2023's kind of upended tradition by packing its first summer month with a lion's share of big releases, when really the summer's meant to be peak time for backlog-clearing and beating the heat with some chill "podcast gaming" a la long RPGs and open-world collectathons. Not that I particularly mind a busy release month but I'm not letting that change my usual schedule here; my first Indie Game of the Week for June will be Haven, a relaxing planet-exploration game from French studio The Game Bakers (perhaps best known for 2016's Furi, a future IGotW candidate). Haven sees lovers Kay and Yu escape an oppressive futuristic society where people are matched up by an algorithm and forced into arranged marriages, instead opting to elope to an obscure distant planet and live out their days together in peace. The planet they found, Source, is one that was previously abandoned by colonists and is in a state of instability due to copious seismic activity and a strange, toxic substance covering half the landmasses; even so, the pair are determined to build their new lives here and work through problems as they occur. Kay's a biologist and an accomplished researcher even in their youth, while Yu is the scion of a corporate CEO and an inveterate gearhead who knows spaceships better than anyone: combining their skills, they've been able to survive whatever Source has thrown at them so far.

The general loop of the game sees the pair—who are controlled simultaneously in battle, much like the Mario & Luigi games—explore the planet by riding its flow streams, blue energy waves that connect planets together but in this case also Source's many "islet" landmasses, while working towards both short-term goals like finding food and long-term goals like fixing up their ship, the Nest, so they can travel around the planet more easily. After exploring a while, the player might return to the Nest to rest up, eat a meal, create new medicinal consumables, or otherwise just let the two lovebirds hang out for a while. As experience is tied to the progress of this central relationship, almost anything the pair do together—from fighting enemies to sampling a meal to pillow talk—will increase their levels and make them more effective in battle.

The game's battle system involves real-time attack inputs on timers that can be combined for stronger versions, with "impact" and "burst" moves that affect enemies differently depending on the foe. Some enemies, for example, might be stunned after a burst and can be hit with an impact for significant damage during the stun's brief window; so the strategy there would be to use one character to burst attack while you charge up and hold an impact attack with the other in preparation. You can also use a shield with one character to intercept attacks aimed at a less healthy character, or otherwise have them firing off attacks with impunity. Each enemy type and the game's handful of unique boss encounters all require specific strategies to take down quickly, though as you keep playing more tools become unlocked to make the combat easier; many fights can be skipped or evaded early on for this reason, letting you tackle hostiles in your own time when you're in better shape or have more resources to fall back on. That's true for the exploration as well: some traversal upgrades are directly connected to the progress you can make in much the same way they might in an explormer or Zeldersatz, allowing you to reach new locations, while others offer much-desired conveniences like an in-game mapping tool or fast travel. The game smartly rolls out these new powers gradually to constantly shift the way players approach the gameplay loop, ensuring that the exploring and fighting never feel too repetitive.

However, much of the gameplay exists to serve the narrative, which isn't so much a plot-driven thing than it is an exploration of two characters and their deep relationship. It's a very cute game from a writing standpoint: the two playfully bicker, enjoy exploring together, talk through troubling or deeper subjects, reminiscence about how they got to where they are today (which serves to let the player in on what life was like for them before, what kind of backgrounds they have, and what drove them to escape an otherwise comfortable life to a danger-filled one), and, frequently, get in the mood for some smoochin'. The game is also designed for multiplayer, and focusing on the relationship as much as it does makes me wonder if playing as a couple isn't perhaps the ideal approach to a game like this, much like Hazelight's It Takes Two (though, thankfully, a single-player mode exists for Haven). I think it's very smart, and this is coming from a terminally single person, to start promoting games that couples can play together: it's a way to draw a partner into a hobby they might not necessarily share with their SO, presenting an organic opportunity to do so and grow closer. Of course, they can do this with any co-operative game with a low skill barrier to entry, but to have it be a low-stress game explicitly about a couple perhaps makes a co-op playthrough easier to pitch to a loved one. Haven also recently incorporated an addition that allows you to determine both Kay and Yu's genders, choosing to play as two guys or two gals instead, without fundamentally changing Kay's earnest and curious nature or Yu's playful and resourceful one; not only does this give the game a more welcoming feel but it also extends that whole "let couples play games together" vibe to also include same-sex pairs who might balk at having to roleplay a straight couple rather than something closer to what they have (speaking of which, happy Pride Month y'all).

Haven's an uncomplicated (but certainly not rudimentary) game about whizzing around an alien planet with your partner being all lovey-dovey between spaceship repairs, improvised cooking with alien fruit, making brand new discoveries, resolving sudden emergencies, petting cute xenomorphs, hoverbooting across mid-air energy flows while doing flips, and cleaning up toxic glowy goop like it's Super Mario Sunshine. There's a certain unhurried pace to the whole game and a huge number of cutscenes where the pair chill out and discuss their day like a couple would, so it some ways it feels like a more naturalistic take on one of these life-sims where you can choose a marriage partner and together take on the daily challenges that come with just being alive in an imperfect world. Wholesome, deceptively deep, and a real relaxing start to my summer just floating around and doing some extraterrestrial sight-seeing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Playthrough Edit: Well, unlike the other Haven, this one did eventually have a proper ending so it's already ahead there. The gameplay might be a little thin but some of those optional bosses really push that combat system as far as it will go and I enjoyed all the knick-knacks you could salvage and the follow-up cutscenes relating to them. I also appreciate that, while after watching both endings it was clear which was the better choice, both also gave a solid defense for being the "canon" ending were one to exist (much like a similar romantic narrative with an equally momentous final choice: Life is Strange). On the whole, worth playing through to its end.