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'Harold Halibut' brings back stop-motion video games

It's proof that game development doesn't always have to be high-tech.

Remember the days when games were willing to experiment with stop motion characters and real-world backdrops, like Mortal Kombat or The Neverhood? They're back. Slow Bros. is working on Harold Halibut, an adventure game where both the characters and the environments are honest-to-goodness physical objects. As Harold tries to keep things lively for the rest of his fellow clay-animated crew members, he'll navigate a crash-landed spaceship made out of metal, wood and "carefully sewn textiles." As the teaser below shows, the result brings a uniquely imperfect style and depth that you can't quite get through all-digital animation.

The studio hasn't said much more about the title, although it's planning to support Macs, Windows PCs, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. The team tells us that it's aiming for a release sometime in 2018, too, so don't expect to get first-hand experience any time soon. However, the game already shows that you don't need advanced 3D models and outsized production budgets to produce a game that stands out -- low-tech craftmaking can be just as effective.