Harold Halibut is a stop-motion adventure game from Slow Brows. It features full voice acting, a unique cast of characters all lovingly hand crafted and a cinematic storyline. The game takes place aboard a spaceship that fled Earth during the cold war only to find a water based planet. It’s now stuck under the ocean and the crew hope they’ll find a more suitable home soon.

You play the role of Harold, a lab assistant on the submerged spaceship called the Fedora. Harold is a bit of a jack-of-all trades and will wander the ship completing mundane tasks such as removing graffiti and replacing water filters for the other residents. It’s not a glorious job but somebody’s got to do it.

Soon enough you’ll receive word that the Fedora is running out of energy. There’s only so long you can live underwater. The people on the planet, who you thought were all dead, are still alive and living ordinary lives. There’s also the matter of the alien creatures infesting the water system.

While the locations do look beautiful there’s often not too much to do. It is an adventure game but noticeably can be light on puzzles. You are restricted to the spaceship so there are a limited number of locations. It would be great if the game was made more interesting by the use of clever or more innovative puzzles.

Harold Halibut is a very interesting game that took a decade to be brought to life. The visuals and sound design of the game are fantastic. It’s like an interactive stop motion film where you can enjoy the visual delights while taking an active part in its progress.

If you enjoy narrative type games with a sci-fi spin you’ll likely enjoy Harold Halibut. A great deal of effort went into world building and designing a pleasing world to explore. However, there’s more of a focus on the narrative and story telling elements rather than taking an active part in ways that will change the outcome of the game. For this reason if you’re looking to take a very active role in a puzzle or adventure game than this is probably not the game for you.

All in all the charming claymation and visual effects are fantastic. You can sit back, relax and enjoy the ride. There are some puzzles and player interaction along the way. The game has no inventory system. You’ll only be able to interact with the items that are necessary for your current quest. Most of these quests are small puzzles, mini-games, or fetch quests, having you walk from one side of the spaceship to the other.

Claymation is challenging even at the best of times. Harold Halibut does a great job of bringing to life a station full of interesting characters. Just don’t expect to be challenged or to figure out difficult puzzles. Harold Halibut is definitely a game for relaxing and just enjoying the alien world.

 

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Filed under: Adventure • Upcoming

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