Harold Halibut review
What is it? A claymation-y narrative adventure set on a stranded spaceship.
Release date April 16, 2024
Developer Slow Bros
Publisher Slow Bros
Reviewed on RTX 4080, Ryzen 3700x, 16GB RAM
Steam Deck Verified
Link Official site
Harold Halibut's most enduring running gag is about Sonsuz Ask, a Turkish soap opera that seems to be the only TV series the game's space-based denizens thought to take with them into the stars. Problem is, Sonsuz Ask is a real bumpy ride. Its most ardent fans will try to sell you on it—just wait for it to really pick up in season 22—but the hard truth is that you'll have to endure a lot of long, barren stretches before you get to the good stuff. Even in space, you probably have better things to do with your time.
Harold Halibut has a lot in common with Sonsuz Ask. There are parts of it that are truly worth loving: Clever dialogue, bold set pieces, gags that actually make you laugh out loud, but they're brief moments of excitement before the game returns to a ponderous baseline. And while that baseline lasts for about 13 hours rather than 20+ seasons, I still don't think I can fully recommend it.
You are Harold, the unsophisticated, sincere, and (literally) wide-eyed handyman aboard the good ship Fedora I, which has been stuck at the bottom of an alien ocean for 50 years after a solar flare knocked it out of the void. Harold is a dreamer and an optimist—the kid at the back of class staring out of the window, always willing to help the rest of the ship's citizens with problems both technical and emotional, an open and honest soul who people naturally confide in.
Which they do regularly. The game is a strictly narrative affair: Most of your playtime is spent walking between conversations, and most of those conversations consist of one character or another unloading their burdens onto poor Harold's shoulders. The owner of the ship's general store needs someone to talk to about his marriage, the ship's captain feels unprepared for his role,
Read more on pcgamer.com
