Harold Halibut

With a development that lasted a good twelve years, it is legitimate to ask whether 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 tackling all sorts of themes. 'nothing but obvious. The hope is that the launch on Game Pass can give the right boost to what is still a niche title, and who knows, Slow Bros. might find itself in its hands with a little gem destined to leave its mark. In a market like that of video games, there is a need more than ever for works like Harold Halibut.

Harold Halibut is a work of art in many ways: it has a quirky sense of humour, lots of personality and a scurrilous charm that doesn't care whether it appeals to a wide audience or not. If you appreciate that and the analogue stop-motion style, you won't be able to get enough of the game. But if you expect more than an interactive film, you might not be satisfied.

Harold Halibut is a heartfelt and handcrafted tale of human existence, delivering charming, profound, and deeply funny writing guaranteed to put a smile on your face. What Slow Bros has managed to achieve with its visual style is masterful and, for our money, it's now one of the best looking games on Xbox. The gameplay can feel repetitive at times, and the writing can drag in places, but ultimately we had a great experience seeing it through to the end. If you’ve got a Game Pass subscription, it’s worth checking the game out for its aesthetic alone. Harold Halibut won’t be for everybody, but for those that resonate with its story, it’s sure to stick with you for a long time.

It's a shame that a game as high quality and unique as Harold Halibut is plagued by technical problems and bugs that can make the gameplay really unpleasant at times. It's a rich and deep experience that will grab you by the heart and make you fall in love with its characters over the course of more than 10 hours of gameplay.

Harold Halibut's unique art and interactive film-like approach will appeal to gamers who want an original story full of surprises before anything else.

Harold Halibut's handmade world has bags of charm, but its sedentary pace and largely uneventful narrative might not be to everyone's tastes. Great stories stay with you, but, sadly, I'm not sure Harold's will.

Harold Halibut stands out for its painstakingly gorgeous stop-motion animation, but as a game it falls short of the mark. If you’re looking for a charming story with plenty of heart, Harold’s shortcomings are absolutely worth pushing through. But those looking for something more engaging would be better to look elsewhere.

My initial impression was that this periodic monotony was intended to function as a meta-commentary on your job as a dogsbody. But my overriding feeling might just be classed as boredom. You get the sense that a more tightly wound plot with expanded gameplay to hook the player could have turned the Halibut’s tale into a story that could really reel you in.