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.
Ty
5 months agoThanks for linking to my post! If I had thought this would happen I would have double checked my post for typos a few more times haha. I also just realised how little I remember about Syberia. I don’t even remember if I liked Kate or not. You bring up a lot of good points though, great post!
Kim
5 months agoMy dislike of Kate (and her inability to bring snacks on long journeys) is a bit of a running joke between my gaming friends, so your review gave me the perfect opportunity to share! Do you think you’ll ever get around to playing the third and fourth games?
Ty
5 months agohmm, I’m not sure if I’ll play the later Syberia games. Maybe I’ll play the 3rd one day, I already bought it ages ago but I had some performance issues so I didn’t get too far into that game. I realised that I didn’t have much interest in continuing the series after the 2nd game.
Kim
5 months agoI’ve not played myself, but I’ve heard some negative things about the performance of and controls in the third game. I’ll keep an eye out for a review on your site if you ever decide to go back to it. 😉
alex2life
5 months agoReally love Syberia overall but from your review Kim, I think you’d really be annoyed throughout most of the third game.
As you mention the controls are really awkward at times and several of the characters are just so frustrating to deal with.
There’s this weird shift in tone where they just get more and more ungrateful and nagging while being completely unhelpful themselves.
“KATE WALKER, pls pick up that stick for me!”–>5 seconds later –> “KATE WALKER! WHY ARENT YOU HELPING US MORE!”. – And they’re saying this to a person who left everything behind to help them out…
And the worst part is that its coming from characters that I really want to enjoy interacting with.
Dont regret playing Syberia 3, but it can definitely be skipped.
vgartsite
5 months agoSyberia The World Before is a narrative masterpiece, well different from previous episodes
Kim
5 months agoOoh ok… I’ve just checked out the Steam review and they’re really positive. What makes it so different from the other games in the series?
vgartsite
5 months agoVery good original meaningful story + more modern gameplay and visuals + not the same Kate Walker as before (more mature)
vgartsite
5 months agoRead my review on my website 😉
Kim
5 months agoSharing it here for anyone interested: https://vgartsite.wordpress.com/2022/05/26/syberia-the-world-before/
Kim
5 months agoFunnily enough, I started watching a playthrough of Syberia 3 on Sunday – and you’re absolutely right so far. There are a few things which have happened in the first couple of hours that just don’t make sense. For example, Kate walks past something which is clearly a problem, ignores it, and then has to face the issue later when someone nags her to fix it, when it could have been easily prevented earlier.
I’m not really enjoying it but I’m curious to continue watching to see how bad it gets, as weird as that sounds…
Alex2life
5 months agoReally hope you write a follow-up with your thoughts on the villains after watching more of Syberia 3!
They’re so over the top evil that its ridiculous.
But honestly, watching a playthrough of Syberia 3 sounds like the best way to experience the story.
Kim
5 months agoI’m now about an hour before the end of the video… and there’s still an awful lot I don’t understand. Like, why do villains like that want to have anything to do with Kate? Why do they all speak with American accents? Why are the Youkols incapable of doing anything for themselves? And why is that one Youkol constantly running around in the background in a state of panic??
Alex2life
5 months agoYep exactly – Its so frustrating how they’re reduced to either slapstick or completely incompetent.
Worst part imo is when Kate tells them to stay put so she can check out if this place is filled with radiation or not. She goes in and after exploring for a bit she comes out to all of them walking around without a care in the world. “You looked fine, so we thought it was alright”.
Theres some massive dissonance going on with them regarding how they act in Syberia 3.
Kim
5 months agoI finished the video last night and… wow. That ending. It’s like the original Syberia all over again. I still have no idea why the villains wanted Kate and, after everything she’d done for them, how the Youkols could just say ‘Oh well’ and carry on forward.
I can’t say the experience has tempted me to move forward with the fourth Syberia game… but who knows, maybe one day!
The Shameful Narcissist
5 months agoThe third game is not good…I watched Let’s Plays of all three and really liked 1 and 2. Agreed that they basically just cut one game in half, which is why 1 and 2 are usually sold together. The third game is even worse with where it cuts off, and there are just a lot of issues.
The language around both Momo and Hans is VERY dated, though with Hans it’s sadly more par for the course since it’s his asshole father using it and the language of that time. It’s more egregious with Momo, but the 00’s were a transitional period with that, too, and a lot of people still didn’t see that type of language as ableist. It is extremely jarring.
Kim
4 months agoWe finished watching Syberia: The World Before last week and I think it’s safe to say that I’m never going to buy another game in the series, if one is ever released. It was far better than the other instalments and really pretty – but way too many ‘coincidences’ in the narrative for my liking.
I’m so sorry… WordPress decided to trash your comment and I’ve only just seen it this morning. 🙁
The Shameful Narcissist
2 months agoOh no worries! I’ve been terrible with checking lately. I’m only just getting around to it, and it’s like three months later o.O