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Haven - Baked With Care

 


Haven, developed by The Game Bakers; released in 2020, follows a couple of your choosing living “off the grid” in an alien world. The narrative itself is centered around the couple, Yu and Kay who’ve escaped from the cyberpunk sci fi world which they originate. Harnessing the power of Flow, Yu and Kay, glide through their shattered planet, cleaning up corruption known as Rust.

Let’s talk about that…

Rust is the antithesis of Flow, where Flow creates, Rust corrupts. This corruption affects the animals which inhabit this world, which brings us onto combat. Unlike most games, Haven doesn’t use the corruption as an excuse to kill; Yu and Kay are here to heal. While you still beat the bloot out of some unique creatures, you use joint finishing moves to clear them of the rust, thus healing them; each encounter ends with a celebratory high five.

Now about that combat…

Haven is a turn-based game where you control both Yu and Kay simultaneously via the thumb sticks. You have your standard attacks, defense, and special items which you can either do individually or charge up in tandem for increased effect. I played through solo, but this teamwork mechanic is ripe for a co-op playthrough.

More about the story…

Haven is centered around the two characters Yu and Kay, Yu is the spawn of a high-ranking member in their society and Kay is an orphan who grew up close with Yu. Their society incorporates arranged marriages where people who are deemed compatible with each other are forced to be together; the two aren’t put together, so they steal a ship and escape their home world, being the first to do so.

That’s great, but what’s the game?

Haven is all about relationships, healing and exploration, there’s three times of day. Morning, Evening, and Night. Throughout the days and evenings, you’ll glide and flip across the landscapes cleaning up everything in your path. You’ll soon discover that you two aren’t the first to inhabit this planet and venture forth to uncover why everyone suddenly left and where all this Rust came from. Your ship is your home base where you can prepare meals with ingredients you collect in the world; did I mention Yu and Kay are vegan? They are, so no Far Cry or Red Dead Redemption skinning of animals, you better get used to some appledew stew. You can camp out each night at certain spots if you can’t make it back to your ship as well.

The highlight, apart from the soundtrack scored by Danger, is Yu and Kay themselves who are exceptionally well written, voiced, and feel like real people. When exploring the world they’ll have banter, they’ll hold hands gliding together. Back at base or while camping they have real conversations about their emotions, situation, aspirations, and reminiscence. There’s also a bunch of little interactions which you can miss around the ship during downtime. Yu and Kay are the stars of the show surrounded by a fascinating mysterious world and creatures.

Haven, survive together, love together.

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