Home Xbox Game Pass gets new quirky, gorgeous-looking Day One launch title

Xbox Game Pass gets new quirky, gorgeous-looking Day One launch title

As one great Xbox Day One title departs exclusivity today when Grounded makes its way to Nintendo Switch and the PlayStation, the oddly named Harold Halibut lands on Microsoft’s subscription service today.

Don’t be put off by the name being a bit leftfield though, Harold Halibut is a handmade narrative game about friendship and life on a city-sized spaceship submerged in an alien ocean and it looks stunning.

Using a unique stop-motion aesthetic that is quite unlike anything much we have seen before the game’s light puzzle aspects are set to charm anybody looking for a slightly less stressful gaming experience than say Helldivers 2.

Harold and his fellow characters have all been sculpted using traditional model-making techniques and this lends HH a look that you want to watch more of even aside from the engaging storyline. It looks that good.

If you are a fan of quirky adventure games this is one you will definitely be trying, it can be a little frustrating with a lot of back and forth to complete tasks but the claymation-style animation takes away some of the chore.

You can check out Harold Halibut on Game Pass today or it goes live on Steam in an hour or so.

Harold Halibut features

Harold Halibut will be unlike most things you have played before, certainly in terms of looks, but what else does it include?

  • Unique Stop-Motion Aesthetics: Every element in Harold Halibut is a tactile and meticulously hand-crafted using traditional sculpting and model-making techniques.
  • Full Voice Acting: All of the Fedoras’ wonderful inhabitants come to life with full English voiceover, elevating the game’s narrative to cinematic proportions.
  • An expansive Character Ensemble: Meet a variety of unique characters and get to know their personalities, quirks and stories through meaningful conversations.
  • A riveting cinematic storyline: Journey through a captivating narrative, underscored by a carefully orchestrated script that blends drama, humor, and suspense.

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Paul McNally
Gaming Editor

Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title published by IDG Media. Having spent time as Head of Communications at a professional sports club and working for high-profile charities such as the National Literacy Trust, he returned as Managing Editor in charge of large US-based technology websites in 2020. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine,…

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