- December 12, 2019
- stage-nana
Winter Polaris
Platforms
About
"Winter Polaris" is a visual novel consisting of two stories. In "Winter Polaris," a disease causes people to disappear, leading the protagonist to flee to the mountains and later meet a mysterious, supposedly immortal girl in a ruined city. "Sweeper Swimmer" follows Elena, a resident of a small island who works as a sweeper to clean up marine litter, while uncovering secrets about the sea and her past. Gameplay focuses on narrative-driven choices and exploration.








- Winter Polaris features a compelling and emotional narrative that explores deep themes of life, love, and existence in a post-apocalyptic setting.
- The art and music, while limited, effectively establish the mood and enhance the storytelling experience, contributing to the overall atmosphere of the game.
- The unique storytelling approach of intertwining two separate narratives allows for a fresh perspective and keeps players engaged as they uncover connections between the stories.
- The writing can feel disjointed and confusing, with abrupt time skips and a lack of character development that detracts from the emotional impact of the story.
- Technical issues, such as small text size in windowed mode and limited art assets, can hinder the overall experience and make it less visually appealing.
- Some players may find the pacing slow and the lack of player choices in this kinetic novel format limiting, which could affect their enjoyment of the game.
- story174 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
The story of "Winter Polaris" is a poignant exploration of life, love, and immortality set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop marked by a pandemic. It intertwines two narratives—one melancholic and the other more adventurous—while employing a non-linear storytelling approach that some find disjointed, yet others appreciate for its thematic depth. Overall, the visual novel is praised for its emotional resonance and beautiful art, despite some critiques regarding pacing and character development.
“A heavy story about life, love, and future in a post-apocalyptic world.”
“Winter Polaris tells a touching story that has some fantastic themes of loneliness and existence.”
“The events and how the characters deal with the situations they find themselves in play on themes of what it means to be alive, which had me eagerly progressing through the episodes to learn where their story ends.”
“The story feels too... fast, not much is explained, and for the most part it feels kind of lifeless up until the very end.”
“Not only are you constantly flipping back and forth between these two stories and having to juggle all of the characters and events in both, but you're constantly jumping all over the place in each individual story.”
“It made the overall writing feel incredibly disjointed and did not give the characters the growth that they needed in order to have the impact that the story was looking for by the end of it.”