GamesAdventureHarold Halibut is a retro-futuristic narrative adventure game that takes place in the depths of an alien oceanWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesAdventureHarold Halibut is a retro-futuristic narrative adventure game that takes place in the depths of an alien oceanWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Slow Bros)
The result is a nostalgia-tinged, claymation-style delight, complete with all the charming oddity of a Wes Anderson classic. It’s a unique choice for a video game, stunning as it is. Slow Bros. consider this handmade component a way of “unearthing fantastical thoughts and making them accessible to game-playing people,” according to Tillmann – and Harold Halibut is nothing if not fantastical.
Coming home
(Image credit: Slow Bros.)
Big in 2024(Image credit: Future)GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
Big in 2024
(Image credit: Future)GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
(Image credit: Future)
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
The first thing you should know about Harold Halibut is that the game takes place on FEDORA. Not the kind you wear on your head, but a city-sized deep sea vessel bobbing about beneath an alien ocean.
The gameplay itself sounds rather simple: as a third-person adventure, we’ll be moving Harold the fishman about with his human companion, with your key interaction points being your conversations with fellow FEDORA-dwellers. “I think it takes a moment of patience to get into, because it is very narrative-focused and cutscene heavy,” says Tillman. “But once you adjust, it really opens up this otherworldly sensation of being in this strange new world.”
The strangeness that infuses life aboard FEDORA puts you in two places at once. It feels like a window to the past, thanks to its digital stop-motion animation, but the touches of vibrant psychedelia look like something out of a 70s sci-fi magazine. In many ways it’s therefore a futuristic setting as imagined in the past, and that temporal complication is part of what Tillman calls “psychedelic surrealism”.
(Image credit: Slow Bros)
“My longest lasting interest in art is surrealism, and at the time of making the world of the game, we were digging through all the abandoned fantasy culture from the 60s and 70s,” he says of Harold Halibut’s artistic touchstones. Another surprising influence on the game? Anime, including “all the big names that washed over here during the 90s, feature films, as well as shows and their manga origins.”
The cross-media influences don’t stop there. Tillman goes on to cite Hong Kong film director Wong Kar-wai’s “moods” as points of inspiration, and even Spielberg’s cinematic grandiosity.
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Harold Halibut is nothing short of fantastical.
Harold Halibut is nothing short of fantastical.
Harold Halibut is articulated through a collection of different mediums because its creators are a very varied bunch. The game will be Slow Bros' first feature-length game, with the studio comprising developers with backgrounds from carpentry to filmmaking. With such a unique composition of creators, Harold Halibut’s unconventional art style feels almost inevitable.
Magical, mythical, and meticulously handcrafted with love, Harold Halibut is an enigma. Slow Bros. has yet to announce a firm release date, aside from the fact that it’s coming out in the next 12 months, but we already have a hunch that this immersive narrative adventure could be Big in 2024.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
GamesRadar+ is exploring the most anticipated video games of the year withBig in 2024, with new articles dropping every day throughout January.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
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Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
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2
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
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4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
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1
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2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”