Harold Halibut

Last updated

Harold Halibut
Harold Halibut Cover.jpg
Developer(s) Slow Bros.
Publisher(s) Slow Bros.
Director(s) Onat Hekimoğlu
Artist(s) Ole Tillman
Engine Unity
Platform(s)
Release16 April 2024
Genre(s) Walking simulator
Mode(s) Single-player

Harold Halibut is a 2024 video game developed by German independent developer Slow Bros for Windows, the Xbox Series and PlayStation 5. The game is a narrative-based adventure video game in which players control Harold, a janitor on a spacecraft submerged in an alien planet, and complete odd tasks for the ship's inhabitants. The game was created over a ten-year development process, first conceived as an unfunded part-time project to create a narrative game inspired by stop-motion animation. To implement a stop-motion aesthetic, the developers hand-made characters, objects and environments using various materials scanned into the game and animated in the Unity engine. During development, the game received several features, nominations and accolades for video game, film and culture festivals. Upon release, Harold Halibut received mixed to average reviews, with critics praising the ambition and detail of the game's visual presentation and the themes in its narrative, although critiquing the game's narrative focus as lacking puzzles and interactivity and having a slow pace.

Contents

Gameplay

The game's adventure gameplay is a linear, story-driven experience that takes place across six chapters. [1] Players navigate the interior districts of the Fedora and interact or overhear conversations from its characters to progress the story. [1] [2] Characters provide the players with tasks, some necessary to complete the game and others optional, which are logged as a to-do list in a PDA menu. [3] Completion of tasks requires simple point-and-click interactions with objects in the game, [2] with some tasks involving small puzzles or minigames, such as cleaning a room through a Tetris -based minigame. [4] Optional interactive minigames can be played in an arcade on the Fedora. [4] [5]

Plot

During the peak of the Cold War in the 1970s, the space ship Fedora I, controlled by the All Water corporation, was sent from Earth to find a planet for humankind to colonise. Drifting for over two hundred years, the ship encounters a solar flare and is stranded at the bottom of an alien ocean on an uninhabitable planet, where it has remained for another fifty years. The player is Harold, a shy and withdrawn maintenance worker on the staff of the ship, who assists the scientist Jeanna Mareaux, who is commissioned to look for ways to escape the planet. Harold also performs odd jobs for the other inhabitants, many with different philosophies, including their views on whether to leave the Fedora or stay. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to relaunch the craft unaffected by the solar flare and return to home is discovered, Harold is placed in a unique position to make a difference in the future of the ship and its populace. During the game, Harold discovers a fish-like humanoid stuck in the ship's filtration system he names 'Fishy', providing him with a window into the perspective of the alien life on the planet. Harold also discovers the original mission of the Fedora may not have been as essential as its inhabitants believe.

Development and release

The developers of Harold Halibut created all the assets for the game from hand-made materials, including clay, wood, and textiles. Harold Halibut Screenshot.jpg
The developers of Harold Halibut created all the assets for the game from hand-made materials, including clay, wood, and textiles.

Harold Halibut was created by Slow Bros., a Cologne studio led by independent developer Onat Hekimoğlu, a filmmaker and graduate of the Cologne Game Lab. [6] The development process for the game took place over ten years, with the development team first working on the game on a part-time basis with low funding, and developing in size and commitment as a full-time project over time. [7] [8] In 2012, the initial three-person development team conceived the idea from a conversation about the potential to create a narrative-led video game using stop-motion animation, [9] citing inspiration from classic adventure games and films including Jason and the Argonauts and The Valley of Gwangi . [10] The team also were interested in the use of hand-made assets and stop-motion as they lacked experience in 3D modelling, preferring to leverage their skills of carpentry, sculpture, lighting and costume design to create a game. [7] [11]

To create and animate the assets for the game, the development team hand-made puppets, sets, props, and costumes from various materials including clay, textiles, welded metal, and recycled wood. [7] [12] These items were then rendered in 3D using photogrammetry by photographing the objects from all angles, animated as "digitally rigged" puppets and imported into the Unity engine. [9] [13] [14] To animate the characters, motion capture was used through a motion tracking rig, which filmed the movements of actors and fit them to the models of the 3D puppets. [11] [7] This approach was taken instead of the originally intended approach of using stop-motion animation for characters to streamline the production process, as art director Ole Tillman stated the original approach was "too restrictive" and time-consuming. [13] Hekimoğlu estimated that the production process required 200 kilograms of clay. [9] Originally conceived to be more reliant on puzzles, Hekimoğlu stated that this approach was abandoned for a more narrative and linear one to focus on player immersion and interaction with the characters and world, [9] taking influence from other narrative games including Night in the Woods and Firewatch . [8]

Release

In June 2017, the studio launched a failed Kickstarter to secure $170,000 in funding for development, [14] [15] with Hekimoğlu considering the campaign a success in terms of raising awareness for the game, but attributing its failure to the lack of initial promotion. [8] Harold Halibut was announced at the Gamescom Future Games show on 22 March 2024 with a showcase trailer and release date, [15] and published on Steam on 16 April.

Reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Harold Halibut received "mixed or average" reviews from critics. [16] [17] [18]

Reviewers praised the visual presentation of the game, [5] also noting its scope and ambition. [27] Describing the graphics as a "monument to craft", Edge noted the game's "remarkable technical wizardry" and "authentically traditional" design, comparing it to Aardman stop-motion animation. [19] Rollin Bishop of GamesRadar+ praised the "charming" models for their "tangible" design and meticulous attention detail, although finding the models to have "awkward" and unintended movements in their animation. [22] Describing the game's visuals as an "undeniable technical achievement", Daniel Bueno of Siliconera commended the game's "unique" visuals for their "crisp look". [27]

Critics expressed generally positive views about the game's narrative and characterisation. Harold Goldberg of the New York Times considered the game's story to have a "honesty, empathy and a subtle mastery of human nature that isn’t present in many games". [28] Rollin Bishop of GamesRadar+ found the story to be "surprisingly poignant" in addition to expectedly "unusual and funny" aspects of the game. [22] Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun found the characters charmingly odd and the game replete with "strange little interactions", viewing the story as "heartwarming" and "quietly triumphant". [3] Meg Pelliccio of TheGamer highlighted the game's "fulfilling" narrative and emotional breadth, citing the many "moments of sadness, bittersweet closure, mystery, or simply a scene so surreal or stylish it stays with you". [29] Describing the game as "thoughtful", Lucas White of Shacknews found the game's themes around Harold's personal growth as "compelling", and praised the "hopeful" tone of the game, although considering the sinister undertones of the game "fizzle into dead ends at times". [2] Despite "flashes of brilliance" and "affection for its characters", Joshua Wolens of PC Gamer considered the dialog to "drag on" and compromise the hints of "daring" and "genuinely funny" subject matter. [1] Edge believed the game featured a "satisfying conclusion", although expressing that it could have had "sharper" dialogue and humor. [19] Katharine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun also critiqued Harold as a "vacant and disinterested human being" and the cruelty and pointlessness of other characters' initial interactions with him. [30]

Critics noted the game lacked conventional gameplay features for an adventure game, such as puzzles, due to the narrative focus of the game. [3] Describing the game as a "light experience", Daniel Bueno of Siliconera considered Harold Halibut to lack a "hands-on" approach, lacking more puzzles or interaction, but believed these to be unnecessary for a narrative game. [27] Lucas White of Shacknews noted that the game did not feature conventional puzzles, branching paths or multiple endings. [2] Matt Gardner of Forbes stated that the gameplay puzzles were rare and short-lived, lacked nuance and skill, and were inconsistent with the narrative, also critiquing the "identical and surprisingly poor" arcade games. [4]

Several reviewers critiqued the slow pacing of the game. Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun stated the game as "inexplicably" long and understood why players could consider it boring due to its "very slow" pace. [3] Similarly, Katharine Castle of Rock Paper Shotgun noted the slow walking and running speed contributed to this pace. [30] Edge stated that the "drudgery" of playing the character tested their tolerance for fetch quests, citing the lack of interactivity, long dialogue, and limited player agency in the story. [19] Joshua Wolens of PC Gamer critiqued the game's "strictly narrative" focus as "ponderous" and "fatiguing", citing the "long, barren stretches" of gameplay between interesting sequences. [1] Rollin Bishop of GamesRadar+ similarly considered the game to feature too much walking. [22] Describing the game as an "unexciting slog" and "repetitive", Willa Rowe of Kotaku stated that the game "never fully breaks out of its mundanity", citing the focus on "boring chores" and the lack of a sense of urgency. [31]

Accolades

Harold Halibut received nominations accolades in several game and film festivals, including nominations for the 'Most Wanted' and 'Best Marketing' at the 2017 Deutscher Entwicklerpreis, [32] [33] one of the winners of the German Government's 2019 Cultural and Creative Industries Kultur- und Kreativpiloten Deutschland award, [34] [35] [36] the winner of the 'video game' category in the 2022 San Francisco Frozen Film Festival, [37] and nominations for the 'Critic's Choice' and 'Most Anticipated Game' categories for the 2023 Indie Cup Germany. [38] [39] The game also was selected for inclusion in several other festivals, including the 2021 Tribeca Festival as part of the Tribeca Games Spotlight, [40] [41] the 2021 Slamdance Film Festival, [42] and the 2023 KLIK Amsterdam Animation Festival. [43]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Neverhood</i> 1996 video game

The Neverhood is a 1996 point-and-click adventure video game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. and published by DreamWorks Interactive for Microsoft Windows. The game follows the adventure of a claymation character named Klaymen as he discovers his origins and his purpose in a world made entirely out of clay. When the game was originally released, it was unique in that all of its animation was done entirely in claymation, including all of the sets. The gameplay consists mostly of guiding the main character Klaymen around and solving puzzles to advance. Video sequences help advance the plot. In addition to being unique, The Neverhood aimed at being quirky and humorous, as is evident by the characters, the music, and the plot sequence. It received a sequel in 1998, Skullmonkeys, which was a platform game, abandoning the adventure format of the original.

<i>Penumbra: Requiem</i> 2008 video game

Penumbra: Requiem is an expansion pack to the game Penumbra: Black Plague developed by Frictional Games.

<i>The New Adventures of the Time Machine</i> 2000 video game

The New Adventures of the Time Machine is an adventure video game released in 2000, developed and published by Cryo Interactive. It is based on H. G. Wells' novella The Time Machine.

An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story, driven by exploration and/or puzzle-solving. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, such as literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of genres. Most adventure games are designed for a single player, since the emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. Colossal Cave Adventure is identified by Rick Adams as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include Zork, King's Quest, Monkey Island, Syberia, and Myst.

<i>Sissys Magical Ponycorn Adventure</i> 2011 video game

Sissy's Magical Ponycorn Adventure is a 2011 indie graphic adventure game developed by Untold Entertainment Inc. founder Ryan Creighton and illustrated and voiced by his then-five-year-old daughter Cassie Creighton. It was released as a browser game on computers, and later released on the iPad and BlackBerry PlayBook. The game follows the titular character Sissy, voiced by Cassie, as she searches for fictional creatures called Ponycorns, a portmanteau of the words pony and unicorn. Cassie drew the artwork at the Toronto Game Jam. Ryan then integrated the art into the Untold Graphic Adventure Game System (UGAGS) that the game uses. The game received positive reception for its cute appearance, Cassie's ambitious design, and her voice acting.

<i>Sokobond</i> 2013 video game

Sokobond is a puzzle video game created by Alan Hazelden and Harry Lee. Gameplay involves moving atoms around 2D grids to form chemical compounds. The game was released on Linux, OS X, and Windows in August 2013. It was later released for Nintendo Switch in September 2021, and iOS and Android in May 2022. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics.

<i>Rakuen</i> (video game) 2017 role-playing adventure video game

Rakuen is a 2017 adventure video game, created by Laura Shigihara. It was built using the RPG Maker XP engine and released on May 10, 2017. It is a sprite-based exploration game, in which text boxes serve as the primary conduit for communication. The name "Rakuen" is translated from Japanese as "paradise." The game is currently available for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows.

<i>Unavowed</i> 2018 indie point-and-click adventure game

Unavowed is an indie point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Wadjet Eye Games. It was released on August 8, 2018.

<i>The Gardens Between</i> 2018 video game

The Gardens Between is an adventure/puzzle video game developed by Australian studio The Voxel Agents and published in September 2018 for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4. It was later released for Xbox One in 2018, iOS in 2019, Android in 2020, and PlayStation 5 in 2022. The game, which conveys its story through visuals and gameplay rather than dialogue or narration, follows two children, Arina and Frendt, in the treehouse in a garden between their houses. In a dreamscape, they progress through sets of island levels, each representing different shared experiences. The characters walk along a path that winds through each level, and the player solves environment-based puzzles that prevent the pair from reaching and activating a portal at the end of the path. To do so, the player controls the flow of time forwards and backwards and causes the characters to interact with nearby objects and spheres of light, rather than moving the pair directly.

We Were Here is a franchise of cooperative first-person adventure video games, created by the Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games.

<i>The Longing</i> 2020 video game

The Longing is a 2020 point-and-click adventure game created by independent developer Studio Seufz. Set in an underground kingdom, the player controls the Shade, a creature tasked with watching over a sleeping king for 400 days. The Shade performs recreational activities, including reading and exploring, as it waits out the 400 days in real time. The in-game timer continues regardless of the player's actions but moves faster if the Shade performs certain actions inside its home, such as decorating the walls with drawings.

<i>Goodbye Volcano High</i> 2023 video game

Goodbye Volcano High is a narrative adventure game by KO_OP. It was announced on June 11, 2020, and was released on August 29, 2023 for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows.

<i>Genesis Noir</i> 2021 video game

Genesis Noir is an adventure game developed by Feral Cat Den and published by Fellow Traveller. The game follows the main character, No Man, as he visits different parts of the universe while trying to save his love. The game was released on Windows, macOS, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on March 26, 2021.

<i>Storyteller</i> (video game) 2023 puzzle video game

Storyteller is a puzzle video game designed by Daniel Benmergui and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released on March 23, 2023 for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, and was released on September 26, 2023 for iOS and Android via Netflix.

<i>The Case of the Golden Idol</i> 2022 video game

The Case of the Golden Idol is a 2022 adventure and puzzle video game developed by Color Gray Games and published by Playstack for macOS and Windows. The game depicts a narrative spanning 40 years in the 18th century, in which players collect clues to piece together concepts, characters, and evidence to provide context to the story. The game was developed by Latvian independent developers Ernests and Andrejs Kļaviņš, who aimed to create a detective game influenced by the visual presentation of 1990s adventure games. The Case of the Golden Idol was similarly inspired by the design of the 2018 game Return of the Obra Dinn by Lucas Pope, with the game receiving similar comparisons from reviewers.

<i>Betrayal at Club Low</i> 2022 video game

Betrayal at Club Low is a 2022 role-playing video game developed and published by Cosmo D. It is set in the same world as Off-Peak, The Norwood Suite, and Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1.

<i>Home Safety Hotline</i> 2024 video game

Home Safety Hotline is a 2024 horror puzzle video game developed by Night Signal Entertainment. In the game, the player works for the titular Home Safety Hotline, providing callers with correct information on ordinary and supernatural household hazards. Creation of the game was led by independent developer Nick Lives, who created the game as an inspiration of the bestiaries from Dungeons and Dragons and the mythology of legendary creatures. Released on 16 January 2024 for Windows, the game received generally positive reviews, with praise directed to the game's concept, visual presentation, and narrative, and criticism about the game's length and difficulty level.

<i>Crow Country</i> 2024 video game

Crow Country is a 2024 survival horror game developed and published by SFB Games for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Set in a visual style and design similar to PlayStation 1 horror titles including Resident Evil and Silent Hill, the player is an investigator exploring an abandoned theme park. Upon release, Crow Country received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise directed to the game's design evocation of earlier horror games, and writing and narrative, and mixed views on the implementation of combat and puzzles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wolens, Joshua (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut Review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 White, Lucas (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut review: Where is home?". ShackNews. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Bell, Alice (30 April 2024). "Harold Halibut review: a sweet, restrained story about finding your way home". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Gardner, Matt (23 April 2024). "'Harold Halibut' Review (Xbox): Beautiful, Barmy, But Bothersome". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  5. 1 2 King, Andrew (21 April 2024). "I've Never Played A Game With Better Graphics Than Harold Halibut". TheGamer. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  6. ↑ Gordon, Lewis (16 April 2024). "As if Wes Anderson ran amok at Aardman: Harold Halibut, the visually stunning puppet adventure game". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Romig, Rollo (15 April 2024). "A Video Game Made Out of Brick, Clay and Tenacity". New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Ravetto, Marco (September 2018). "Harold Halibut: A Space Adventure Built Entirely By Hand". The Games Machine. No. 357. pp. 24–5.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Harold Halibut". Edge. No. 359. July 2021. pp. 50–51.
  10. ↑ Zweizen, Zack (23 August 2016). "Harold Halibut's Handmade World is a Celebration of Vintage Animation". Kill Screen. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  11. 1 2 Wilson, Mark (7 June 2017). "Making An Unbelievably Gorgeous Stop-Motion Video Game". Fast Company. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  12. ↑ Famularo, Jessica (8 August 2016). "Harold Halibut Combines Video Games and Handicrafts". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  13. 1 2 Chalk, Andy (1 December 2023). "Harold Halibut is a handmade 'stop-motion aesthetic' adventure about friendship and home in a giant spaceship trapped beneath an alien sea". PC Gamer. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  14. 1 2 Wallace, Mitch (5 July 2017). "Stop Motion Inspired Adventure Game 'Harold Halibut' Is On Kickstarter And It Looks Incredible". Forbes. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  15. 1 2 Chalk, Andy (22 March 2024). "Harold Halibut, the stop-motion-style story about life at the bottom of an alien ocean, gets a big new trailer and an April release date". PC Gamer. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  16. 1 2 "Harold Halibut (PC)". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Harold Halibut (PS5)". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  18. 1 2 "Harold Halibut (XBX)". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "Harold Halibut". Edge. No. 397. June 2024. p. 108.
  20. ↑ Tapsell, Chris (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut review - sub-aquatic sci-fi adventure is a little too prog-rock". Eurogamer. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  21. ↑ Indovina, Kurt (17 April 2024). "Harold Halibut Review - Lost In Its Own Deep Sea". GameSpot. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Bishop, Rollin (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut review: "A charming and ambitious handmade sci-fi adventure"". GamesRadar. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  23. ↑ Ogilvie, Tristan (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut Review". IGN. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  24. ↑ Tiraxa (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut Review". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  25. ↑ Lago, Yago (19 April 2024). "Análisis de Harold Halibut, un delicioso stop motion que apabulla con su artesanía, dedicado a una pobre aventura". MeriStation (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  26. ↑ Tagliaferri, Simone (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut, la recensione di una toccante esperienza sviluppata in dieci anni". Multiplayer.it (in Italian). Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  27. 1 2 3 4 Bueno, Daniel (15 April 2024). "Review: Harold Halibut Is a Modern Fable About Connection". Siliconera. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  28. ↑ Goldberg, Harold (22 April 2024). "Game Reviews: Vibrant African Myths and an Undersea Satire". New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
  29. ↑ Pelliccio, Meg (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut Review - I Wanna Be Where The Flumylum Are". TheGamer. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  30. 1 2 Castle, Katharine (21 March 2024). "Harold Halibut is very hard to enjoy when everyone's so openly passive aggressive toward you". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  31. ↑ Rowe, Willa (15 April 2024). "Harold Halibut: The Kotaku Review". Kotaku. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  32. ↑ "Harold Halibut – A Handmade Adventure Game". Deutscher Entwicklerpreis. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  33. ↑ "German Developer Award 2017 Winner: "The Surge" is best German game". Games Wirtschaft (in German). 7 December 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  34. ↑ "Slow Bros. - Harold Halibut". Kultur-Kreativ Pilotennen Deutschland (in German). 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  35. ↑ "Cultural and creative pilot for Slow Bros. with "Harold Halibut"". Film Und Medien Stiftung NRW. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  36. ↑ ""Kultur- und Kreativpiloten Award 2019" to Two KISD Graduates". Köln International School of Design. 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  37. ↑ "SFFFF20222 Award-Winners". Frozen Film Festival. 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  38. ↑ "Indie Cup Germany'23 winners are finally here – meet the best upcoming German indie games". Games Press (Press release). IndieCup. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  39. ↑ "Harold Halibut". Indie Cup. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  40. ↑ "Harold Halibut". Tribeca Film. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  41. ↑ Morton, Lauren (11 June 2021). "Eight narrative games revealed new trailers at the Tribeca Film Festival". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  42. ↑ "Slamdance Announces Full 2022 Lineup". Slamdance. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  43. ↑ "Games Amsterdam". Kaboom Animation Festival. 2023. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.