Player Comments on Polaris

Spoiler-free review

I can’t help but be annoyed at Polaris. It’s a great story with a lot going for it, but that is exactly why it hurts so much when it starts to suddenly tear at the seams once all its threads combine.

The premise doesn’t stray that far from a standard setup for a detective story: a private investigator takes a case that ends up being much bigger than they could’ve suspected. Taking this “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it approach” works well, especially in combination with the surprisingly expansive worldbuilding that introduces a unique – almost but not quite yet apocalyptic – dystopian setting. This is where the narration shines the most: it introduces the world quickly and effectively through a combination of direct exposition, more abstract flashback scenes sprinkled across the game and even using the various characters we meet while playing.

Those characters are another definitive highlight. They’re all distinct and surprisingly fleshed out, not only through their actions towards the protagonist, but also through their own relationships with each other which adds a very welcomed level of depth to them and makes them all feel like part of the same world rather than separate entities out detectives just happens to meet, which is extremely important for stories like this. The protagonist herself is also a decent, if basic character. She works quite well as a vessel for the player, but at the same time has these slight hints of her own personality that provide her with depth.

These highlights seem to compile themselves in the first of the two halves this storygame can be split into. This first one is more linear and serves as an introduction to everything as we go through the standard checklist of any detective case in a somewhat linear, but not completely devoid of choices that will matter later fashion, while the second half is where the story starts to diverge based on your current and previous decisions as it heads towards its conclusion, and this second part is where it all starts to seemingly fall apart.

The sudden dip in quality seems to appear not so much due to the author’s inability to finish the story as everything that was great about the first half remains solid here. Instead new issues come into the story in the form of jumbled timelines, seemingly missing scenes and even outright bugs that appear to be the result of time crunch. It is a fate that plagues many contest entries, but in the case of this game it’s especially painful to see considering its superb start.

I wish Polaris got a chance to reach its full potential through some kind of rewrite that fixed its late game issues, but as it stands I just can’t bring myself to give it full marks simply because its highs are so high they make the lows seem much lower than they actually are. Even despite that I can easily recommend it for anyone wanting a familiar story set in a unique world.

Final score: 6/8

Polaris Review

Polaris is a very interesting detective story set in the strange city of Polaris, a city built on the remains of Earth 2 and replete with its own glass dome and atmosphere. We follow Detective Suspiria, a PI hired to investigate the reason for the malfunctioning of KatBots owned by DollFace, a wealthy industrialist who has a long list of enemies and people she's wronged in the past.

One thing this story does really well is it manages to meld the speculative/imaginative style of describing esoteric and often times strange and otherworldly sci fi concepts that MHD has perfected, with a fast moving and interesting plot. Sometimes, there are some MHD stories where MHD goes too far in her style, and ends up making the story more imaginative/hard to follow for the audience, but "Polaris" manages to strike a happy balance between both sides.

I will say that there is a bit of an information overload at the start. It's difficult to remember everything, and I would like for the information to unfold a bit more gradually. It's a fascinating world, and one that feels like a grounded and real place. I love how we got to explore the underworld/seedy side of Polaris, there's an atmosphere of danger and an almost noir style as our detective explores the city. The fact that MHD was able to marry the 20s detective style to her usual sci-fi imaginative style of storytelling gives the story a delightful sense of multi-genre exploration. Despite the high concept sci-fi, the story still manages to remain grounded in the seedy criminal underworld, with scantily clad women, booze, and nightclubs. The robots and all the fancy tech don't detract from the detective aspect; rather they enhance the unique style of this story.

Luckily, we see Detective Suspiria's backstory unfold more gradually. I like that MHD would gently sprinkle in details about Suspiria throughout the story, slowly letting us gain a complete picture, piece by piece, of who this woman is, how she got to the position she is in, what drives her, and what is her backstory.

Despite my gripes about the information overload, I will say that it sets the story in motion, and plants seeds for future story developments in a good way. I just think that the reader would be overwhelmed, but at the same time, I like how there are so many moving parts in motion, and I think MHD handled them all pretty well. As the story progresses, it all starts to make sense, and you really gain an appreciation for the complex interpersonal dynamics that form the heart of this tale.

I really liked the uncanny valley aspect of this world. It almost feels like Earth, except there are some details that are drastically different. Human rights are staggeringly horrible, and the divide between the upper class and lower class is a huge chasm. Prisoner’s don’t get basic rights to a phone call, and the world is fashioned all to the whims and fancies of Wiley Kleckner, the antagonist of Mission Sunshine and the enigmatic mayor of Polaris. For instance, although the power players are all women and all the men are extinct in this world, the robots essentially play the role of human men quite well. We see both the negative side of masculinity(catcallers in the beginning) and a more positive side(Emulator acting as a confidant, gentle ear, and protector to Suspiria, showing gentleness and empathy to her when she's reached a roadblock in her case).

Speaking of the bots, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had vivid personalities far beyond the typical bots presented in most mainstream TV and movies. Most of the time, bots have an incredibly flat screen presence, so I loved the way MHD imbued these bots with a huge range of emotions/opinions. From lying to speed-dating to accompanying women to nightclubs, the bots feel like so much more than just robot servants, despite there being a clear class distinction between robots and humans. Of course, MHD touches on this class distinction and what it means to be human and have your personhood matter in Eros, a story that I already reviewed, so I'll just touch on this by saying that I found her writing of the Emulator and the other bots to be very thought provoking. Even the side robots get this treatment. I'm referring to the bot whom Detective Suspiria and the Emulator question at the scene of the crime. At the end of their exchange, he mentions that he's had an existential crisis, and that he wishes he were decommissioned. Despite him being but a side character in Ssupiria's quest, I still felt really bad for him. And I'm glad Eros touches on this topic more, while still being set in the city of Polaris. Ultimately, the questions of what it means to be human, of robot rights, of independence and free will and of whether bots matter just as much as humans form the heart of this narrative. So, keep these questions/themes in mind as you read.

The conversation with Urlos perfectly encapsulates this theme and was a really cool interrogation scene. I really loved the conversational game-aspect, since you had to be careful with what questions you choose to ask. It was fun to think through the choices, and carefully determine what combination of questions would get Urlos to open up and help you, while avoiding any touchy topics.

The relationship between the Emulator and Suspiria felt natural and I really loved their interactions. The dialogue flowed well, and I loved how as the Emulator got more comfortable with Suspiria, he gradually started to tease and engage in banter. It really humanized him in a way(The word humanize is admittedly kind of interesting, because as this story shows, who says that having a personality and being your own individual is uniquely a human quality? I mean, clearly the KatBots are real, 3 dimensional, emotionally complex individuals. So maybe me using the word “humanize” dismisses their individuality and personhood). I thought that he was really sweet, and overall, they have a pretty cute bond. I feel like they complement each other nicely, and the pizza date scene was really interesting. We find out more about what Polaris was like in the olden days, and there was a feeling of nostalgia mixed with new love that was really endearing. I feel like the juxtaposition of a homely run-down pizza parlor with a long history and lots of character, with the new age tech/cyberpunk world was quite cool. Compared to the sleek, artificial feel of all the other glass skyscrapers and buildings, this pizza parlor felt a lot more real, if that makes sense. Like, unlike DollFace’s nightclub, this place was allowed to be real and didn’t have to be so plastic and shiny all the time. It could breathe, and have a vibe of its own, standing out among the many generic, cyberpunk-dystopian esque shiny glass buildings. It’s also a testament to how, no matter how much we change and no matter how fancy tech becomes or how strange the world becomes, there’s just something about our roots that makes them last. So the fact that an old school neighborhood pizza joint is able to coexist in a city so futuristic is quite nice, because it feels a lot more warm and human than the other places. Even the grease, and the way the mozzarella hangs from the main character’s lips feels real, and disrupts the shiny, plastic veneer, the sheen that surrounds Polaris.

Of course, the spell breaks since right in the next scene, we immediately head to actress Nova Wilde’s penthouse.

The penthouse scenes were fun, and Nova Wilde was really reminiscent of the femme fatale trope in noir fiction, with an interesting LGBTQ+ twist, since the main character is a woman. I thought that MHD did a great job keeping it classy and elegant, especially with the sly innuendo/euphemism of drinking tea. It’s a nice way of keeping it clean for younger audiences, and I thought it just fit the elegant style of this story quite well.

If you choose to scope out the tower, there’s a really interesting robot revolution path. It sheds a lot more light on the injustices being perpetrated on the bots, and I liked the class commentary/themes that MHD incorporates here.

There’s also a, let’s just say “interesting” scene with Suspiria and her male robot cellmate, Vin. There seems to be a lot of steamy robot romancing/flirtation, guess MHD has a type lol. I like how you could either choose to gain more information, or engage in robot flirtation, the branching aspect allows you to go back and get both experiences.

We still don’t know much about the mystery. So far, we’ve mainly been exploring the city and learning more about everything, but as we head into Chapter 3, there seems to be a feeling of trepidation and dread. Clearly, there are some powerful players working behind the scenes, and MHD sets the tone of danger and suspense quite nicely.

I liked the exchange between Suspiria + Emulator and the disgruntled former business partner, Andromeda Scott. Although we don’t find out anything more, we start to understand how DollFace has hurt the people around her, and she may not be that trustworthy.

With the questioning of the suspects complete, all the pieces were set in motion. I love how MHD gave us just enough to understand and appreciate the mystery, while still leaving us confused. I was really into the mystery, trying to figure out who might be behind the virus. Was it Urlos, the ex? Andromeda Scott, the betrayed partner? Or Nova Wilde, enigmatic starlet who may know more than she lets on?

At this point, some of the links were broken/acting kind of weird. For instance, when you choose to abandon Emulator and let him go with Andromeda Scott in exchange for information, the story inexplicably loops back to “Question DollFace further”, and there’s a whole conversation between Emulator and Suspiria, even though he literally just left with Andromeda.

Still, I really enjoyed going back and talking to Urlos, Andromeda, and finally DollFace again. It seems that we’re on the verge of solving this mystery.

In Chapter V, I again saw some errors.
67 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (PASS)
68 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (FAIL)
69 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (VIN = 2)

But I feel like what MHD was trying to do was allow you a chance to successfully sneak around to the back of the Kat's Meow and meet up with DollFace. I liked the chance-based aspect of this part. At first, I got detained, but then I tried again, and I was able to make it through. I think there’s a probability aspect to it, so one time you may get detained, but if you replay it, you’ll be able to make it through. But the probability of successfully doing it is a lot smaller, so prepared to be disappointed unless you’re like me and you do multiple replays.

There are multiple endings, and so many ways this can go down. I really enjoyed all the various endings, between the confrontation with Wiley, to getting Nova Wilde to give an endorsement against Wiley, to saving the bots but giving the credit to Kleckner, it was all really cool! Ultimately, we find out that Wiley was behind the whole thing, and the “sending the bots to the moon” subplot is a lot more relevant than simple worldbuilding.

My personal favorite ending was the final confrontation between Suspiria and Kleckner. There’s just something so great about a final confrontation between a human and villain, that provides a feeling of resolution and satisfaction no other ending was able to match. I really love how Kleckner tried to frame Suspiria, and he is a very cool villain. I love how we see our PI go from a grounded, street level mystery, to one with a powerful authority figure misusing his power to take down a competitor, not caring who he hurts along the way. The incorporation of Wiley really raised the stakes for me, and made me that much more invested, since as we all know, the more dastardly and sinister the villain, the better the hero becomes. And I really like his gentlemanly manner, masking a ruthless sociopath underneath. The fight scene was really cool, and even though I got arrested, I’m glad that Suspiria managed to kill Kleckner and free Polaris from his control.

The art was amazing. Throughout the story, the art was strategically placed to enhance immersion, and it really helped me paint a picture in my mind’s eye. It must have taken a ton of labor, and the variables, combined with the scripting, writing, and art shows that this was a labor of love, and a really unique and well-thought piece.

A very cool, atmospheric, and interesting story, Polaris manages to balance fascinating worldbuilding, a delightful mystery, a wonderful cast of characters, and some deeply thought provoking commentary on what it means to be human. I loved Suspiria, she seems to have a strong moral compass beneath her somewhat cold and jaded exterior, and I would give this story an 8/8. The biggest strength of this story is the passion that shines through. This is as far from a generic detective story as you can get. Everything about it is just so unique and cool, that it is a story that will linger in your mind for quite some time.

Disclaimer: to the author, take everything in this review with a grain of salt. I’m not a professional writer and only somewhat of a seasoned reviewer. To the readers, this review will contain some spoilers, so I implore you to read the storygame first.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The description summarizes the premise effectively, introducing the protagonist, their goal, and the setting it takes place in. As with MHD’s stories, it has a pretty picture too. Onto the first page: I like the animation at the start, it really captures the atmosphere of the setting given the neon-pink lights. Instantly, it draws the reader in by immersing them into this new world. Everything, from the description of the protagonist’s clothing to the worldbuilding details sprinkled in about how this society was formed, are brush strokes in the painting that is Polaris.

Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but there’s an overreliance on adjectives. Polaris was a “bustling, revolutionary city” with “tall, glass skyscrapers”. The protagonist wore a “dark trench coat” paired with a “wide brimmed hat” in an “old, rundown” downtown. Despite this, I enjoyed the verb-based sentences, as they breathed life and personality into the descriptions. There were clouds which “turned into swirling galaxies”, Earth as a lump of rock that “hurled mindlessly through the universe”, and moons offering energy despite their depletion. Perhaps this is a way of making space—the world beyond the glass cage—feel more alive than the artificially-controlled world below.

Tying the protagonist’s observation of her surroundings to her characterization is a nice touch. She yearns to solve mysteries—not just of this world, but of the whole universe. Yet, she was trapped in a glass dome to protect humanity from the inhospitable planet.

The description of the downtown and its inhabitants crafted a vivid image of the location. There are a number of cool worldbuilding details, from the bot inhabitants acting like humans to the idea of humanity clinging on to aspects of the old world even when it caused more harm than good. And the streets juxtaposed the vibrant, overly-bright and hectic descriptions of the nightclub, allowing the reader to picture the scene clearly.

Then, the narrative focuses on Dollface. She’s the one who requested the protagonist’s private investigation. I like the subtle themes of control and oppression through the nonchalant mention of having virtually no privacy in that world. The page ends with a clear goal: find out who has implanted a virus in Dollface’s bots and how to remove it.

WRITING STYLE

In some passages, I noticed Suspira has the same wonder and star-struck nature as Quinn in Mission Sunshine when gazing up at space. One great thing about the description is that it always ties back to the protagonist; it's never unconnected to the plot. Looking at the moon reminded her of how she yearned to solve mysteries years ago, while gazing at the bed of the virus-ravaged world brings back memories of time she'd escape the dome to collect rocks with her friends.

The bots are all described with their own personality traits. Even the language used for bots, ‘he’ or ‘she’, portrays the way everyone views them. In this world, they're seen as having sentience and emotions just like humans.

There's a stark contrast between uptown and downtown. One is described as rundown and rough while the other is polished and posh. A classic case of order vs lawlessness. The adjectives used describe this: “old” and “murky” vs “new” and “clean”. This is the exception to the adjectives rule, as the different adjectives used here clearly illustrate this juxtaposition between the two places.

There were a few parts with awkward phrasing like random commas (“I disable sound recording when I’m, alone with you”) or mixing up past continuous with past tense (The clanking of the bolt cutter and their feet echoed hauntingly and made your heart race). Nothing that made it unreadable, though.

There was a random unfinished sentence: “Or in DollFace’s company”.

One of my favorite excerpts was the nightmare scene: ‘“I don’t know,” you said. And you kept repeating this until your whimpers turned into strained screams. But you could not scream in dreams, so all that escaped your lips was futile gasps of air.’ Throughout this scene, the prose focused on sight, sound, and touch. There was the overall sense of a lack of control, seeing familiar people turned into unfamiliar, twisted versions of themselves. The world as she knew it was destroyed. This was a great way to set up the stakes moments before the climax.

CHARACTERS

When discussing DollFace’s rivals, three characters are introduced: Andromeda Scott, Urlos and Nova Wilde. They are presented as the three main suspects. I love how different they all are—Andromeda is DollFace’s classmate who stole her work and credit, Urlos is a bot she built which left her for a better life, and Nova is a superstar actress whose role she stole in the past. This makes it much easier for the reader to remember as they each have their own distinct characteristics.

Bots being treated as second class citizens is a fascinating world building detail. After all, it makes sense for them not to be viewed as humans when they were built by them. There are some who choose to rebel against this, whether by ‘gaining sentience’ and leaving their predefined roles or actively protesting against society, which only add to the lived-in feel of the world.

Then, having a conversation with Emulator was quite funny. The part where he asked her about what version she runs on to simulate emotions reminds me of how some AIs cannot distinguish between humans and AIs.

When speaking with Urlos, it's a nice touch that asking the same question would elicit different responses based on whether the protagonist accuses him of infecting bots. He seems to genuinely want to make a difference in the world and is upset by the way DollFace operates. This provides another perspective to their past conflict.

Other characters like Nova and Andromeda deepen the story around DollFace. The former appears to have forgotten about her, whereas the latter shows the untrustworthiness of unreliable narrators. There's also a constant reminder of the protagonist doubting Andromeda is happy with her life.

DollFace was extremely dramatic when being questioned. I found it quite touching that she still cares about Urlos and Andromeda, which was the reason she hired Suspira to look into them. Her care for the bot parallels the protagonist’s own character arc (more on that later). The theme of bots gaining sentience is executed well. They start off created with a purpose, only to wonder why they shouldn't be granted their own autonomy. It ties in with them being treated like second class citizens. DollFace’s relationship with Urlos illustrates this. Yet, his perspective can be understood, as their disagreement stems from vastly different views of bots and sentience.

PLOT

(Spoilers ahead)

It is said that the best dystopias provide commentary into the current world we live in. This is true of Polaris. In this story, there's the theme of environmental issues caused by humans taking more than they should. This is scarily accurate, as I just took a course about the linear economy vs circular economy. Resource depletion and global warming are mainly attributed to the extractive view society has of nature. Additionally, it also has a theme of corporate power, extortion and control. This is emphasized by the large number of unfortunate or bittersweet endings, as it is difficult to take down business leaders who are well protected by so many.

I love all the drawings, like the sketches of the visuals of the world. They add to the atmosphere of the story. My favorite is the animated buildings surrounded by light against a dark night background. I really like the one in the ‘dream’ ending of Polaris as well.

The protagonist doesn't trust bots. At the start, she speaks to her client DollFace who appears to see bots the same way. Yet, she often finds this worldview challenged throughout the course of her investigation. She meets a bot that wants to find a purpose in life through dating. Then, upon questioning Urlos, she may find herself relating to him. Ironically, she reveals how uncomfortable she is with bots that have simulated feelings to Emulator, only to start falling for him instead. Depending on the chosen path, she may also briefly develop a crush on a bot she sees when being detained. There is a parallel narrative with DollFace, who developed feelings for Urlos. Yet, in her story, she could not change her perspective. Eventually Urlos left because he couldn’t make a difference when working with her due to how she viewed bots (as merely products to be sold).

This story had lots of branching. There were so many different ways to get to Nova Wilde. I was surprised how there were routes for the protagonist to disguise herself, to attempt to sneak in, and even a branch where she was detained. All of these also showed her seeing bots in a new light—either Emulator or Vin, depending on the path.

There was a slight continuity error: When you try the compromised door to get to her apartment, there are four paragraphs about escaping Polaris instead which seem like they were copied over to the wrong part of the story (though I couldn’t find where else in the story they were meant to go). But a few paragraphs later, it continues as normal.

If I’m being honest, the part about Lady Detective Jupiter Moonbeam seemed slightly out of place as there wasn't anything which connected it to the current scene. I'm not sure if this was intentional or meant to be pasted in another part of the story. However, it tied nicely to the plot when the protagonist was inspired by Jupiter Moonbeam to take control of the gun in the last chapter.

“Intelligent enough to not destroy the very world they walked upon, and intelligent enough to be kind to each other, and to these sentient creatures of which they created.” This line encapsulates the theme so well. I didn’t realize it at first, but it was the protagonist’s dissatisfaction with her current world that led to a nostalgia for the past and a fascination with the galaxies beyond. Her world is one where corruption and selfishness run rampant, so she yearns to live in a better place. The daydreams and imaginings—it was all escapism.

I liked the part where Suspira and Emulator question all the leads and begin to understand the absurdity of this whole mystery. None of the suspects have much of a reason to infect the Katbots. And the foreshadowing of the bots being sent by Klecker to the moon has been repeated just the perfect amount to make the plot twist satisfying.

I noticed lots of good branching at the end too. The story makes use of delayed consequences; the interactions with each of the three suspects determine whether they would assist the protagonist in chapter 4. There are many alternate endings depending on what the protagonist does, most of which reveal the perpetrator behind the virus.

On the page ‘Speak to an authority bot at the scene’, there’s the following error:
67 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (PASS)
68 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (FAIL)
69 - Sneak around into the back of Kat’s Meow. (VIN = 2)

Lastly, the endings were well-written. “No good deed goes unstolen.” - I liked this ending line. It’s a good way to illustrate the harsh reality of that world. The dream ending showed there’s no point wishing for a better world without acting. “But you knew that you had rolled a ball of moondust down a hill, and soon it would become an avalanche.” - This showed a realistic representation of creating change. Ultimately, there seems to be no true happy ending if the reader goes to the fifth chapter, but there is a bittersweet epilogue where the one behind the bot virus is killed.

Overall, this is a fun and entertaining sci-fi mystery with thought provoking themes. It definitely deserves more reviews.

I clicked through the first couple of pages of this wondering how EndMaster could have possibly only bothered to give this a 7. There clearly was a lot of work put into this-- with the world-building, the story, and of course all the hand-drawn pictures to go along with it (Those were my favorite!). It seemed like an instant 8 to me. But clicking through a couple more pages the problem becomes more apparent.

Frankly, this storygame is unpolished.

There seems to be some missing pages or parts of the story that were cut out or overlooked due to the time constraints of the contest. On the page choosing to entertain Nova Wilde, there seems like there should be a missing scene where you get some information out of her. It doesn’t seem to make sense to just show up unannounced, have sex with Ms. Wilde, and then leave without getting information? Aren’t we supposed to be investigating to see if she’s the one responsible for the bot virus?

On the starting page for Chapter V there is an option to call Emulator. If you decide to go this route you get a cute scene of you and the robot cuddling, but you seem to miss out on a vital page where you get an invitation from a Kleckner bot. A scene that you would’ve seen if you picked the other option, deciding not to call Emulator. So it’s clear that the pages seem to be out of order there.

On the page ‘Speak to the Authority Bot at the Scene’ there seems to be some variables at the bottom that were left exposed. It’s not really a problem that affects the rating, I just thought I should let MHD know.

Well despite everything I really liked this story. ‘Dystopian Cyberpunk’ usually isn’t my thing but I enjoyed the way MHD did it. I usually am a fan of romance so maybe that’s just missing in a lot of these kinds of stories for me, ha ha. I mean, I did like how some scenes you used your ‘feminine wiles’ to seduce to bots and get out information from them and the romance with Emulator and the even the way Nova, DollFace and Andromeda seemed to fall for your charms as well. The story seemed a little short for having such an ambitious world and I would have liked to see that expanded upon as well.

Overall, it’s a 7/8 for me!

Ah, “Polaris.” It evokes lovely images of, well, the north. Maybe the north star. Maybe the far north and the north pole. Is it cold in here? Anyway, back to the story and the first page that has a giant neon sign for a whorehouse! Oh, this is going to be a good one, isn’t it?

Very nice setup and world. I liked the descriptions and how everything was set up in the first page. At one point I wasn’t sure if I, also, was a bot, but that’s probably just me. It was fun trying to imagine the world around me as I read, not really knowing what was going on all the time. This weird combination of an alien world, the bots, and the tech made this a really fun setup.

The various types and times of choices was interesting. The first set of choices it was clear that I had to (or should) make each selection before I moved on. But then the choices seemed to limit me, and once I picked one choice, all the others were not still there. That’s nice, as it made me really start to think about the choices and why I might pick one instead of the others. It was fun that I could baselessly accuse the first guy and then it refused to talk to me after that!

It was fun interacting with the different bots in the different situations. This was a neat story that I enjoyed a lot, even if I did feel like a cheap whore at times!

The prose oozes with atmosphere and the artwork is amazing! I love this world you've created! It definitely succeeds in immersing the player in a noir-style story and more.

It's interesting about the lack of "real" men in this floating city. The idea of a female population having constant exposure to artificial male personalities in the place of biological men is an interesting idea that I would be curious about exploring further. I wasn't personally interested in dating Emulator, but I liked the character anyway. I was less enthused with the fact that I as a player had to watch as the protagonist would have a sexual encounter with Emulator without any choice in the matter. It would have been interesting to see a route where the player chooses not to acknowledge any "humanity" in the bots at all, perhaps even developing and cementing the character's repulsion to bots depending on certain choices.

Polaris is a mystery story that sheds light on consequences of environmental pollution and also involves unlikely romances.

My favourite character was Dollface because she was multi-dimensional and felt real. She wanted to be an actress in her past, had disputes with her robots, and then developed to be head of her own company. She is an independent woman and I liked reading conversations involving her.

I liked the mystery components in this story. The story lets the reader gather clues around the pages and decide for themselves who the culprit is, only to find out that there is another side to the story and clues given might not always be true. I think this was very innovative.

What I didn’t like though was that the story kept forcing me to have romantic relationships with characters. Come on, I was only introduced to Emulator for like 5 seconds! I don’t even know his personality or anything. Also, I’ve only met Nova Wilde for two sentences. Why on earth would I feel disappointed when I chose not to entertain her? Which is weird because it’s not like you don’t know how to do this. In Mission Sunshine, that star guy had wife and children and never even said a word to me yet I still wanted to date him.

This story felt like a 6 but because of author notes that were missed out on some of the pages and also links that were unavailable because I refused to date the robot and the actress (making me unable to get to the bottom of the mystery) I gave 5/8 instead.

I love the world building in this story, you can tell MHD has been working on this world for a while With every detail making the world feel alive. The illustrations on a good chunk of the pages help visualize the universe and who doesn't love seeing more MHD art.
Reminds me of "The Incal" by Jodorowsky and Mœbius

hawt

Quite an ambitious depiction of an orphaned planet.
Some parts were confusing. For example, at one point Emulator was destroyed but he was back in one of the epilogues.
Definitely achieved the noir type of genre feeling, even though here and there the prose was rather clumsy. But it left a depressing picture of a failed industrial world slipping downhill into misery and chaos.
The branching choices were rather odd - I had to go back a few times to be able to ask obvious questions or pursue a 2nd option rather than being led onwards to the next chapter.
I was rather mystified why there were almost no men. Had the bots taken over that role?

Great story! I liked the characters and the 'steampunk noir' was an amazing premise!