Microsoft has revealed the next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
15.04.2024 - 14:25 / ign.com / Ken Levine / Harold Halibut
Almost all video games are painstakingly made by human hands, but Harold Halibut takes that idea so literally that you can almost spot the fingerprints of its creators on screen. This colourful, story-driven adventure features meticulously hand-sculpted characters that have been seated in detailed miniature sets, digitally scanned, and brilliantly brought to life in a 12-hour interactive stop-motion movie that we get to star in. Yet, like the oceanic alien world in which it takes place, Harold Halibut is deeper than it first appears. I came for the unconventional art style, but I stayed for the cast of quirky characters and a playful mystery to unravel that features plenty of warmth and humour beneath its striking stop-motion surface.
Set a couple of hundred years into the future, the events of Harold Halibut take place on the FEDORA, an ark-like spaceship that evacuated Earth during the peak of the Cold War in the 1970s. It later crash landed into the gloomy waters of a distant ocean planet, where it has remained ever since under the rule of the slightly suspect All Water Corporation. You strap on the work boots of the titular Harold Halibut, a hand-painted handyman who serves as a lab assistant in the ship’s science wing. The opening hours of the story are spent running menial daily tasks like cleaning filtration systems and scrubbing walls, before the unexpected arrival of an alien being draws Harold into a considerably more captivating quest.
With his amusing objections to the local water tube-based public transport system that flushes him from one place to another like a discarded tissue down a toilet, and his tendency to sing goofy songs while performing his daily duties, I found Harold to be a particularly charming and relatable hero. The fact that he was born on the FEDORA and its boundaries are the only world he’s ever known means that when Harold’s adventure eventually takes him beyond its man-made walls, his sense of awe at his uncharted alien surroundings neatly mirrored my own.
The subaquatic setting of the FEDORA itself is a bit like BioShock’s Rapture had it been created by Wes Anderson as opposed to Ken Levine. It’s effectively a series of interconnected dollhouse dioramas, from a bustling shopping mall to industrial research labs, and the human touch is always apparent in the form of the imperfectly painted edges on background props and the knitted fabrics of the characters’ clothing. The rustic, tangible nature of its world is just begging to be poked and prodded, so it’s a slight shame that there’s a surprisingly low level of interactivity to be found in this setting outside of Harold’s early chores and a handful of playable coin-op games in its local arcade.
In fact, while Harold
Microsoft has revealed the next batch of titles coming to Xbox Game Pass for console, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Worlds worth getting lost in are the bread and butter of gaming. This month is all about celebrating that, kicking off with a look at FromSoftware’s hefty expansion for their unique take on open worlds, Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree.
The Xbox Game Pass library has expanded to include Have a Nice Death. The stylish and scintillating roguelike is the 17th new title to reach Xbox Game Pass in April 2024.
Xbox Game Pass members can play Another Crab's Treasure as part of their subscription starting today, April 25. This day-one addition to the Xbox Game Pass library arrives in the form of a colorful action RPG with an important message about environmental preservation.
I'm playing Harold Halibut. I figured I'd give it a go despite Push Square's review and I'm quite liking it.
Five of the top 10 most wishlisted games on Steam are coming to Xbox Game Pass as day one releases, including eagerly awaited titles such as Manor Lords and Hollow Knight: Silksong. This marks an excellent time to be an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, as Microsoft keeps adding several amazing games to its subscription service.
Xbox Game Pass members can play Orcs Must Die! 3 as part of their subscriptions starting today. This is the tenth title to reach Xbox Game Pass in April 2024, and the 51st one since the turn of the year.
Seven new games are joining in the second half of April, including four new releases. Xbox also announced three games coming to Game Pass Core. However, six games will leave Microsoft’s subscription service at the end of the month.
One of 2023's best indie games, Planet of Lana, is coming to PlayStation and Nintendo Switch almost a full year after its initial release. Planet of Lana first launched in late May 2023 as a day one Xbox Game Pass title, simultaneously releasing on PC, but unfortunately leaving Switch and PlayStation gamers waiting for another year.
Microsoft has announced the next games coming to Xbox Game Pass.
Microsoft has announced the second wave of April 2024 Xbox Game Pass additions. The upcoming batch consists of six titles, some of which will only be available to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers.
Manor Lords is currently the most wishlisted game on Steam ahead of games like Hades II and Black Myth: Wukong, having surpassed two million wishlists earlier this year.