Finding Polka launched for PC via Steam on August 12, 2026 JST, developed by Japanese studio lidlocks and published by PARCO GAMES. The adventure follows Frendy and her dog Jazz after they spot another dog that looks almost exactly like Polka, Frendy's beloved childhood companion.
Finding Polka tells that journey without traditional dialogue or spoken words. Expressions, gestures, animation, sound, and environmental details carry the story while players explore a hand-drawn world, help strangers, make friends, and decide how many detours to take on the way to Polka.
Quick Summary
- Title: Finding Polka
- Format: Video game
- Steam genres: Adventure, Simulation
- PARCO GAMES description: Interactive Adventure to Find a Dog
- Developer: lidlocks
- Publisher: PARCO GAMES
- Lead creator: Shinnosuke Kumazawa
- Sound design: Uchida
- Official Japanese launch: August 12, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. JST
- Platform: PC via Steam
- OS: Windows
- Mode: Single-player
- Protagonist: Frendy
- Companion: Jazz
- Dog being searched for: Polka
- Premise: Frendy sees a dog resembling her childhood dog Polka and gives chase with Jazz
- Visuals: 100% hand-drawn with ballpoint pen
- Engine: Unity
- Gameplay: Exploration, discovery, helping characters, friendship, and mini-games
- Dialogue: No traditional dialogue or spoken words
- Storytelling: Expressions, gestures, sound effects, and environmental changes
- Locations: Towns, forests, coastlines, and increasingly unexpected places
- Mini-games: Putt-putt golf, whac-a-mole, soccer shootout, boat racing, watermelon splitting, volleyball, and more
- Mini-games required for progress: No
- Demo: Free demo available on Steam
- Steam Achievements: 19
- Steam Cloud: Supported
- Family Sharing: Supported
- Controller: Full controller support listed
- Accessibility: Playable without timed input and at the player's own pace
- Steam interface languages: 103
- English: Supported
- U.S. launch-sale price: US$7.99
- Regular U.S. price: US$9.99
- Launch discount: 20%
- Offer ends: August 25, 2026
- Minimum storage: 1,070 MB
- Minimum RAM: 4 GB
- Minimum GPU: Intel HD 530
- Minimum CPU: Core i3-6100
Launch Announcement, Trailer, Steam, and Gameplay Screenshots
Frendy Chases a Familiar Face from Her Childhood
Frendy has been living quietly with her beloved dog, Jazz, when she notices another dog outside a flower shop. It looks remarkably similar to Polka, the dog she loved when she was younger.
That moment sends Frendy and Jazz running after it. What starts as a straightforward chase gradually opens into a journey through unfamiliar places, strange encounters, and small discoveries, with Polka remaining the reason to keep moving forward.
Finding Polka deliberately avoids explaining every event. Players are encouraged to observe their surroundings and build their own understanding of what the characters, locations, and encounters mean.
That philosophy reflects Kumazawa's original idea of creating a game about “searching,” where the process of noticing and discovering something matters as much as finally reaching the destination.
Helping People Turns Strangers Into Friends
Characters encountered along the way are more than background decoration. Frendy can stop to help people in need, gradually turning those encounters into friendships.
One of the simplest recurring interactions is a high-five. Without text-heavy conversations, expressions and physical reactions show how characters respond to Frendy and how those relationships change.
Friends can later become reliable allies who help or encourage her when trouble appears. Side encounters therefore reinforce the game's larger themes of connection rather than existing purely as collectible distractions.
The world is intentionally built around detours. Hidden corners, unusual events, secrets, and optional characters give players reasons to look away from the most direct path toward Polka.
A Story Told Without Dialogue or Spoken Words
Finding Polka uses no traditional dialogue and no spoken words. Instead, the game communicates through facial expressions, gestures, environmental changes, animation, and sound effects.
For Kumazawa, removing language was not simply a localization shortcut. He wanted players to interpret situations naturally rather than being explicitly told what something means or how they should feel about it.
The approach also makes the game unusually accessible across language barriers. Steam currently marks 103 interface languages as supported, while the core narrative itself is designed not to depend on conventional written conversation.
Kumazawa's children also became part of the playtesting process. Watching what they noticed, where they stopped, and whether they could understand situations without explanation helped shape the game's more intuitive interactions.
The Entire World Starts as Ballpoint-Pen Drawings
Finding Polka's signature look comes from artwork that is genuinely drawn by hand in ballpoint pen, rather than digital lines designed to imitate traditional media.
Kumazawa handles the visuals, programming, and overall direction. Drawings are scanned and prepared digitally before being assembled inside Unity, while Uchida is responsible for sound design.
The monochrome approach deliberately preserves small inconsistencies in the hand-drawn lines. Kumazawa sees those limitations as a way to leave more room for players to fill in the world with their own imagination.
The perspective also changes when needed. Most exploration uses a quarter-view layout with four-direction movement, while selected scenes shift toward side-scrolling 2D or 2.5D presentation. Parallax helps add depth without losing the flat illustrated character of the world.
Mini-Games Reward Taking the Long Way Around
Optional activities are scattered throughout the map. Steam lists putt-putt golf, whac-a-mole, soccer shootout, boat racing, watermelon splitting, and volleyball among the mini-games players can discover.
None of them are required to advance the story. They instead function as playful interruptions and rewards for wandering away from the main route.
That reflects Finding Polka's broader approach to exploration. Players can focus on following Polka's trail, or stop to help someone, play a game, investigate a strange corner, or simply take in the scenery.
Kumazawa has described the project as less interested in competition or heavy challenge than in letting players move at their own pace and enjoy small discoveries. The game was designed with a broad audience in mind, from children to adults and families.
The Free Demo Remains Available Alongside the Launch Sale
A free Finding Polka demo has been available through Steam since April 25, 2026 and remains downloadable after the full game's release. It covers the beginning of the adventure, early encounters, mysterious events, and the basic feel of exploration.
In the United States, Finding Polka is currently US$7.99 during its 20% introductory discount, down from the regular US$9.99 price listed in the launch materials. The introductory offer ends on August 25, 2026.
The full release includes 19 Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, and Family Sharing. Steam is still learning about Deck compatibility, so it does not yet carry an official Verified or Playable classification.
Minimum PC requirements are Windows 10 64-bit, a Core i3-6100, 4 GB RAM, Intel HD 530 graphics, and approximately 1,070 MB of available storage.
Why This Matters
1) Ballpoint pen is a production method, not just a filter
The environments begin as physical drawings before being brought into Unity, giving the game's analog appearance a direct connection to how it was actually made.
2) Searching for a dog becomes a story about connection
Polka provides the destination, but the people Frendy helps and the friendships formed along the way become just as important to the journey.
3) Wordless storytelling leaves room for interpretation
Expressions, sound, movement, and environmental details let players piece together meaning instead of constantly receiving explicit explanations.
4) Detours are intentionally worth taking
Mini-games, secrets, side characters, and hidden spaces are designed to make wandering feel rewarding rather than inefficient.
Game Information
Additional confirmed information includes:
- Finding Polka is developed by lidlocks and published by PARCO GAMES
- PARCO GAMES officially scheduled the launch for August 12, 2026 at 12:00 a.m. JST
- Steam may display August 11 in some regions because of time-zone differences
- the full game is available for Windows through Steam
- the free Steam demo remains available
- the current U.S. introductory price is US$7.99
- the regular U.S. launch price is US$9.99
- the 20% launch discount runs through August 25, 2026
- the game includes 19 Steam Achievements
- Steam Cloud and Family Sharing are supported
- full controller support is listed
- official Steam Deck compatibility has not yet been classified
- Steam lists 103 interface languages
- the game contains no traditional dialogue or spoken words
- optional mini-games are not required for story progression
- Finding Polka was developed with Unity
- Shinnosuke Kumazawa handles visuals, programming, and overall direction
- Uchida handles sound design
- the minimum OS is Windows 10 64-bit
- the minimum CPU is a Core i3-6100
- minimum memory is 4 GB RAM
- the minimum GPU is Intel HD 530
- storage requirement is approximately 1,070 MB
- the game is available through Finding Polka on Steam
- official publisher information is available through PARCO GAMES
- development updates are available through lidlocks on X
- publisher updates are available through PARCO GAMES on X
Closing
Finding Polka turns the simple act of chasing a dog into an adventure about curiosity, friendship, and continuing forward. Its wordless ballpoint-pen world asks players to understand characters through actions and small details rather than traditional exposition.
The game has been available for Windows through Steam since August 12, 2026 JST. Its free demo remains available, while the 20% introductory discount continues through August 25.
- GamesPress — Launch Announcement, Story Premise, Core Features, and International Pricing
- PARCO GAMES — Official Release Date, Platform, Genre, and Publisher Information
- Official X — Launch Announcement, Launch Trailer, and Release Campaign
- YouTube — Official Finding Polka Launch Date Trailer
- Steam — Story, Gameplay, Mini-Games, Demo, Languages, Features, and PC Requirements
- 80 Level — Developer Interview, Wordless Design, Ballpoint-Pen Art Process, Unity, and Development Philosophy
- SteamDB — Regional Launch Prices, Launch Discount, Release Timestamp, and Steam Metadata
