An indie game that was released in late 2020 has just had a free content update that adds same-sex couples into the game. Haven is a beautiful cooperative adventure that tells the tale of a young couple who’ve settled on a forgotten planet with only themselves and their love for one another to push them forward. It’s a really sweet and touching game with fantastic movement as you glide across alien landscapes, fight hostile creatures in turn-based battles, and engage in true-to-life banter between the couple.
Back when it was released we reviewed Haven, with our reviewer saying “it’s the game I’ve played in 2020 that without a doubt has the most heart in its writing and characters”. With two fully-voiced characters, we never expected to see a free update that adds same-sex couples, yet here we are.
The Haven Couples Update means you can now play the game with either the original male/female characters, a male/male pairing, or a female/female pairing. The development team at The Game Bakers has done a really good job of taking the base characters and making masculine/feminine versions of them for this update. Perhaps most impressive is that they’ve hired new voice talent and created new character models just for this free update alone, it’s such a lovely way to show support and inclusivity for queer couples.
Absolute kudos to this development studio. For anybody yet to try Haven, now might be the perfect time to do so. This is especially true if you have a special someone to play the game alongside. It always feel great to see this level of representation. Haven is available across PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, as well as the Game Pass platform.