Welcome to our review of Haven, one of the new titles out now on Xbox series X and
Does love truly conquer all? Two lovers gave up everything, left their entire lives behind, and escaped to a lost planet to be together. Play these lovers, Yu and Kay, at the same time as they settle into an unknown and eerie world. Explore the planet searching for parts and material to fix their ship and make it a cosy home. Enjoy life together as a relatable couple cooking meals, crafting, collecting resources and engaging in meaningful conversations.
Fight against those trying to tear them apart by synchroniSing their actions in combat, finding the perfect timing and rhythm, while controlling both characters simultaneously. Glide through the mysterious landscape, explore a fragmented world and fight against what’s trying to tear them apart in this RPG adventure about love, rebellion, and freedom. The game will be available for PC (Steam, GOG, Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Xbox One on Xbox Game Pass December 3 2020. The Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 version will follow soon after.
Haven is a departure from the Game Bakers’ previous renowned game, Furi. While they share a similar theme of fighting for freedom, the context and feel are entirely different. Haven allows players a look into the everyday life of a mature, loving relationship of Yu and Kay and while inviting players to relax, laugh, and connect to the characters.
While Haven is not without fighting, thrills, and unexpected surprises, it does take the players on a journey often not explored in games: one of a true adult relationship. In Haven, players level up the more time the couple spends together, and they even must fight together, placing emphasis on the importance of the relationship… The Game Bakers hope that players will ponder nuanced and important questions about the meaning of love and freedom and if love is worth sacrificing everything for.
Haven presents itself as a really strange game, at least it did to me. Not saying this is a bad thing per se but how do I put this? I felt like I had very little purpose in the game in the beginning and without a map at hand, it was kind of hard to really find my way in the world of haven. The game itself presents itself as an RPG with adventure elements which is true, I just have a few questions in regards to the lack of guidance.
Again I am not saying this game is bad, but I often had the sense of being lost and for everybody that knows my reviews, you know I dislike this feeling. So let me start from the beginning, you are apparently stuck on an alien planet (?) and you only have your female companion to keep you company. At first, the main gist is basic survival which in turn all comes down to getting food and energy for your nest, which is actually the name of the ship you are in.
The game does provide a basic tutorial at that point to make you aware of how to move around the world and it does do a great job adding that. It even adjusts your skills shortly after the tutorial just to make parts more suited for the environment you’re in, quite a nice feat.
My main issue however, the lack of guidance and a basic map at first really did me in More than I want to admit, the cool graphics can sadly not prevent this feeling. I know an RPG is supposed to be a lot of work in finding things, I agree with that approach even … However, I do not agree with any luck involved so you can move to the next bit of the game, the game should be a little bit more clear at what direction you want to go. At around one hour into the game, I had just repaired the damaged ship am I did find how to cook food and eat it, being able to walk around the ship and so much more yet I had no clue what to do next aside from fixing more parts of the ship.
For this part of the game, you need more rust, an ingredient. An ingredient nowhere to be found, which was rather frustrating as I had no idea where to go what to search for and it took me way too long to find my way and it pretty much destroyed my experience in the same go. Maybe I somehow missed the clue of what to do, in which case please tell me so through our social media and I will gladly give this game a second go because I do think it might be worth my time.
In conclusion, Haven kind of disappointed. I wish it didn’t but I just got stuck way too early in the game for it to really shine and thus my score is not the highest…
