The folly of Kate Walker

Is there a video game character that you just don’t understand?

Last month, Ty from Ty’s Game Archive published a review of Syberia 2. This followed on from a critique of the original release in February, in which it was noted that Microids’ series is popular but contains several issues which might rub players the wrong way.

I’m one of those gamers. The first Syberia might be hailed as a classic and named the fifteenth best adventure by Adventure Gamers, but it has never been on my favourites list. It has struck me as odd since playing it on my PlayStation in 2003 and this feeling has been compounded by repeats on PC. Video games are creative works of fantasy but Syberia contains several elements which make me scratch my head in confusion.

The biggest of these is the title’s protagonist Kate Walker, an American lawyer sent by her firm to the French village of Valadilène to oversee the buyout of an automaton factory. After discovering that the owner has recently died, she’s advised by the village notary that her brother Hans Voralberg may still be alive. Cue a long journey around a steampunk version of Europe to track him down with a character that I can’t stand.

I’m sure there are going to be a few shocked gasps after that last sentence. After all, Kate Walker (because almost everybody in the Syberia series calls her by her full name) is a much-loved protagonist who’s often cited as a female character that we can be proud of. While I’ll admit that she’s more independent, intelligent and strong than some of the other leading ladies we’ve been treated to in the past, all I can see when I look at her is someone who really isn’t that nice.

She points out that nobody is around to take her bags up to ger room upon arrival at the hotel in Valadilène. The manager apologises sincerely and tells her that it’s a day of mourning for the whole village due to Anna Voralberg’s funeral, before taking her single case up to the next floor. The baker confirms the same thing when she asks why the bakery is closed. But then she says during a telephone call with her best friend, Olivia: ‘These people are just not very hospitable.’ Get over yourself, Kate Walker.

The hotel manager and baker aren’t the only people she’s rude to. When she needs to pick up a boat oar to use as a lever, she says: ‘Yuuck! That oar is all dirty and wet!’ She then proceeds to let young Momo collect it for ger because she doesn’t want to get her hands messy – so much for female independence. It’s also worth pointing out here that the way Momo is referred to by other characters is often extremely derogatory, with words such as ‘slow’ and ‘retard’ making for uncomfortable viewing.

This kind of negativity is something picked up on by Ty also: “It kind of bothers me how rarely I hear people bring up how Hans is talked about in this game… Most characters tend to look down on him, some more mean about it than others, but all of them change their tune once he shows them the intricate machines he can make… They just like the things he gave to them… did they really need to call him an ableist slur multiple times? The only person who saw value in him outside of what he could make for them was his sister.”

The majority of Syberia’s plot covers what happens after Kate Walker boards a clockwork train managed by an automaton named Oscar, both made at the Voralberg factory. She has no idea as to its route or destination other than a hunch that it might take her to Hans. As if that wasn’t foolhardy enough, she brings no supplies with her (although somehow her case miraculously appears in the train’s sleeper compartment later). What kind of sensible woman goes on a long journey without taking at least a phone charger and snacks?

Something even more confusing happens during an event towards the end of the game. Throughout her mission, she receives several calls from her fiancé Dan who comes across as ‘the jealous type’. He’s annoyed that she isn’t with him in New York to go to a dinner party hosted by an important client and continuously tells her to come home. It becomes obvious to the player over the course of the title that it’s not all innocent between Dan and Olivia, and eventually they both reveal to Kate Walker that something has happened between them.

On one hand, I can respect her for handling the situation with such grace. She doesn’t get angry; she simply realises that perhaps she and her fiancé weren’t meant to be together and that her journey through Europe has changed who she is. I don’t believe calls with news about your cheating partner and best friend would have been managed with so much dignity in the real world – there definitely would have been a fair amount of screaming. But points to Kate Walker for managing to stay so calm.

However, there’s no way I can agree with her responses to the unfaithful pair. When Olivia tells her she’s had the hots for Dan for ages and something untoward happened when she invited him home after too much alcohol, she says: “Don’t bust a gut over it.” And to whiny Dan, she replies: “Maybe, I’m to blame somewhere in all of this. Maybe I pushed you into Olivia’s arms. I’m well aware this trip has taken me far from New York and far from the Kate you once knew.”

What on earth were you thinking, Kate Walker? A friend is meant to be someone you can trust, yet you simply tell her not to worry about sleeping with your fiancé, as if it’s something that can be easily forgotten. And as for Dan, he should be proud of your achievements and sticking to your mission despite the adverse (and ridiculous) conditions you’ve found yourself in. They’re not an excuse to end up in Olivia’s bed because you weren’t there to pay him attention and stroke his ego.

The fact she feels that she’s partly to blame for what went on back in New York and should apologise for growing as a person really irritates me. I understand that the reasons for infidelity are far more complicated than can be explained during a couple of short phone calls shown in a video game, but this isn’t a side of Kate Walker I want to see. Show me someone who’s been hurt by people she cared for and who is vulnerable – but don’t give me a woman who feels she has to say sorry for others’ mistakes.

The reasons above are why I’ve never bothered picking up Syberia 3 or Syberia: The World Before. I played Syberia II only because the first game comes to a dead stop, as described by Ty: “To call Syberia 2 a ‘direct sequel’ would be an understatement. It feels more like they just cut one long game into two pieces… The ending as well can feel a little underwhelming if you aren’t treating it as part one of two.” I wanted to find out whether any of the plot elements that seem so silly are finally cleared up in a way that makes sense, but I was disappointed.

I guess this means that there’s a small chance that the new Kate Walker could end up growing on me if I tried the other releases and spent more time with her. But not if she doesn’t start taking her phone charger and snacks on long train journeys.