Haven | PlayStation 4 Review

Games like Haven don’t come along very often. For one thing, it’s such a wholesome experience. Most stories these days veer pretty heavily towards the grimdark. Haven is a breath of fresh air in this regard. An uplifting experience, but not without consequences and stakes. I can’t remember the last time a game made me just feel good. It’s an impressive artistic expression, and The Game Bakers should be very proud.

Like Any Story Worth Telling, This One is All About a Girl

The story centers around Yu and Kay, a young couple in love and on the run. They crash land on the fractured planet of Source, and you’re tasked with repairing their broken ship. There is a bunch of worldbuilding early on, creating a lot of intrigue about the community our couple ran away from, but the true core is the characters. I can’t think of any other game that has such human conversations; things we’ve all talked about in life.

While a lot of Yu and Kay’s conversations are cute and adorable, some of them are just so real. Whether it’s Yu desperately wanting to pop her boyfriend’s pimples, or Kay complaining about his girlfriend’s hair clogging up the shower drain. These are moments we’ve all experienced, but remain so unexplored in interactive fiction. These tiny narrative moments endear you to the characters immediately and are the true highlight of the game.

So Here I Am, Standing In Your Doorway

They’re not a perfect couple, either, which is excellent for the story. They bicker, fight, and pout. It’s such an honest representation of a relationship. Not a lot of video games feature a couple actively in love, so credit goes out to the writing staff on Haven for pulling it off so effortlessly.

As extraordinary as the story is, the gameplay of Haven is no slouch either. Exploration is a delight thanks to your Flow-powered jet boots. Your goal for the most of the game is to use these boots and their Flow to clean up Rust around Source. It makes a lot more sense in context, trust me. Suffice it to say, your job early on is to clean up these infected areas utilizing fun “Flow paths” or your own ingenuity.

 

I’ve Always Been Standing in Your Doorway

Source is a planet made up of various islets, each with their own individual set of items to find. In addition to clearing out the Rust, each islet has its own flora and fauna. A lot of fun comes from checking off the boxes in each area, and it was a rhythm that kept my full attention for the 20 or so hours it took me to 100% Haven.

Now, there is combat as well. I want to first address something that appeals to me directly. Listeners of the podcast know how tired I am of every game’s only verb being “kill” when it comes to conflict. Not so in Haven! The local wildlife has also been infected by the Rust, and it throws them into a frenzy. You need only weaken them enough to “pacify” them of Rust so they can continue on their merry way. And be better prepared for the many pets Yu and Kay can throw their way.

It’s As If You’ve Reached the Unreachable

During combat, you’ll control both characters simultaneously. It sounds like a headache, but in truth it plays out like the ATB turn-based RPG’s of old. You must keep a button or d-pad direction pressed for a certain amount of time to pull off an action. You can also block to reduce incoming damage, or have the couple team up for combo attacks. Each enemy has particular weaknesses, and it’s tricky to memorize which enemies require what attacks. It gets hectic later on, but remains fun and challenging throughout. I was seeking out every encounter I could because the combat was so much fun and healing the animals made me feel like I was making Source a better world.

 

Haven also boasts one of the most bangin’ soundtracks in recent memory. I’m not a music guy by any means, but these are tunes I would listen to outside of the game. The exploration music is the right kind of melody that keeps you humming along even when the game is turned off. The score during combat pumps you up just the right way. Honestly, I’m hopefully anticipating a vinyl release some day.

And You Weren’t Ready For It

Haven absolutely blew me away. My expectations were high after seeing the trailers, but even that didn’t prepare for how truly special this title is. I want to dive back in and go for the Platinum trophy, and I already want to play the campaign again. The world and its characters are just so inviting that you never want to leave. The atmosphere and dialogue is so wholesome it will make you feel better no matter what you’re going through. Darkness clouds our every day, but Haven is a cure.

To hear me talk more about Haven, be sure to listen to Episode 333 of The Gaming Outsider Podcast at the 46:05 time stamp.

The review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy of Haven provided by The Game Bakers for coverage purposes. It is also available on Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.