I’ve really been loving more calm, chill, peaceful games lately. There is something about being able to just sit down and unwind with a game that doesn’t ask much in the way of rapid-fire button presses and combos or QTE’s, that has been good for me. It’s also great to be able to unravel from a bad day and just play something that feels good. Haven Park is one such game, and I think the Switch version is the best way to play it too.

Haven Park puts you in the role of Flint, a bird who has inherited Haven Park, a large national park-esque swath of land from his Grandma. The park is run down, as Grandma hasn’t been able to maintain it as well as she used to. So, she urges Flint to go explore the park, repair it, and engage with the various campers that come to visit.

After that, the game sets you free, giving you the opportunity to explore. As you explore the park, you can find materials such as fabric, metal, wood, and mushrooms, which you can use to craft park amenities or repair things like navigation signs or lights along trails. At each of the game’s campsites, you have to build the camp to make sure it has everything campers need.

There are several categories of items, from shelters, to rest items, to food items, and more. Each camp requires a different combination of these things, and as you expand the camp more campers will come. Some campers will give you quests, while others may just give you clues on how to make the camp more effective for them.

The quests are varied, from hide and seek, to tracking down fireflies at night, and even things like going to a specific part of the park and doing something there. As you complete quests and restore parts of the park, you get XP, which allows you to level up and use skill points to unlock new abilities. These abilities may range from increasing how many materials you get from certain things to increasing Flint’s jump height and walking speed.

There is no time limit, no sense of urgency, you just get to explore and play at your own pace. It is truly wonderful, as the music is calm, the environments are gorgeous, and there are a lot of secrets to uncover. In fact, there are only three major things I wound up having issues with as I played.

You can’t turn the camera, so sometimes lining up jumps or finding certain things is difficult. Additionally, while the map gives you markers and things, you can’t see where you are. So, you have to basically stand next to a marker if you want to have any sort of navigation. Lastly, the controls are a little sporadic in terms of how Flint moves, so some platforming things are a little wonkier than they should be.

Haven Park is a short, sweet experience. It lasts about 6-10 hours, but I think I’ll wind up playing it again when I need something calm and relaxing. The replay value, and the meditative nature of it, is the real selling point. In fact, you might even stretch it to about 12 hours or more if you really want to get everything.

Regardless, Haven Park is worth its weight in gold. If you haven’t given it a look yet, go for it! Being able to take it on the go on Switch makes it a perfect road trip game or even just a peaceful game you can play during a commute.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Haven Park was provided by Mooneye Studios for this review.

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Haven Park

$8.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Gorgeous Environments
• Fun Characters
• Calm, Relaxing Gameplay
• Simple yet Engaging Mechanics
• Lots of Secrets and Fun Quests

Cons

• Camera is Static
• Using the Map can be Annoying
• Controls are a Little Wonky Sometimes