Wearing a brown shirt and tan suspenders, Harold is an unassuming research assistant and maintenance man who carries the weight of a spaceship's population on his shoulders. But this isn't “Star Trek.” Residents live together like a village, centered around a shopping mall called Agora Arcade and a food court in the town square.
Harold sighed as he moved from place to place. Carrying a heavy utility belt on his back, he plods through his monotonous work. He has dark circles under his eyes, and he can't get any speed up when he runs.
Made over a decade using innovative motion capture, Harold Halibut looks more like “Dinner with Andre'' than a Ray Harryhausen creature epic like “Clash of the Titans.'' Some of the conversations go on for too long, but the 14-hour game rewards those who stick with it with honesty, empathy, and a subtle mastery of humanity not found in many games.
Despite the constant burden of work, the even-keeled Harold keeps moving forward, engaging with characters both exaggerated and ordinary, with a positive and caring attitude. He's not too happy about feeding the fish in the lab, cleaning the filters, and wiping the graffiti off the gray hallways. However, he has genuine affection for the various characters he is trapped with on the ship, including Marrow, a loyal white-haired scientist and mentor with whom he likes tea time.
There's a humor here that could be called the light of Monty Python. At one point in the Agora Arcade, stop to watch a pantomime perform dramatically with a bass drum on its back. This is reminiscent of the Ministry of Silly Walks sketches. Elsewhere, a cranky guard worries about revealing too much about Allwater and contorts himself into absurdity. The satire is spectacularly on point.
Not everything is perfect. When Harold talks to a character, he positions himself in front of you in an annoying little circle before he starts talking. When Harold rescues a comatose human-sized fish being, calling him “Fishy,” he reveals his multifaceted fascination with the ship's pharmacist. Woody Allen-esque hand-wringing seems narcissistic, but that's because this entity is about to occupy a pivotal position in the story. Fishy, with yellow and brown spots like a ripe banana, wears bright fluorescent clothing like a wrasse. She is also quite ill.
