This is my second-favorite game in the classic Tomb Raider series. I highly respect the developers for choosing not to rely on the brand name, and for switching to a top-down adventure style, as well as calling the protagonist Kate Walker instead of Lara Croft… ok, so obviously these are unrelated franchises, but Syberia actually does tap into the magic that characterises Tomb Raider, maybe even to a greater degree. What may seem like a straightforward adventure slowly pulls you into a world that has a subtle fantasy to it, as if fairy tales were real, but most people had forgotten to take notice. Our protagonist Kate is the exact sort of person that description would apply to, being a lawyer from New York whose call to adventure was to settle a corporate buyout and act as an estate executor. As that dry description may suggest, this is a game that’s not afraid of a slow pace, and wants to encourage players to take their time, think about what people are saying, and fully take stock of every room before running off unprepared. That’s why, in addition to the similar settings and protagonists, I’m reminded of the classic Tomb Raider games. It would have been easy to let Lara do long jumps from a standstill and instantly grab ledges, or to let Kate sprint from place to place and highlight any useful objects she sees, but these changes would have reduced the satisfying quality that makes these games what they are. Of course, there are times where the slowness can be particularly irritating, and my biggest gripe is how the game loves to hide mission-critical details, but by the end I was thankful for the time I had to ruminate on what was being wordlessly communicated. The message slowly unfolds as the adventure grows to be much more than it was at the start, even if it’s in the quiet sort of way where it never feels like anything’s changed. That to me is what makes a journey feel real, like the sort of growth you experience day by day, only to look back a year later and realize everything’s changed. For a game to capture that feeling makes it something truly special, and an adventure that’s still definitely worth taking.