Haven review

Reviewed on: PC

I’ve been playing RPGs for a long time, and Haven caught my attention right away. A mix of turn-based RPG and survival game that tells the story of a couple lost on an unknown planet? And made by the same developers as the excellent Furi? Where do I sign?

Haven is the story of a young couple who fled civilization so they could be together. Where they come from, people are paired with their “soulmate”, and have no choice to be with whoever they want. In that context, Yu and Kay fall in love and decide to take their fate into their own hands, fleeing to a distant planet, in a hidden corner of the universe, where they intend to live together.

All of Haven’s game systems work around the relationship between Yu and Kay. Exploring the map always happens with the two characters floating around together, often holding hands. In battles, the most powerful attacks available require the couple to work as a team. At their base (the ship in which they came to this unknown planet), Yu and Kay can cook, build new items and equipment, and level up, always together. That is Haven’s main positive: all the mechanics talk to each other and reinforce the game’s theme of love and companionship between the two protagonists.

Haven is divided into three main parts. Every morning, you start your day on your ship. There the player can develop Yu and Kay’s relationship (you always play both, they are equally protagonists of the story), prepare new items and equipment to improve the ship and life on this planet, among other things. This part is very calm, very serene, and it helps a lot that the voices of the two protagonists are really good, which makes all the chatter between the two more fun to follow. In fact, you really feel the relationship of a couple, whether in the little fights or in the day-to-day conversations, like who is going to make the food or how someone left the bathroom dirty. The game also has no shame in talking about sex, as any couple would, and although the game has no explicit scenes, the insinuations are quite clear.

The second part of Haven is exploration. Initially, the planet is unknown and you really feel lost in a totally new place. Shortly after the start of the game, however, you get a map and begin to understand how everything works. Yu and Kay float quickly across the map with their anti-gravity boots, and the movement is very fluid and easy to master once the player gets used to it. Floating, the couple can find native plants, animals, different items, and everything can later be used to create new equipment and new items to use the next day. The planet, which at first seems uninhabited and deserted, starts to show that it has had previous visitors, and the game’s story explores what really happened there.

During exploration, you come across a red substance that seems to be taking over the planet, and the animals are infected by this substance and become aggressive. That’s where the third part of Haven comes in: combat. The battle is typical of a turn-based RPG, like a Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, but heavily simplified, trading strategy for a focus on mastering the rhythm and cadence of using each ability. Yu and Kay fight together and have access to the same starting abilities: a melee attack, a ranged attack, a shield, and a finisher that must be used on already defeated enemies so they are “purified”. By using the same attack at the same time with both characters, you get a more powerful version, and this is important to defeat the stronger enemies. Since each attack has a delay between giving the command and it being activated, you need to know when to attack and when to use your shield ability to defend yourself, as the enemies are quite powerful.

Haven is a super cool game. Although it is based on very well-known genres, it manages to stand out with its original approach. The characters, on whom the entire game depends, are fun and, most importantly, the love relationship between them is natural and well built. If you want, you can even play Haven cooperatively, making it a great game to relax with your player 2 in life. Nothing in the game stands out as sensational, and Haven could have taken more risks to reach even greater heights, but as it stands, it is a game that entertains and has its place in any RPG fan’s library, even more so for those who like to play local co-op. For those who subscribe to Game Pass, the game is available right now, so there’s no excuse.