Is life better away from Earth? This suggests not

Ever fancied a walking-like adventure in an aquarium set somewhere far away from earth where a newly created project was formed? Harold Halibut is the one for you. It’s been in development for a while but Slow Bros have finally given Harold Halibut the lease of life on consoles. It’s a little over 10 hours long to complete, but it feels like a real slog in order to get through. Whilst there are some nice quirks about the game, Harold Halibut isn’t a game I’d happily recommend to enjoy over a weekend.

Much like the game suggests, you play the role of lab assistant, Harold. Harold is quick to remind you how dull he thinks his life is. In the first 10 minutes of the game, you’re in the office as your travel card has been blocked due to activity not allowed so you’re awaiting a fine. Does the game get better than that in terms of its overall story, yes, but not too much it has to be said. I was quite frankly wishing and praying some of the characters would do a little different, add a bit of spice to the story, but sadly it doesn’t. The best bit is when you befriend an Alien that appears in the boat’s fltration system. I can see where the developers have gone with the game, this is all about exploring different relationships between people, i just think the execution is poor at best and it needed much more if I was to give it a second playthrough even if I was going for that platinum.

This is more of a narrative adventure, so there’s noting to hit home about gameplay wise. There aren’t many locations you go through either, so gameplay wise, you’ll see Harold going through his daily tasks at life but it doesn’t present much more variation than that.

One of the best things in my opinion were the graphics in Harold Halibut. The animated-drawn characters are really nice to see, as well as some of the fish you encounter. It’s not perfect in any chance or imagination, but this art style is absolutely perfect for a game of Harold Halibut’s nature. Sound wise, i found the voice acting terrible. There was nothing that I heard or seen to be believable

I wish there was more to say about the game but there really isn’t. Harold Halibut is basically a walking-simulator that if you’re going to play something like this, there are plenty, plenty better choices out there. Harold, I’m sorry but what was on offer just wasn’t good enough

A big thank you to Popgenda for the PlayStation 5 review code