Syberia: The World Before Review (kangirigungi)
This wouldn't be that bad, but it's still a disappointment for someone who's played the previous games. While the technical aspects are well improved, it loses much on the atmosphere.
The good
The graphics. It's absolutely beautiful. Really.
The characters. Kate goes through some interesting character development here, and even the side characters are more fleshed out than in the previous games. The creators finally managed to make believable characters in contrast to the caricatures of Syberia 1-3.
The voice acting. As cringy it was in previous games, especially Syberia 3, it's improved hugely.
The puzzles. There are not many of them, and they are by no means difficult, but there are some I really enjoyed solving.
The length. While the game is generally slow paced which can draw out play time, it still has more content than any of the previous games.
The not so good
The story. While in general it's decent and flows well, there are some really cringy scenes, especially near the end, including one of the worst WW2 fight scenes I've ever seen. Unfortunately, the death of Mr. Sokal made a noticeable gap in the direction department.
The pacing. Cutscenes and dialogues cannot be skipped, which is not always a problem, but when you're trying every prompt multiple times while searching for the secondary objectives in case you forgot something, it can get annoying after some time.
The bad
The controls. They improved much compared to Syberia 3, but it's still a nightmare. This point-and-click style just does not go well with a fully 3D environment like this. The limited camera angles are really annoying, and it's not even so that they can avoid modelling half the room, as at times it'll just switch around.
Consistency. They managed to break the timeline of the first game just so they could shoehorn Hans' creations into a pre-WW2 world. I'd excuse this one, if not for the following point.
Originality, or more like the lack of that. While all previous games managed to give something new, something to keep you in awe, this one copy-pasted elements from the first game. An art nouveau style town that seems to be stuck in the '30s? Check. A university that's seen better days, where the rector asks you to fix the music machine on the square? Check. A search for prehistoric creatures? Check. You'll also be visiting a cemetery, an attic or two with artifacts from the past, and even a stamping machine.
The ending. Not only did they manage to pretty much exactly replicate the ending of the first game, they made another sequel hook instead of finally bringing the series to a conclusion. They are clearly out of ideas for the series so it'd be better to just end it once and for all.