A free-to-play MMORPG with crafting, building, landscaping, foraging, hunting, fishing, a dash of poetry, and open PvP combat,
Recent Reviews:
Mostly Positive (364) - 76% of the 364 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive.
All Reviews:
Very Positive (569) - 80% of the 569 user reviews for this game are positive.
Release Date:
Nov 1, 2024
Developer:
Publisher:

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Early Access Game

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Note: Games in Early Access are not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

  • Per our development philosophy, the game is a continuously changing and evolving product.
  • There are several fundamental development goals of the game which remain unrealized, not least of which is (significantly more) free-form building, longer view distance, and longer lived worlds.
  • Several key mechanics are being iterated upon, including, but not limited to, the life and death mechanics, siege and conflict mechanics, quality development and crafting processes, and character development.
  • Due to the ongoing development of the game, and iteration on it, the present game setup is the subject of recurring World resets, where all permanent data associated with the game (maps & characters) are deleted, and a new world generated. A full release version of the game should have significantly better world longevity.
  • We believe that describing the title as being in "Early Access" best reflects our own concept of the game being in an "Eternal Alpha" (Even the "EA" abbreviation of the concepts is the same!) in which any mechanic of the game could become the subject of a fundamental rework, should the design of the game and our iteration upon that merit it.
  • We believe that describing the title as being in "Early Access" is a reasonable way to manage the expectations placed on what is fundamentally a massive project undertaken and built-from-scratch by two (2) developers over the course of (thus far) some 15-odd years. Haven & Hearth has no QA team outside of its players.
  • We, the developers, are, quite simply, not done yet, and do not consider the product to be finished. Far from it. Perish the thought.

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“We are not in any hurry to consider the game to be in a 1.0 release state, and would rather see it mature like a fine wine over many years. We expect a 1.0 release state to be no less than 5 years of development away.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“Discovery, by definition, is unpredictable. Some of the areas we continue to iterate upon, are...

  • Player-versus-Player interactions, including siege of settlements, conflict over natural resources, life and death mechanics, and social interactions.
  • Character development, including the crafting of food, and curiosities, and the effects of consuming them.
  • Item quality and crafting mechanics, and the processes associated with advancing them.
  • Various quality of life features such as better GUI and game client options.

Some of the loftier goals we'd like to achieve are...
  • Free(er)-form building. Most larger constructions in the game (e.g. houses) are currently prefabricated with only graphical customization options. We'd like base and building design to be significantly more powerful.
  • Longer rendering distance. The game's future as a pure walking simulator depends on it.
  • A better combat system, as we are not entirely satisfied with the present one.

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

  • The game is, for what it is, fully playable.
  • Haven & Hearth has existed, and been playable, in its current, fundamental, form since 2015, though obviously a lot has improved and changed since then.
  • Because of continual development, bugs and unintended behaviors sometimes occur, and this will likely always be the case.,
  • As we are continually improving the random map generator we use to create worlds to play in, we also have recurring resets of the game world, all characters, and all mutable data associated with the game. One could imagine the long arc of history bending toward that not being the case.
  • Everything listed under the "About This Game" section is currently implemented in the game, albeit under iteration.

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“No. The present model has served us well, with relatively minor changes, for many years. We expect to retain the same fundamental payment model we currently use, and have no intention of significantly changing it for a 1.0 release build.”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We continuously consider and accept (reasonable) suggestions presented through the forums and/or other channels.”
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About This Game

Haven & Hearth is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) set in a fictional world loosely inspired by Slavic and Germanic myth and legend. The game sets itself apart from other games in the genre in its aim to provide players with an interactive, affectable and mutable game world, which can be permanently and fundamentally changed and affected through actions undertaken by the players. Our fundamental goal with Haven & Hearth is to create a game in which player choices have permanent and/or lasting effects and, thus, providing said players with a meaningful and fun gaming experience.

Skills & Attributes

  • Develop your character to unlock new Skills, Abilities, and Credos.
  • Devour sumptuous feasts of food and drink to increase your Strength, Intelligence, Agility and other base Attributes.
  • Study sundry Curiosities of nature and artifice to gain Learning Points to increase your Farming, Masonry, Exploration and other Abilities.
  • Experience oddities and obscure situations to gain experience points and cast or incant the spells and charms of Hearth Magic.
  • Discover materials previously unknown to you to unlock new recipes for Crafting & Building.

Hunting & Gathering

  • Slay vicious beasts of nature, flay their hides and tan for leather.
  • Make sausages of Boar, and smoke Sea Gull Meat. Feasting and a varied diet is important to all Hearthlings.
  • Forage rare flowers to Study, or bind them into bouquets for additional Learning Points.
  • Traverse the vast- and wilderness of Haven & Hearth's procedurally generated world and gather rare Herbs, Mushrooms and Flowes.
  • Pick wild seeds to grow into domestic crops for Farming, such as Grapes, Wheat, Carrots or Peas.
  • Tame wild animals to raise Livestock like Cows, Pigs, Goats or Reindeer. Ride like the wind upon mighty Horses wild and tame, and breed your animals to ever rising qualities.
  • Fish or cast nets in Rivers, Lakes, Oceans or Caves to catch a wide variety of aquatic life such as Cod, Perch, Bream, Halibut, Clams, Crabs, or Lobsters.
  • Should true bravery inspire you; Venture into the depths of the cavernous underworlds of Dungeons such as Beaver Lodges, Bat Caves, or Ant Hills. Thraximundar's Vicious Hive of Tyranny awaits!
  • Dig deep and greedily down multiple levels of caves, to extract minerals, ores, and precious gems from the inky fathoms below the plane of the Hearth. Mining and Forging are essential for progress, but rumors speak of Trolls in the deep!

Crafting & Building

  • Terraform the Hearth by digging, paving, plowing or planting.
  • Hearthlings are the wolves of Hearthlings: Stake a Claim to your corner of the Hearth to protect it from roving bands of others.
  • Construct mighty walls and palisades to keep your homestead safe.
  • Erect homes and Houses of log and stone, from humble cabins to mighty towers.
  • Smelt ores for metal, and refine further metallurgical advances in Finery Forges and Steel Crucibles.
  • Cook as varied a diet as you can by building Ovens for Bread, Cauldrons for Stews, Sheds for Smoking or Meat Grinders for Sausages.
  • Decorate with a wide variety of wall mountings, lanterns, shelves, tables, cupboards, and many other pieces of furniture.
  • Construct Boats & Ships to carry you across the oceans blue, from humble Coracles to mighty Knarrs.
  • Upload Custom Graphics to give that extra flair to banners, shields, flags, capes, and sails!
  • Cycle and recycle your production line, acquire better materials and refine your production chains to increase the Quality of all produce.
  • Things are what you make them; Watch the color and tenor of the Variable Materials you use reflected in the things you build and make. Should the Rocking Chair be made from Cherry, Maple, or Oak?

Permanent Death & Open PvP

  • Master the Dark Arts of Trespassing, Theft, Rage, Vandalism and Murder to impose upon others who roam the Hearth.
  • Increase your Perception & Exploration to track down and bring to justice all breakers of peace and oaths, by tracking the vicious Stenches of Crime.
  • Construct mighty Siege Machines and engines of war to bring the flames of war to foreign lands.
  • Found Villages to claim large swathes of land and organize kith and kin into mighty bands.
  • Found Realms and lay claim to entire Provinces by capturing the ancient Thingwalls dotting the Hearth.
  • Bury the dead and fulfill the will of the ancestors to draw upon the strength of your previous lives.
  • Experience the thrill of a world where all interactions with your fellow Hearthling carries the potentiality for grave consequence.

Mature Content Description

The developers describe the content like this:

Haven & Hearth holds itself to a generally high level of decorum, and does not strive to shock or titillate its audience, however;
- Player characters in the game can be dressed down to their birthday suits.
- Some drugs are depicted in game.
- Natural animal reproduction is, comically, represented.
- Player characters can die.

Haven & Hearth also, however, being fundamentally an online game played with other people, and allowing for conflict between players and their factions, has the following characteristics;
- Interactions with other people in game are not pre-moderated. Mean words can be spoken, and evil deeds undertaken.
- Player-versus-Player combat is free, mostly open, and cannot be opted-out of.
- Free building and landscaping by players allows for artistic expressions in many of its potential forms. Beauty, truly, lies in the eye of the beholder.

System Requirements

Windows
macOS
SteamOS + Linux
    Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10
    • Processor: x86-64 compatible CPU
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Graphics: OpenGL 3.2 capable GPU
    • Storage: 150 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10
    • Processor: 3 GHz Haswell/Zen or better
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060/Radeon RX 580 or better
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    Minimum:
    • Requires an Apple processor
    • OS: macOS 12
    • Processor: Apple M1
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Storage: 150 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • Requires an Apple processor
    • OS: macOS 12
    • Processor: Apple M1
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Storage: 500 MB available space
    Minimum:
    • OS: Linux 2.6
    • Processor: x86-64 compatible CPU
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Graphics: OpenGL 3.2 capable GPU
    • Storage: 150 MB available space
    Recommended:
    • OS: Linux 2.6
    • Processor: 3 GHz Haswell/Zen or better
    • Memory: 2 GB RAM
    • Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060/Radeon RX 580 or better
    • Storage: 500 MB available space

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