Syberia: The World Before is the fourth game in the Syberia series and directly continues the adventures of Kate Walker. The game doesn't require knowledge of the previous titles, but Kate often refers to earlier events that are only expanded on in Syberia 1 through 3.
This is a quick synopsis of the first three games in the series. The world of Syberia was designed by the late Belgian comic book artist Benoît Sokal (1954-2021) and is full of wondrous clockwork mechanisms. Read on to learn Kate's story up to the beginning of The World Before.
Syberia (2002)
Kate Walker, a New York lawyer, is sent to France on behalf of a client. The Voralberg Toy Factory, which has made intricate clockwork toys for the better part of the twentieth century, is to be acquired by a major American toy company following the death of its elderly owner, Anna Voralberg. Upon arriving in France, Kate is informed that on her deathbed, Anna revealed the existence of her twin brother, Hans, who is now the legal owner of the factory despite not having been seen in years. For the acquisition to go through, Kate will need to find Hans and get his signature.
As a child, Hans suffered a head injury and afterward became fixated on the idea that he could find and ride a live mammoth. The obsession stayed with him into adulthood, causing him to become the black sheep of the family despite his mechanical genius. Eventually, Anna and Hans' father sent Hans away, telling everyone but close family members that the young man was dead. Anna remained close with Hans, and when she inherited the family factory, she developed a specialized clockwork train that could take her to and from her brother's remote laboratory.
Kate investigates the Voralberg estate and discovers the train, operated by an exceedingly polite humanoid automaton named Oscar. After winning Oscar's trust, she sets off with him across Europe to find Hans Voralberg. The journey is complicated, as Hans now lives in eastern Russia seeking a legendary island called Syberia (not to be confused with the region of Siberia). According to information Kate finds along the way, Hans believes Syberia to be the home of the Youkol tribe, nomads who live among the last living mammoths on Earth.
When the train becomes stuck in the remote Russian town of Komkolzgrad, Kate becomes caught up in a plot to abduct retired opera singer Helena Romanski. Sergei Borodine, the owner of the town's mine, steals Oscar's hands and demands that Kate bring Helena to play for him. Kate does so, but when she learns that Sergei means to keep Helena against her will forever, she helps the singer escape. Finally, Kate reaches the Aralbad Spa, where the aging Hans is staying to keep up his health.
Hans signs off on the factory's acquisition immediately and without argument. On her way back home, Kate discovers that in her absence, her fiancé Dan has had an affair with her best friend Olivia, and decides to have Oscar bring her back to Hans so that she can learn from him and maybe find the legendary mammoths of Syberia.
Syberia 2 (2004)
Kate returns to Hans, becoming his apprentice. Since she never returned the papers for the acquisition of the Voralberg factory, she is now wanted in the United States for fraud. Her firm sends private investigator Nic Cantin to find her and bring her back to New York.
In his advanced age, Hans' health is beginning to deteriorate. Kate performs several tasks for him and prepares a traditional Youkol medicine to treat his symptoms. During this time, the clockwork train is stolen by a pair of poachers. They intend to use Hans' knowledge to find the island of Syberia and hunt for mammoth ivory. Kate pursues them across the tundra, only to find that Hans has managed to escape the pair and is now alone on the frozen tundra.
By pure luck, Kate finds a hidden Youkol village that has taken Hans in. The tribe's shaman informs her that Hans is in a coma and will likely die soon. Kate volunteers to undergo a spiritual ritual that will allow her to enter Hans' dreams. She succeeds in waking Hans up, and Oscar converts himself into a mechanical suit, allowing Hans to walk while maintaining his vitals.
Kate and Hans set out by boat for Syberia using information from the Youkol. Despite one of the smugglers catching up to them, the pair safely arrive and blow a ceremonial Youkol horn to summon the last herd of mammoths in the world. Hans happily disengages himself from Oscar and rides off on a mammoth, fulfilling his lifelong dream at the very end.
Syberia 3 (2017)
Despite not being released until over a decade after Syberia 2, Syberia 3 picks up immediately after the ending of Syberia 2. After nearly freezing to death on her return journey from Syberia, Kate wakes up in a clinic run by Doctor Olga Efimova. Alongside Kurk, a young Youkol being fitted for a prosthetic leg, Kate is unable to leave but snoops around the building, discovering that Efimova is conspiring with the Russian military to remove the Youkol from their land by poisoning their water source.
Kate escapes but is forced to leave Kurk behind and finds the Youkols to warn them. The tribe is willing to relocate to avoid destruction, but will not leave without Kurk. Kate is forced to return to Valsembor Clinic to rescue him. She is caught in the attempt by Cantin, the private eye sent from the United States to bring her home. After escaping, Kate gets Kurk his prosthetic leg and helps him escape. She also retrieves Oscar's heart, which contains his personality and data and that had to be removed when Oscar converted himself into a suit for Hans.
Kate and the Youkols set off on their journey, and after an encounter with a legendary monster called Quinak, they come to an abandoned amusement park at Baranour that had been built by Hans. Kate installs Oscar's heart in one of the automaton bodies throughout the park, reviving him.
After a long journey, Kate and the Youkols reach the border to leave Russia. Kate bribes the customs officer to let them pass, but the Russian military is in pursuit. Kate and Oscar remain behind to allow the Youkols time to escape. Oscar's body is destroyed and has his heart removed, and Kate is captured by Efimova. Although Kate's fate is not disclosed at the end of Syberia 3, she is in a labor camp a year later at the beginning of The World Before.