Polda 4

Polda 4 continues the beloved Czech series of point-and-click adventures about the quirky policeman Pankrác and delivers the most seriously toned entry in the series, in which the detective investigates a case involving Professor Santus and his dangerous invention — a time machine. Compared to earlier entries, simple jokes take a back seat and the story gets a more elaborate, if still lighthearted, treatment featuring themes of time travel and the paradoxes that come with it. The gameplay stays classic — the player moves through locations, collects and combines items in an inventory, and talks to characters whose lines carry the series' signature voice acting, featuring several well-known Czech actors who lent their voices to the other entries as well.

Technically, Polda 4 marked a major turning point for the series — instead of static drawn scenes, it used 3D graphics for the first time, which felt unusual to players used to years of the hand-drawn style of earlier entries. The game's settings range from a classic police station to more fantastical locations tied to the professor's invention, marking the series' first partial departure from a purely realistic Czech setting. The audio still relies on full voice acting, which was and remains the series' main draw, complemented by music that fleshes out the atmosphere of each location. The switch to 3D graphics split the audience — some appreciated the modernization and the attempt to move the series forward, while others missed the hand-drawn backgrounds typical of the earlier entries.

At launch the game was embraced mainly by loyal fans of the series, who watched with interest how Polda handled both the technological and the narrative shift. Today, Polda 4 is seen as a transitional entry between the older and newer forms of the series — an important step showing that the Czech team Zima Software was willing to change an established formula, even at the cost of a mixed reception among part of the audience, and it paved the way for the sequels that followed.

Why play it: For loyal fans of the series it's an interesting transitional entry showing how Zima Software dared to change an established formula, even at the cost of a mixed reception.