In the cooperative RPG Haven, you play as two lovers who emigrate to a deserted planet. There, you accompany Yu and Kay through their everyday life.
Haven, an RPG from the indie studio The Game Bakers, lets you take on the roles of a couple. It doesn’t matter if you play solo or together with a partner.
Haven was released for PC, Xbox, and Playstation 5 in December 2020, followed by the versions for Nintendo Switch and Playstation 4 in early 2021.
Haven is an emotional adventure, a touching story, and a great experience for two – so let yourself be taken away to a strange world full of shared possibilities.
Here you can see the gameplay trailer for Haven:
Escape as a couple to a forgotten planet
What kind of game is Haven? In Haven, the story revolves around the lovers Yu and Kay. Through the dialogues, you experience their daily life, how they work on their relationship, and grow together through new challenges.
For their love, they fled to a foreign planet and must manage in the unfamiliar surroundings. They have only each other and their trust in one another. You experience their development as a couple throughout the adventure with many affectionate dialogues.
You follow the conversations but can also occasionally choose between response options while gliding through the grasses of the unknown world.
As a couple, you explore the surroundings and also encounter monsters that you have to fight. In battle, you use both characters and strategically choose who performs which attacks. There are also shared duo skills.
The graphics are colorful and appealing but lack detail. The focus is on exploration and the shared adventure.
These contents are also available:
- Collecting, crafting, and cooking
- You encounter cute animals
- You can fly
- An electronic soundtrack that is often praised by players
- Local co-op, but also remote play from Steam
You play as a gay, lesbian, or heterosexual couple
In 2022, the RPG received an important update: since then, you can no longer only play as a heterosexual couple, but can also be homosexual.
At the beginning of Haven, since the Couple Update, you choose in which combination you want to play Kay and Yu. Either as a man and woman, two men, or two women.
The choice does not affect the gameplay. Only the facial features and clothing of the characters change. The hairstyles are also slightly adjusted – however, Yu keeps long hair and Kay has short hair.
Players love the story, complain about the combat system
The reviews on Steam have clearly trended upward since release and stand at “very positive” – 92%. Almost every player praises the story and the dialogues. The update that allows you to change genders was particularly well received.
Some parts of the gameplay are criticized. The combat system is said to be not particularly exciting and may feel rather dull. The focus is on exploration and the dialogues between the two characters. Here, Haven plays all its strengths.
We summarize a few of the voices here for you:
User Wolf Fivousix is enthusiastic about Haven and shares his feelings on Steam: “A fantastic game. It is beautifully written, a great love story.”
Even if some criticize the gameplay, they can forget these weaknesses because of its strengths. For example, keldian writes: “Gameplay is not the focus of the game, the combat system is very simple. But the atmosphere – wow. The relationship story is well-written with great chemistry between the two.”
Many users were pleased with the Couple Update last year, including Cheerio’s mother: “Thank you for adding the gays. 10/10”
Not all players, however, are dissatisfied with the gameplay. User Fallow feels well entertained: “The gameplay itself may be a bit shallow for some, but for me, it’s exciting enough to have fun. Soundtrack, graphics, and especially the dialogues create […] an impression of a beautiful, lively, and holistic relationship between two people, which is rarely found in story-driven games.”
Virtual Ahwn only got into Haven through the Couple Update: “As a gay man, I wasn’t very interested in the game at first because I didn’t want to play a heterosexual romance. When the update came, I gave Haven another chance. […] I love the game so much, I can hardly put it into words.”
Almost every player is thrilled by the story of Yu and Kay. So, if you are interested in story games with good dialogues and voice acting, you should definitely give it a try. Perhaps even with your partner.
You can get it on all platforms for around 25 euros. According to “HowLongToBeat,” the price corresponds to 10 hours of shared experiences (via howlongtobeat.com).
What do you think of Haven? Have you played it, or do you plan to? Will it be your next game? Do you know similar games where you take on the role of a couple? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
