14 years in the making, here we have the adventure game Harold Halibut. It's by German indie team Slow Bros. and, yes, it really did take that long to make.
Although not 100% unique to gaming (as our retrospective on 1996's The Neverhood showcased recently), it's rare to have a full stop-motion game like this.
Although Harold Halibut is an absolute slow burner of a game, one with some frustrations about it, this is nevertheless a charming and endearing time of it.
Aquatic Times of it in Harold Halibut
This is out right now! It just launched in mid-April 2024 and you can pick it up on XBox (it's free on Game Pass, too) and PS5. Plus, the usual Steam and PC stuff.
The game is set in an alternate reality 1970s. A spaceship called the Fedora I is operated by the dodgy corporation All Water. The mission was to find a new planet to colonise deep in space.
However, after the ship encounters a solar flare. After crashing, it's left stranded at the bottom of an alien ocean.
50 years later we catch up with the inhabitants, all still alive but trapped on the ship. Despite that, they're making the best of it and leading happy enough lives.
That includes one shy, introverted geezer called Harold Halibut.
Players assume control of the hapless dude. You then have to guide him around the ship, finishing mundane tasks, before a considerable shift in plot and gameplay direction (no spoilers included here!).
Harold Halibut certainly looks striking. Plus, there's a nice score to go with methodical action, such as here.
We mean, check this out! Very pretty ending to things.
Those are the real highlights to Harold Halibut right there. The unique appearance and some heartfelt, dramatic moments along the way.
You get just under 10 hours of gameplay here.
However, adventure games are for very particular types of gamers. They tend to create cult followings, such as with the Monkey Island series. Simply as they usually have a slow, abstract, puzzle solving pace to them.
Harold Halibut really pushes that to the absolute extreme.
It's a very slow-paced game and we've seen some gamers criticise it as just a "walking simulator". Whilst you do have to do a lot of tedious backtracking, and Harold's plodding run gets a bit annoying, there are plenty enough surprises along the way to make this game good to play.
We're not calling it a classic or anything like that. But it is different. That should be celebrated, as it tries something new.
Slow Bros. didn't always get the formula right, but they've put a lot of love and attention into this title. And if you stick with it, you'll be rewarded with some impressive peaks.
The Making of Harold Halibut
The process of making the title was meticulous. It reminds us of the paper-based adventure game Papetura and that hand-crafted world.
Slow Bros. created all the in game assets by themselves. The development process took over 10 years, only able to work on it part-time during the early years of production. The team put together:
- Puppets
- Sets
- Props
- Costumes
- All the clothes and other materials
These were then rendered in 3D through a process called photogrammetry. This allowed the assets to be turned into animatable objects in the Unity engine (which is used to develop games).
So, although we've mentioned it's "stop-motion" animation... it isn't really. The title is just created to make it appear that way.
Anyway, the good news is it's largely met with strong reviews from the gaming press. There have been a few 10/10s along the way, but some more negative assessments.
For example, legendary magazine Edge gave it 5/10.
It's really a game you should just hurl yourself into if you like the look of it. Expect some frustrations along the way, but if you persevere you'll reap the rewards.
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