Of all the games to come out in 2020, Haven is one of the year's last and nicest surprises. This simplified sci-fi survival game with RPG elements takes a completely different path than its developer's previous work, much like the recently-released Spiritfarer. Rather than the breakneck speed, precision combat and brutal boss battles that it achieved with Furi, French studio The Game Bakers has focused on an accessible and leisurely experience with Haven. Built around the emotional core of its two leading lovers, the game shines with its deeply heartfelt, genuine, and relatable writing as well as its surprisingly contemplative story. However, it often falters in its exploration, resource gathering and battle system.
Haven's star-crossed protagonists are Yu and Kay, a young couple on the run from an oppressive society that threatens to tear them apart. In their planetary system known as The Apiary, every citizen is assigned a significant other by the mysterious Matchmaker once they come of age. These arranged marriages are purportedly for the good of the species, and are strictly enforced by the government. But Yu and Kay have defied everything - including their designated partners - in order to be together, fleeing to a fractured planet at the edge of known space in their small custom starship. Now they must learn to survive and create a new home for themselves, all while discovering the secret history of this planet and the bounds of their own relationship.
That relationship is the crux of the game, and the most fulfilling part about it. The authentic, natural and intimately relatable dialogue nails the dynamic between two twenty-somethings in love, whether they're cuddling after making dinner or playfully trash-talking each other over a card game. Haven approaches topics like dedication, sex, and couples in video games with emotional intelligence and maturity, all woven into a thoughtful story about rejecting the status quo and trying to carve out a different life. It's truly surprising how often the writing elicits a grin or pulls at the heartstrings, and it's hard not to fall for Yu and Kay as the player gets to know them and pieces together their personal histories.
Haven's excellent script and intimate scenes are certainly its best elements, but the other aspects of the game can often feel like obstacles to experiencing them. Gliding around in the couple's jet boots and exploring the floating islands of the planet is initially enjoyable, especially with the game's infectious ambient soundtrack. However, those simple pleasures don't last very long when there just isn't enough variety in its environments or objectives. Repeatedly going out to collect the same resource materials across mostly homogeneous zones gets old fast, and constantly needing to clean up puddles of goo called "rust" recalls the worst parts of Super Mario Sunshine.
The ultra-simplified and easily exploited battle system quickly starts to feel like a waste of time as well, with uninteresting enemies, long charge times and only two types of attacks. Other minor but noticeable issues include a number of typos and plenty of wonky animations, but ultimately, nothing is a huge detraction from the emotional core of the game.
In spite of the general tedium of its gameplay, Haven is a truly poignant and memorable story of two lovers against the world. It has a rare combination of intimacy, tenderness, humor, and fear all in one. Whether it's the central relationship, the social implications of its universe, or its final, gut-wrenching decision, Haven is sure to stick with players in one way or another - just as long as they can look past its much more mediocre gameplay and repetitive cycles.
Haven is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. A Steam code was provided to Screen Rant for the purposes of this review.