Microids’ Lucas Lagravette on Syberia and adventure games today

How does a 20-year-old adventure game franchise survive and adapt for the modern age? Syberia, a series that launched during the early 2000s adventure game dark age, managed to hang on and expand into the modern era. Originally released earlier this year, Syberia: The World Before launches on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on November 15.

Adventure games evolved in the modern era thanks to the adaptations of developers such as Telltale. Most adventure games can be split between those that resemble the original adventure games of the ’80s and ’90s, such as Ron Gilbert’s Return to Monkey Island, and those that incorporate built-in choice mechanics like titles from Telltale or Supermassive. In those respects, Syberia, which appears very similar to how the first game launched in 2002, is a bit of an outlier.