Finding Polka

Most dog owners say they will go to the moon and back to find their missing buddy, but the new game Finding Polka takes that devotion to a whole new level. This is an outrageous new adventure that mixes fetch quests with Where’s Waldo, creating a cozy new experience with gorgeous hand-drawn graphics and a great sense of humor. Can we track down the missing pup? That’s what we’re about to find out when I review Finding Polka.

This is the story of two dogs: One that is perfectly obedient, named Jazz, and another that is much more mischievous. That little guy is the spitting image of Polka, Frendy’s childhood pup. As Polka races ahead and gets into increasingly dangerous scenarios, it’s up to Frendy and Jazz to go on an outrageous (and occasionally emotional) adventure where they’ll make new friends, solve a series of puzzles and do whatever it takes to reunite with the trouble-causing doggo.

At first glance, Finding Polka is probably going to remind you of those old Where’s Waldo books. This is a visually busy game, with every frame absolutely packed with people, animals, cars, buildings, signs and pretty much anything else that could possibly get in the way of you tracking down Polka. This is the kind of game that demands you take a moment to really appreciate all of the humorous things happening in every level, from construction workers that are woefully out of their depth to aliens busking on a street corner to a giant star that keeps getting lodged into different parts of the city.

While most of the people and objects in the level are there to act like barriers to what amounts to an elaborate maze, you’ll run into a bunch of characters who are in desperate need of help. Maybe they’ll need food or toilet paper or even tools to complete a job, which will send Frendy and Jazz on a series of short fetch quests to find the right item to solve the puzzle. This forces you to really pay close attention to what’s happening in each level, as the item you need could be simply laying on the ground or being held by a pedestrian.

The nice thing is that most of the solutions make sense. If you’re looking for a four-leaf clover, then you know it’s going to be somewhere in a big, grassy field. That apple you need is probably somewhere around the apple tree and if you’re looking for toilet paper, then you might want to check the local convenience store. Don’t worry, this is not like the classic point and click adventures from the 1980s; the puzzle solutions actually make sense in this game. And, if you decide that tracking down a med kit is too much busywork, you can let that guy bleed out while you get back to your main quest – finding Polka.

Although there are a couple of times when one puzzle directly connects with another, most of the fetch quests are isolated. At best, you solve the puzzle and get a high five from your brand-new friend. This may feel a bit pointless at first, since it doesn’t seem like anything is coming from all of these side quests. However, as the story ramps up, a lot of those friendly faces you helped will come back in important ways. Everything feels so random and chaotic at first, but you’ll quickly realize that there was a meaning to all of that madness.

The one thing I was not prepared for was how wild and over-the-top the story would be. I’m not going to spoil too much in this review, but things are only starting to go off the rails when you find yourself in a Galaga-style space shoot ‘em up. I guarantee that you are not prepared for the major leaps this game takes. Oh sure, we may start out navigating the busy city streets and solving puzzles on a farm, but the back half of this game goes in some truly unpredictable directions, always with the same wit and humor that made the more grounded levels so much fun to look at.

And that’s really the draw of a game like Finding Polka. You can be thrown into pretty much any level or scenario and you’re going to come away impressed by the gorgeous hand-drawn world and characters. It’s like a Where’s Waldo book come to life. There is so much personality and style oozing out of every frame that you’re going to need to play it multiple times just to see all of the jokes and silly animations. Honestly, this game is worth playing just for the beautiful graphics and the completely unhinged plot twists.

There are a few problems that ultimately detract from the otherwise cozy experience. For example, most of the items are, at most, just a few steps away from the person requesting them. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why I have to track down the med kit for an injured concert-goer, but why did the giraffe need me to track down the grapes? They were just a few feet away. What am I, Doordash? Most of these people could have easily found what they were looking for if they just walked around. These stages are small and self-contained, so there are no excuses. Well, except for that injured guy. He has an excuse. Everybody else is just being lazy.

For much of the first half of the game, I found myself wondering if I would be having more fun if there were more quests to complete. Each stages has a handful, but it’s never enough. With so many characters drawn into the world, you’re really only interacting with a tiny percentage of them. That said, I have a hunch that a lot of the pacing is built around getting you to the far more interesting (and crazy) second-half of the game. While I would probably still prefer more to do in each stage, I also understand why the game is in a hurry to get you to the fun half.

Outside of the puzzles, I found that the art style sometimes made it hard to get around. There are so many times where it looks like you can easily walk by people or squeeze through a gate, only for you to find that there’s an invisible wall standing in your way. There are also times when Frendy and Jazz will get lost behind buildings and other objects. There’s no way to see where you are, which can make getting around a lot more complicated than it should be.

But even with these issues, Finding Polka is an easy game to recommend. I had a good time tracking down missing items and chasing after Frendy’s childhood pup. Plus, there’s a lot of variety to the gameplay and the story goes in some legitimately wild directions. It also looks great and is dripping with personality. Finding Polka may not be my favorite game of the year, but it’s one that will definitely stay with me.