Harold Halibut Reviews
Overall, I enjoyed diving feet-first into this quirky and interesting narrative-driven mystery. While some may be deterred due to short attention spans or needing that quirk and fast-paced content this game will reward you for your time spent fishing for clues and unspooling the mystery. I'd encourage anyone looking to venture into this sub-aquatic adventure to devote some time to it allowing the game to grow. There's nothing out there at the moment to rival its quirky setting, it's out of the ordinary story and unique characters.
It may take place at the bottom of the ocean on a distant alien planet, but Harold Halibut’s story is an entirely human one, both in terms of its carefully handmade environments and its strong emphasis on empathy towards its eccentric cast of characters. While I wish that there was a little more interactivity to be found throughout its subaquatic setting, and Harold’s shuffling run could have been boosted to a sprint to reduce the time spent repeatedly schlepping from one end of its levels to the other, I nonetheless remained captivated by his whimsical quest to unite his community and explore the spectacular surroundings of his sunken home. Consistently funny and full of surprises, Harold Halibut is a wholesome, handcrafted adventure with plenty of heart.
A great artstyle and flashes of brilliance never truly make up for a meandering, risk-averse plot.
A visually arresting, warm-hearted tale of a gofer searching for his purpose, Harold Halibut flounders amongst endless fetch-quests and waffle.
"The handcrafted, stop-motion look and feel to this world makes every imperfection just another lovely detail"
It would probably make a better movie than a game, but there's still a unique charm about Harold Halibut and his slow-paced journey to discover his place in life.
Harold Halibut is a triumph in its characters and visuals but struggles to stay afloat under its own scope and ambitions.
Harold Halibut looks great, like one of Aardman's finest, only as a video game. Unfortunately, it's the game part that underwhelms, offering a distinctly tedious narrative adventure that is a chore to play.
Harold Halibut gives shape to an attractive story led by a protagonist who manages to surprise the player. The magnificent handcrafted art section accompanies this good script, but at times its approach becomes somewhat heavy in terms of gameplay. Here's a good narrative adventure that could have aspired to be so much more.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
While you might not always get what you give, Harold Halibut has its moments, and at their highest highs, they’ll make you question things in ways you probably never have before. The overall game might not be so memorable in a few months, but some things about it will stick with you forever–and if Slow Bros learns from its missteps, a direct or spiritual follow-up could well earn the studio GOTY status.
2024 has been a year so full of RPGs I can’t begin to imagine ever being able to finish all of them. Coming across Harold Halibut in the middle of so many massive, complicated adventures was a breath of fresh air. Just being able to slow down, soak in all the impressive minutia of a world built entirely by hand in an art studio, and wonder about what it was like to construct and digitize, felt like a release. I was able to let go a bit of having control over every piece of a game, and still have a story in front of me that was thoughtful and engaging enough to sit with me well after the credits rolled. Even the parts that felt rough around the edges were refreshing, as they enhanced the very human feelings that are so clearly front and center here. Harold Halibut is the kind of game I discovered by accident, but one I’m grateful to have come across in that way.
There are some great moments in Harold of Halibut, even if it takes a while to get going, and the art style is stunning in every way.
A lovely looking game with a sweet, restrained story, Harold Halibut is funny and charming. It's also probably a bit too long for its own good.
Transcending the line between video game and interactive art piece, Harold Halibut explores the meaning of home on an isolated alien water world. While some pacing issues exist within the larger story, the handcrafted visuals that consistently charm alongside an extravagant cast make this a treat for fans of narrative adventures.
A VERY special adventure, both in aesthetic and narrative terms. The story starts slowly and with very few explanations, but as the game progresses it becomes more and more interesting and does not disdain to touch important chords. The mechanics are the classic ones of a graphic adventure but the gameplay has a few too many angularities due to a bit of "dirt" in the code. Finally, the total lack of localization in Italian could be a significant obstacle given that the tone of the dialogues is well above the classic school English.
Review in Italian | Read full review
With engaging puzzles in the mix, I truly believe Harold Halibut could have joined the pantheon of great classic-style adventure games. As is, it’s a title that consistently kept me hooked over the course of its 7-to-8-hour story but didn’t fully reel me in like the very best of the genre.
We really wanted to love Harold Halibut, and there are some redeeming qualities. Its wonderful aesthetic is unique and detailed, it has a great sci-fi hook, and there are some good moments throughout the story. Unfortunately, these aspects depreciate due to a prolonged runtime, most of which is filled with slow, repetitive treks from one scene to the next. The narrative is left to hold everything together, but it sadly doesn't quite stick the landing thanks to pacing issues and some iffy writing. This is one fish you might want to let get away.
Though plaudits will be rightly levelled at its appearance, Harold Halibut is equally as impressive when it comes to its narrative, world-building, and how both are realised. Despite being relatively light in gameplay terms, the game packs a punch where it matters by sticking its landing and proving beyond doubt that the answer to the meaning of life may be closer to home than you think.
In the end, I think Harold Halibut ought to be experienced for its amazing technical achievement, if nothing else. While its gameplay doesn’t always engage, its narrative, characters, and themes are coherent in the manner of good speculative fiction. Both Harold the character and Harold Halibut the game are weird, wonderful, and quite unlike anything we’ve seen this year.
With a development that lasted twelve years, it is legitimate to wonder if Harold Halibut is a fully successful operation: what we can tell you is that the work of the German studio has convinced us, thanks to a mature and engaging narrative capable of dealing with themes that are anything but obvious.
Review in Italian | Read full review