Tried my best to get into it but it just didnt do it for me, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie hold a very special place in my heart and I had to see what their next adventure entailed but sadly this just isnt it

Looking at this as a continuation of a long dormant franchise(8 years the time of release and now going on 16! years since this game came out) it's pretty insulting, going from the gold standard in 3d platforming to a Lego-style car creation sandbox just didnt work especially considering there was little to no vehicle sections aside from a minecart in the previous Banjo games, I guess Banjo Pilot was used for inspiration? LOL Physics in this game just don't work

Now judging the game on it's own merits, I found it boring at it's best and tedious/frusterating at it's worst, nothing beats the feeling of spending 20-30 mins creating the perfect vehicle just to have it get smoked in the following mission. I did give this game a try a total of about 4 diffrent times and always ended up dropping it

I enjoyed the levels provided, the level in which you are inside a game system is a highlight and it is good to see our favorite characters come back, but most of the new characters are either annoying or unmemorable and the character design is very hit or miss, thank God they used Banjo's old design in Smash Bros

Hopefully we will see the bear and bird make the triumphent return they deserve outside of the driver's seat next time

2/10

While I do think this game is a bit overhated by Rare fans, I personally wasn't too fond of it. It doesn't fit Banjo-Kazooie at all and even though I did get some enjoyment out of building vehicles in this game, I wouldn't exactly call it my cup of tea either. It doesn't help that the worlds are even more bloated than Tooie and also quite lifeless. Even with those issues in mind, there were at least some neat throwbacks and fun moments sprinkled in and exploring Showdown Town was cool and one of the best parts of the game. Showdown Town is the best hubworld in the series and world in the game except for Banjoland. The final boss is a total joke and a disappointment compared to the first game and Tooie. In conclusion, its an interesting concept but the whole vehicle aspect of the game is something that I didn't care for and it doesn't fit Banjo-Kazooie at all. Nuts & Bolts should have been a Lego title or a brand new ip. If Rare & Microsoft ever decide to revive this series, I suggest they do remasters of the first two in the same approach Activision took with the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy or hand the series over to a competent studio that can make a new game that is similar to the originals and has the potential to live up to the legacy they left behind.

Harold Halibut is a very technically impressive (when its not bugging out or dropping frames) feat, which unfortunately puts its gorgeous claymation style and cinematography in service of an overwritten, overindulgent miserable slog which might have been refreshing were it a fifth of its length instead of the overbearing wank we got instead.

Wank is the operative word here, the game is spiritually similar to jerking off. It takes inspiration from various sources, wes anderson films chief among them, but from what few films I have seen of those, they were much more entertaining and well written. The sheer nothingness of the gameplay even for narrative focused adventure games and amount of dialogue that was 3 lines too long for what it needed to be really fits together when you learn about the game's 10 year development time. This is someone's baby, presumably a labour of love, but thats the thing, sometimes you need to detach yourself emotionally from your work and cut things when they don't actually add anything. The most damning thing of all, after all that, 8 goddamned hours (it felt twice that) I feel nothing. The game is nothing. I am nothing. We're all nothing. And I have 8 fewer hours now before I return to the nothingness of oblivion with little to show for it.

As a fan of stop-animation, it pains me to say this game is a narrative and gameplay mess. Beyond its aesthetic, the interactions and movements are noticeably slow that impact backtracking and pacing significantly. This game has an unnecessary amount of backtracking due to the lack of fast travel, slow area transitions and repetitive fetch quest design which greatly impacts the pacing and character moments. I do wonder if this had fast travel then it would have been better as a visual novel to focus on its story than awkward traversal

Strange enough, I think this game added some strange sequences and mechanics to justify its aesthetic. First, it has follow the NPC segments that prevents sprinting but they tend to go way ahead because running is disabled making it a slower experience. Perhaps an auto-walk feature would alleviate this or take control away altogether as a cutscene. Second, it has a timed response mechanic that is used only once but makes players needlessly require attention on succeeding dialogue. Third, the mini-games and interactions are not really interesting like the rock scanning or flight sequences near the end of the game being more interactive videos. No strong puzzles or mechanics, I wonder why include them at all if they brought down the experience.

Being foremost an adventure game, I feel the story fails to be truly engaging or meaningful from its setting, character and theme. Fundamentally, I feel it lacks strong dialogue and character moments to make players more invested in their plight and developments. It specially feels missing during the numerous montage sequences where it could have been great moments but I feel were made understandibly due to budget constraints. Most of the plot threads also resolve weakly or poorly. Specially with the countdown pressure since the player has no direct control over it and how it closes out. Even the decision in the end, just feels so bland at the end of it all.

To be fair, let me mention what I did like. The letters were really nice despite the backtracking. I like the setting where capitalism still exist where money does not make sense anymore contrasted by how aliens live on a communal or non-capitalist system which is a political theme that I want to see more of. No major romantic subplot for the protagonist is appreciated. The notebook drawings are charming as a task reward. It is not much but there is something to love about it.

Do understand I wanted to like this game with its creative risk and effort here but I just cannot recommend due to its numerous shortcomings.

Well, I've been waiting for this game for what feels like AGES. Me and my friend anxiously awaited updates and talked about this game for actual years, ever since we first saw the reveal. And somehow, through all that hype, this exceeded my expectations.
I knew that, at the very least, the game would be artistically stunning, and boy was I right. If ever you hear someone doubting video games as an art form, this completely undoes that argument. Truly sensational art direction here. And that art is accompanied by an awesome score.
The story here is gonna lose some people, 100%. The comparisons to a Wes Anderson film are very much valid, and whether that's good or bad will depend on your taste as an individual. For me, it really worked, because it's not something I encounter in video games very often at all. And while the gameplay is far from exciting, it moves along the plot fine enough. It definitely feels like an interactive movie more than anything, which is something I've always loved.
The characters are also super well voice acted and interesting. There were several plot threads that I found intriguing and worth being invested in, and a lot of that is thanks to the characters and the job the actors did portraying them. Harold himself is such an endearing guy and it resulted in so many great moments, both funny and a little more serious.
Overall, this game was beautiful, unique, weird (in the best way) and captivating. I can't believe this game finally came out and I played it. It's been great following along over the years and the end result was more than worth the wait

I love how this game looks. Stop animation being able to replicated this accurately through computer graphics is so great. The game looks goddamn beautiful. The plot setup is funny and so goddamn Wes Anderson-y but less obnoxious and not as in love with itself. I didn't mind the lack of gameplay either as I was sucked into the world.

Now having completed it, my question to the developer is WHY is this a game? This could have been a two and a half hour movie or a miniseries. Is it more profitable to make an 8 hour game for $40 on Steam than sign a deal with a movie studio? Actually don't answer that, because it probably totally is.

I was disappointed at the conclusion of this game, but I enjoyed the ride. I think this game will be remembered by film students trying to show how cool and deep they are by knowing this exists.

Seriously, you should support this when it's on sale because I want to see more from these guys, the Slow Bros. If you can't, just watch someone stream it. You'll get just as much out of it.

I know reception has been mixed, but it really hit for me emotionally and stylistically. I see a lot of complaints about the way characters speak condescendingly to Harold, but that genuinely shifts around by the end of the game, and he finds his own footing and begins to get respect from those around him. I thought there was a lot of really beautiful ideas of finding a place where you can fit, even if it doesn't seem immediately apparent.

Obviously, I had some minor issues, like cutscenes ending just to put me into a two second walking section, for another cutscene, but otherwise I really liked me time with it.