern standards.

Between Remake and Remaster

Even though Syberia – Remastered logically presents itself as a remaster, the teams at Virtuallyz and Microids Studio Paris decided to modernize the game to speak to a broader audience. They immersed themselves into what had been done for Syberia – The World Before released in 2022, as Aurélien Lévêque, Game Director at Virtuallyz, explains: “The backgrounds have been entirely modeled after the original 2D plans, so we had to imagine some missing viewpoints. Even the characters have been entirely modeled and animated in 3D.”

“Fun fact: at the start of the project, we didn’t have enough 3D models for all the characters, so we used Felix Smetana, the receptionist at the Kronsky Hotel, everywhere when working on the cutscenes. After seeing him so many times, he ended up becoming the team’s mascot. Thankfully, we got the opportunity to work with the team at Microids Studio Paris, which developed Syberia – The World Before and Amerzone – The Explorer’s Legacy, to help us achieve the level of quality we aimed for.”

Taking advantage of this 3D modeling, the development team were able to completely revamp the camera to make the game more enjoyable and readable, all the while allowing players to better locate themselves in the environment. Moving protagonist Kate around has also been greatly improved, as Aurélien goes into details on the matter: “We took inspiration from many elements in The World Before, starting with the character controller, meaning the way Kate moves around using a controller or computer mouse. Microids Studio Paris also helped us with putting the camera in place.”

Always with modernization in mind, the team tried to make choices that would satisfy both old fans and new players who want to discover the series. As such, they decided to implement a quest journal in the vein of what was present in The World Before, and to offer two different game modes: Story Mode, which gives hints so that players won’t stay stuck too long, and Adventure Mode, in which no help is provided and is thus way closer to the original experience.

Preserving Benoît Sokal’s legacy

The team did everything to find the right balance between the wish to improve the author’s vision and staying true as possible to the DNA of the original. Thus, if the original cutscenes have simply been upscaled, the backgrounds have benefited from a complete overhaul. Used to the Unity engine, Virtuallyz and Microids Studio Paris were able to greatly improve the visuals to enhance Benoît Sokal’s vision without altering the geography of the locations. In addition, by using the HDRP (Unity’s High Definition Render Pipeline), Virtuallyz was able to make the whole experience more immersive than ever, as Aurélien points out: “The HDRP is a rendering pipeline made for next-gen or current-gen consoles. It enables more realistic lighting, but also more control on ‘material PBR’ (Physically Based Rendering), generally used to add a sense of realism and texture to objects. All those factors allowed for an improvement of the scenery, as well as for the characters.”

The sound design was also reworked. Given that the original plot hasn’t been modified, the decision to keep the original dubbing and music was made quite early into the project. However, the devs have improved some old sounds that didn’t age well, and created new ones (such as the crackling of the chimney fire) to emphasize the immersion. Aurélien adds: “We worked on FMOD so that the voices and sounds would take into account the acoustics of the rooms or of the exterior.”

The studio faced some challenges with the cutscenes, especially as they were trying make the direction smoother while also making sure that everything would be consistent, no matter the language.

“As each language uses a different duration, we had to design an ingenious system so that the cutscenes would adapt to the duration of each sound,” Aurélien explains. “A lot of work was done to make sure that everything would interlink perfectly, and we even added new animations with travelling effects to make the whole thing more dynamic and harmonious.”

The team made all those improvements to improve Benoît Sokal’s original vision and give Syberia a new lease of life. Get ready for a one-of-a-kind journey across Europe in Syberia – Remastered, releasing on November 6 on Xbox Series X|S.

Syberia – Remastered

Microids

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$29.99

Pre-order

More than 20 years after its original release, Syberia is reborn in a fully modernized version. Rediscover its iconic locations and unforgettable characters through a stunning visual overhaul, redesigned gameplay, and the same captivating storytelling that made it a classic.

Kate Walker, a brilliant lawyer from New York, is sent to a remote village in the French Alps to finalize the sale of an old automaton factory. But what begins as a routine assignment soon turns into an extraordinary journey across Eastern Europe and its snow-covered landscapes.

Accompanied by Oscar, a loyal and one-of-a-kind automaton, Kate sets out to explore mysterious and forgotten places, filled with eccentric characters, as she follows the trail of Hans Voralberg, a genius inventor pursuing a seemingly impossible dream: finding the last living mammoths on the mythical island of Syberia.

An unexpected, thrilling, and deeply emotional voyage that will challenge everything she thought she knew.

First released in 2002, Syberia became a reference in the adventure genre, praised for its unique atmosphere, sharp writing, and the richness of Benoît Sokal’s artistic vision. This remaster is a new opportunity to (re)discover the masterpiece, following in the footsteps of other titles from Benoît Sokal such as “Syberia: The World Before” and the newly released “Amerzone: The Explorer’s Legacy”.

KEY FEATURES

– A faithful and stunning overhaul:
Meet Syberia’s iconic characters fully redesigned and explore the game’s most emblematic locations brought to life in beautifully enhanced 3D. Every environment has been carefully rebuilt with an art direction that stays true to Benoît Sokal’s unique style, offering an even deeper immersion into his singular visual universe.

– Reimagined mechanical puzzles:
Enjoy a fresh take on the game’s intricate puzzles, redesigned to provide a smoother and more intuitive experience while preserving their essential role in uncovering the secrets behind Voralberg’s genius.

– A modernized gameplay experience:
Rediscover Kate Walker’s journey with an updated user interface, improved 3D navigation, and more fluid controls tailored to today’s standards, all without compromising the game’s contemplative and narrative soul.

– A rich and immersive world:
From the alpine town of Valadilène to the frozen edges of Eastern Russia, Syberia transports you into a world of mystery, automatons, and poetic machinery. Dive into a clockpunk adventure where realism blends seamlessly with dreamlike wonder.

– A moving and unforgettable story:
Experience a deeply human narrative, as Kate Walker’s legal assignment turns into a profound journey of self-discovery. Filled with unexpected encounters, emotional choices, and moments of awe, Syberia’s tale blurs the line between strangeness and the sublime.