Harold HALIBUT is one of those games that you don't expect anything from, but which in the end delivers a surprising experience. At least that's how it was for me, because it wasn't a game that was on my radar, and I started playing it without any prior knowledge of narrative elements or anything like that, I just knew its genre.
So it's almost impossible for a game not to surprise, isn't it? But there's a big question here, because the surprise can be both positive and negative. I think the balance was quite positive in this case, but the game is far from perfect, and I'll explain why later. But let's start by talking about its...
History!
Harold HALIBUT is a name that is both very direct and very interpretative. Our protagonist's name is Harold, and he's one of those guys who is a "handyman", but who, despite having contact with many people due to his "profession", is very introspective, and is often the laughing stock of society.
Speaking of society, the game takes place on Fedora, which is a large spaceship at the bottom of the ocean. I'll give you an overview of the game's setting, but if you prefer, we've recorded the beginning of the game for our channel. You can access by clicking here.
The game is set in a future in which the earth has been taken over by wars (something that is unfortunately not too far removed from our reality), and in order for our race to survive, the Fedora was created, a spaceship that would take humanity to a new habitable planet.
200 years in the future, humanity arrives on the supposedly habitable planet, but there's been a mistake, because the surface of the planet is totally toxic. But luckily, when they built the Fedora, they made it waterproof, and this enabled humanity to survive underwater.
It's a game that creates some very interesting scientific questions, although they don't seem to be really based on reality, which isn't a bad thing since we're talking about fiction. But it's pretty cool in a way that makes that universe plausible.
The title also includes the word HALIBUT, which I looked up and discovered was a species of fish. Halibut is the Anglo-Saxon name for some species of sea fish found in the northern hemisphere, which are commonly caught for human consumption. But you may know this fish as sole here in Brazil, don't you?
Well, what does a fish have to do with it? Well, in Harold HALIBUT we have this very closed universe with a very "ordinary" protagonist, but everything changes when he meets an alien species that they call fisholin. This encounter is the catalyst for several twists and turns in the story, but I won't say much more so as not to spoil your experience. But another really cool thing about the game is its...
Visual
This game has a very interesting and even innovative look in my opinion, despite being very common in other types of entertainment media. The game has a look that's very similar to stop-motion with play dough. I don't know if it was made by hand and then transferred to the game, but the important thing is that the game looks very convincing in this way.
Don't expect super-detailed visuals or anything like that; in general, both the characters and the settings in the game have very simple modeling without too many complexities. But the fact that it uses a type of animation that is quite rare, if not unique, makes it a standout in the world of games.
But while this is a plus, it perhaps makes the game too simple in the sense of variety of settings and characters, and this is totally understandable as it seems to be a game from a very small team, at least not one that is as well known worldwide.
In addition to this distinctive aesthetic, the game also has a very 1980s vibe, both in the cut scenes, editing and even the soundtrack. In fact, the soundtrack is also one of the game's strong points, but unfortunately it becomes very repetitive. And of course, the game's direction is also very good, providing some very interesting shots.
How does the game work?
Of all the elements I've already mentioned in the review, I think this is the simplest of them all, which is the gameplay. This game is basically a back and forth of items, without much emotion, as Harold doesn't have many possible actions. We can basically move around and interact with other characters.
Although very limited in terms of gameplay, the game isn't that tiring (until it gets tiring). The first few hours of the game are pretty cool, but as the game progresses, it becomes a bit repetitive.
For most of the game, you have a side-scroller from which you go from floor to floor to talk to characters and deliver items. At times the game also switches to a more three-dimensional gameplay, but this doesn't mean you're free to explore the available scenery (of which there aren't many).
At times we have the chance to play some small mini games that are quite simple, but it's yet another feature present in the game, albeit rare. And of course, some mini games become recurrent in the game, which isn't a problem in itself.
Is it worth it?
We tested Harold HALIBUT on PlayStation 5, but the game will be available on all possible platforms, including Game Pass. And it's a game that deserves the attention of all possible platforms.
It's not a game that innovates in almost any way, but you can see the commitment of the game's development team in its production. One problem I noticed while playing the game is its pace, which starts off very well but loses a bit of rhythm as the game goes on.
One positive point I must mention is that the game is subtitled in Portuguese, which is very important for a game like this that has a lot of dialog. I had a few visual bugs, but nothing that bothered me too much, and overall the game runs very smoothly. It was worth spending a few hours playing, and it was a lot of fun.
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