Sun Haven Review

Sun Haven is one of the best new farming sims of 2023. With the genre becoming increasingly popular, many gaming studios are trying to create their own versions with a unique twist. 

As someone who has played farming sims for almost 20 years, I’m usually one of the harshest critics of modern farming sims. I find myself longing for the simple nostalgia of the old Harvest Moon DS games. 

However, Sun Haven balances the simplicity and relaxing nature of traditional farming sims with just the right amount of mysticism and unique additions, which makes it stand out from similar games. 

What Makes Sun Haven Great? 

The first successful element of Sun Haven is its story. The main player, or players (in the game’s surprisingly well-integrated multiplayer mode), becomes the “hero” by saving the town of Sun Haven from a looming darkness. There is plenty of mystery surrounding where the darkness is coming from, and how the player can work with two powerful dragons to overcome it. The player navigates through dangerous forests, meets interesting characters, and completes complex quests to unlock new areas in a journey to save the beloved town. 

Beyond the story, Sun Haven is unique in that the player gets to manage multiple farms at the same time. At the beginning of any playthrough, all players start with the exact same farm, always with the same layout. However, midway through the game, you’re introduced to a new area with a new farm! Similarly, players obtain their third farming location about two-thirds of the way to the end of the story. 

Farming With Flexibility

Thankfully, Sun Haven does not force you to utilize all three farms. When playing single-player, I only ever used the original farm for my farming activities. I was still able to complete the storyline and achieve all of the game’s Steam achievements by playing this way. However, when I tested multiplayer with five other players, having multiple farms was particularly beneficial. It gave us a lot more space to have unique styles and farm different crops. We were able to generate more income and use our time more effectively. 

Sun Haven’s multiplayer ability is a huge benefit for people in active communities who play farming sims. Even if you don’t have a ton of friends who enjoy the genre, Sun Haven’s Discord community is extremely welcoming; I’ve met a ton of people who want to play in groups together. Sun Haven allows up to eight people to play together at a time. This is double the amount that Stardew Valley offers, and substantially more than any other farming game I’ve seen released recently. 

A Touch of Magic…

Sun Haven’s magical elements elevate the game even further. Rather than implying there is magic surrounding the player, or having “sprites” or “gods/goddesses” like Harvest Moon, the player themself is imbued with powerful magic. During character creation, the player gets to choose from seven different races; each has its own special abilities and features. 

I’ve tried playing as every race at least once (there is a Steam achievement for doing so) and found that the Angel race is my favorite, but it adds a lot of playable hours to the game to try beating the story using each race. Your character’s magical abilities progress as you level up, you and eventually unlock powerful spells you can use for combat, fighting, or exploring. 

…and a Dash of Romance

Sun Haven’s romanceable characters are some of the best I’ve encountered in a farming sim. Each character has a unique personality and backstory, and tend to be very suave! The player has numerous story choices at the beginning of the game and can unlock four additional options as they play through the story. The game also allows the player to marry any gender or race, regardless of the gender/race they begin the game as. 

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each romanceable character, going on dates, and seeing what they are like in marriage. The only complaint I have in this department is that, just like every other farming sim, once the player is married to the character, the dialogue stops changing. Once married, the romanceable character becomes far less interesting. Even after reaching max hearts (but not being married) the romanceable characters will have unique dialogues to offer the player. I wish this could continue into marriage. 

What Are Some Criticisms of Sun Haven? 

Sun Haven is certainly not perfect, and there are a few things I would like to see added to the game to make it more player-friendly. 

Where’s the Water?!

My biggest criticism of Sun Haven is that it doesn’t have sprinklers! Every farming game I’ve played has had sprinklers that you could buy or craft relatively early in the game.

Sun Haven’s alternative to sprinklers is a spell that you can unlock at level 41 in the farming tree (this would be mid to late game at best) which sends a massive rain cloud across your crops. The problem with the rain cloud is that it uses up a lot of mana/energy very early in the day. Unless the player chooses to play as a mage and prioritizes mana regen/totals, it is difficult to make the spell work well.

Sun Haven has a fantastic crafting/cooking mechanic, so it is irritating that the developers did not include sprinklers as one of the options. 

Where’s the Commitment?!

The second qualm I have with Sun Haven is that you continue to date other people even after you get married. Divorce is incredibly easy in Sun Haven; you click one button and the next day your spouse is moved out. They only drop down to seven hearts (rather than the typical zero that other farming games use as divorce punishment) and it is easy to get them all the way back to 10 hearts. 

Even when you are married, other romanceable characters will ask the player out on dates and build romantic relationships with the player. In other farming sims, these relationships switch to a more friendly banter after the player gets married. At most in Sun Haven, the dialogue will stay the same, with the opposing romanceable character proclaiming their love for the player, but they won’t actively try to take you on dates. 

Where’s the Balance?!

Lastly, I feel that the leveling system is a bit flawed. At the beginning of the game, unless you know that you can only get to level 70 in any skill and you do the math by looking at the skill trees, you are led to believe that you can get all of the skills simply by leveling up each skill tree. 

This is not true. With EVERY skill tree, the player must obtain skill books that instantly unlock a new skill; otherwise, there will always be some skills that can not be fully unlocked. Skill books or potions can be obtained in a variety of ways: by completing quests, by donating to the museum, or by purchasing them with community tokens that are earned by doing quests for NPCs. 

It isn’t necessarily too difficult to get skill books for the skills that you want. However, I do have an issue with the idea that you can’t achieve all the skills simply by working for them. 

Final Thoughts

Sun Haven is most certainly worth its $25 price tag. It’s distinct enough from other farming sims to make it intriguing, but still similar enough that traditional farming-sim lovers will truly enjoy it. People often compare it to Stardew Valley because both are pixel-style farming sims; however, I’d say Sun Haven is extremely different from Stardew Valley. I liked SDV enough, but I loved Sun Haven a lot more. 

Sun Haven offers more exploration, more farming options, more romanceable characters, more magic, more customization, and a better story. The game gives players more agency over how to play the game, which directions or actions to take, and ultimately, how to act and live. 

Sun Haven is by far one of the best farming sims I’ve played, rivaling classics like Harvest Moon. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre, and anyone who has friends looking to get into the genre.

Score: 8.5/10