Co-op sci-fi game Haven beautifully captures life as a couple during Covid

Nearly two years has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Some people had to care for their children who were forced to attend school from home during the various stages. Others had to look after their parents or siblings. Some people stayed home and cared for their children. It meant that we, as a couple without children in our thirties and tens of thousands of miles apart, could live together.

The outside world became an actual part of this time. outside world, not just for the obvious reason — a deadly and contagious virus that could take down us or our loved ones — but also the ways in which that virus suspended our day-to-day grind, forcing us to reflect on what was heartbreakingly meaningful and what was not. It was important to highlight the work that is essential. We fought against oppressive systems. The overwhelming backdrop of daily distractions made senseless violence seem heavier. One-hour commutes were exchanged for quick clicks when we both started working remotely. We were able spend more time together as we had added hours to our lives.

These moments, once limited to nostalgic memory, find stirring reflection in The Game Breakers’ Haven, A videogame released during the pandemic captures vividly the experience of being a part of the pandemic. You can find it here. Haven’s soft aesthetic sci-fi narrative, You can either control Yu and Kay (as we did through cooperative play or individually), a young couple who have been promised to each other through strict arranged marriages. In an attempt to escape their home planet, they decide to seek out a forbidden relationship on Source’s remote and abandoned planet. Playing through the game means exploring the planet’s free-floating islets, gathering delicious alien fruits, pacifying roaming beasts, and cleaning up the environmental damage caused by past colonists. Every night, you have the option to retire home. You can cook up what you’ve found. It’s possible to relax together and read books or play board games. You may also get drunk and get infected. Then, you can wake up the next day and go exploring together.

Image: Game Bakers

There is much to enjoy! HavenIt is experienced always against the backdrop of imminent danger. For Yu and Kay, it’s a vindictive government who won’t allow even small acts of rebellion such as theirs. Our own situation was similar. As the world around us became more perilous (either from the virus itself, or because of the terrifying xenophobic responses), we looked for comfort in each other, and within the 2-mile radius that contained quiet, tree-lined streets.

Hiking around our local wooded paths was not dissimilar from gliding along collecting fruit and magical “Flow” energy in Haven’s Source. Source. It was simple — and slightly strange — to subsist solely on our love while philosophizing about the horrors of the outside world, wondering if we could safely expand our bubble without inviting infection or other forms of disruption to our newly unembellished life. What would it take to live this way for so long? Were we ever going to need each other or our two cats more? We are in Haven, shutting out the world and tending to your own little sanctuary (aptly called your “Nest”) reflects the lockdown mentality which affected so many of us. Home Depot was one example. They saw record-breaking sales for 2020 as people remained calm and spent their money on improvements to their homes.

In one memorable scene in Haven, Yu and Kay take a leap of faith off of one of Source’s floating islands to land in the clear blue waters surrounding an idyllic beach below. The two then get into their bathing suits, and they enjoy the cool surf. It’s a particularly fantastical scene for a game already enmeshed in fantasy; a vacation taken from what is already a vacation. Perhaps more than any other part of the game it reflects the detached, groundless feeling of simply floating along. Haven experience. Floating is most of what you’ll do. While friction is present, it’s rarely a major force. The occasional violent run-ins with local wildlife (presented via a turn-based battle mechanic) might get tense at times, but getting defeated just means you’ll be teleported back to your comfortable home to recuperate and relax. It’s not meant to be difficult or frustrating. If your characters have to stop moving and must walk for a moment, you can expect them to complain.

Image: Game Bakers

On the other side, all fantasies are based on a sad reality. HavenThis is certainly the case. Yu and Kay become under attack by their parents, as well as other authoritative figures on their home planet. These people want them to come home and free them from their liminal sleep. The young couple has a little hesitation about their actions. It is healthy to ignore the pitfalls and problems of society in order to live the dream. Strangely, as we weighed the comfort of our sanctuary with the horror of what lay outside: overcrowded hospitals, brutal police force, and numerous other instances of the state putting human life at risk, We recognized our privilege to be able to rise above all the suffering caused by Covid’s deeply flawed society as we walked the trails near our home. We’ve grown so much as a couple. We will need to go back to the world beyond our limited vision.

These are the ways Haven’s This dilemma requires a conclusion that is both surprising and striking. There are two possible ends to this dilemma. One: Yu and Kay destroy the energy bridge linking Source and their planet and cut themselves off for good. And it’s so naive and innocent that to make the ending at all plausible, the game forces one character to suffer disfiguring injuries just to ground it. In the second: The characters try and fail resist each other and ultimately lose their respective social roles. It is quite frightening. The scene ends with Yu, the strange love of his life, lying in bed partially undressed.

Although these endings are a bit too cartoonish, they still capture the nervous anticipation that we have when looking ahead at the fork in our road. Are we going to stay in the Berkshires? This is the region that we fled New York City in the middle of the pandemic. Do we exhaust our savings to fix up “this old house” into a more permanent “nest”? What about buying chickens? Do you want to get back into the garden and do some home-improvement projects? Are we able to embrace the idea of an early retirement?

Image by The Game Bakers

Are we going to return to our city forgetting all the lessons that we have learned about slowing and appreciating the natural world? Is it possible to abandon the shared joy experienced in a two-person unit, allowing ourselves to be free from the destructive forces of society? Do we end up looking like Yu and unable to focus as we dole out our civil duties, but forget our true purpose in life?

The epilogue to the Haven Yu and Kay find a way for them to get back to their home planet. The possibilities are endless. You could spend your time soaring and lighting up the green hills nearby with lush floral arrangements. It’s a pretty yet hollow substitute for the generative growth of having children, of planting roots. We see Kay watching as Yu and Kay split up. This is where the fantasy of Yu and Kay is broken. This game appears to acknowledge that dreams, no matter how well-cultivated, can be shattered and replaced by reality. To grow, one must repatriate and reconcile acquired knowledge and experience with that of one’s home.

Yu and Kay prevent their growth potential by attempting to forget the past world. We know that escape is not an option. We desire to improve. We want to grow. There is no need to pick between Haven’sWe don’t want to be either depressingly socially capitulative or blissfully ignorant fantasies. Instead, we will choose the middle way, keeping all of our lessons and learning how to integrate them with others. This is something Yu and Kay didn’t know how to do. That’s the hope, anyway. We can only wait for this reverie to pass and reality to return to its normal place.