Haven Review (PC)

Game: Haven
Genre: Action, Adventure, RPG
System: PC (also on PS5 and Xbox), Nintendo Switch in 2021
Developer|Publisher: The Game Bakers
Age Rating: EU 18+ (16+ on Switch) | US Mature
Price: UK £19.49 | EU €24,99 | US $24.99
Release Date: December 3rd, 2020

Review code provided with many thanks to The Game Bakers

Love Fools

Haven is a title where you get to play as two lovers who have travelled to a new planet in order to escape a matchmaker and be able to stay together. Of course, taking on a new planet alone comes with its challenges and after an earthquake damages their ship they need to explore the world in search of repairs while also saving a lot of unique animals and unravelling the mysteries of the planet.

The graphics feel reminiscent of Avatar: The Last Air Bender in video game 3D form. Character models have a sort of cell shade to them but the environments are blooming with colour. The waves of the grass as you move around and the various animals you can interact with make this world feel quite alive. On top of this is a brilliant musical score that has a mild dance beat but nicely suits this futuristic environment.

Both of the leads Kay and Yu are adorable and instantly likeable. The voice actors do a stellar job bringing the characters to life with hundreds of lines of dialogue recorded. What I liked straight out of the gate is that the game places you into the action pretty quickly and drip feeds you the story as you go. This is much more refreshing than the design of boring you with a 30 minute (or longer) intro cutscene to set the stage. The story is, of course, heavy in this game, Kay and Yu stop to chat about everything from the world they are exploring to the world they have escaped from, but the balance between play and these moments feels just about right.

A Whole New World

You’ll spend most of your time exploring this mysterious planet. The more you explore, the more you unlock new abilities to help you access new areas. A lot of the fun though is just exploring and enjoying the banter between Kay and Yu. You move around thanks to this energy called flow which allows both characters to hover about. If you play the game in co-op one player takes the lead for moving around while the second player can move around a small aura which will collect any resources automatically. You can switch at any time but its an interesting way of keeping the players together without resorting to split-screen. The only trouble here is, sometimes when gliding about the camera would get caught on a mountainside making it tricky to see where you are going.

No Animals Were Harmed

As you explore you’ll encounter alien animals who have been corrupted thanks to a substance called ‘rust.’ You enter a sort of turn-based battle while the fight occurs in real-time. Each player can select from a set of commands to take down the animals or baddies. The secret to success here is syncing everything together. One player can block attacks for both players while the other attacks. You can also charge up an attack together which takes time to set up but deals a devastating blow. It’s all about using the right command at the right time and communicating with your co-op partner.

The challenge is overall not too taxing. Even if you fail you simply start up again at the nearest rest point. A niggle I had here was it took a bit of time before the game introduced how to heal your characters but I have more to say on this later. The best part about combat is when you defeat the animals you don’t kill them. Instead you ‘pacify’ them which basically turns them good again. Once you have done this you can then optionally stroke the animal on the world map which is darn cute.

The Couple Life

When you’re not exploring you’re spending time at the ‘Nest’ where you’re cooking food, crafting health and combat items and having a good ol’ chat. Each time you perform these actions Kay and Yu usually have a bit of chat discussing more about the world they escaped from as well as their interests and fondness for each other.

There is a level-up system which increases when you defeat enemies, cook food and perform certain actions in-game. When the meter fills up you can ‘celebrate’ and by doing so this levels up the couples states and you get treated to more hijinks between the couple. Some of which lean into the sexual category. While there isn’t any nudity or visuals in this game there is some pretty naughty language used so maybe don’t play this with kids in the room.

Lovers Spat

Haven is a wonderful little title to play in co-op. But there are extra niggles worth pointing out. When crafting health kits, food etc the game only lets you do one at a time rather than craft in bulk. This becomes pretty tedious rather quickly. On the note of health, the game doesn’t allow you to fully heal unless your characters return to base. You have to use crafted health kits and get some health from sleeping and eating. Not only that, you can only use health kits one at a time. Again this seems pretty silly rather than just using as many as possible to fully heal.

Haven for me was a game to enjoy with my wife, I’m not so sure I would have enjoyed it as much playing alone. Though the game is suitably adapted to single player. It’s rare to see a developer brave the subject of playing as a couple and have it work as well as it does here. I feel it’s a risk that has paid off and I hope many other gamers will get to enjoy it. But at the same time, the premise of the game will likely put a significant size of gamers off and that’s fine. Some may also find the experience a little too casual since the overall challenge of the game is quite light.

A Word on the Rating

I wanted to take a moment to talk about Havens content especially since in Europe this game has been given an 18+ rating on PC (and has a rating of 16+ for the Switch). This game is about a couple and their relationship so sexual references are present. That being said there wasn’t any nudity during our playthrough and all sexual content is more discussed through conversation rather than showing you anything visually explicit. Of course, it’s not a game I suggest you play with children.

There also isn’t really any nasty violence in this game, especially since you defeat enemies by turning them nice. I think the high rating may be awarded as the game does make references to alcohol use and drugs but again these feel vague. I’ve played a lot of games in my time and find it odd that there are games with a lesser rating that contain graphical violence and gore and yet Haven a rather adorable little game gets the highest grade possible because of sexual references. A funny world I guess.

Conclusion

Haven is a game best enjoyed with someone else while making yourselves comfy on the sofa. While not without its flaws, a brave decision to focus on the story about a couple makes this a unique title worth immersing yourself in.

The music is brilliant and the characters are just lovely. The story may go through the typical beats that I expect lovers to go through in a typical film. Its the talent of the voice actors and the accessibility of the gameplay for most audiences that keep you hooked till the end. Sometimes in life a game just hits you and ends up being better than you could possibly imagine. Haven to me is one of those game made even better because I got to share it with someone special.

Final Verdict: Four Thumbs Up

 And Finally

I’m very lucky to have a special someone in my life who I have now been with for over ten years. In that time we have been through some incredible challenges and difficulties. Relationships to me are not fairy tales, they take work and much like a garden need regular attention to maintain. Despite all the weather changes ours has endured. I don’t often say openly how thankful I am to my wife for sticking with me all these years. But I wanted to conclude this review by dedicating it to her. No matter where we end up I’ll always be there to hold your hand if you need me to.