Haste: Broken Worlds is an exhilarating mad dash through collapsing timelines

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Initially, I found Haste: Broken Worlds quite challenging at the start. At a GDC 2025 Day of the Devs event, I observed two players in line ahead of me repeatedly falling into the same pit. They seemed to struggle with navigating the main character, Zoe, through an initial tutorial level and grew frustrated with the controls, eventually giving up. After ten minutes of persistence, I too managed to surmount that hurdle, only to tumble into another pit. I realized there must be something crucial I was overlooking, so when I learned the demo was also accessible on Steam, I decided to try again. And now, I finally understand its mechanics.

Speed running

Developed by Landfall Studios, known for Cluster Truck and Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, Haste emphasizes keeping up speed. At the demonstration, I failed to grasp the significance of Zoe’s landings, which are ideal when she lands on a declining surface. Mastering good or perfect landings helps Zoe accumulate momentum and reach the level’s portal before it vanishes, leaving the world behind her. If Zoe encounters too many hindrances or performs numerous poor landings, her speed decreases, making her susceptible to losing one of her lives. However, when everything runs smoothly, the rhythm is effortless, particularly with the pulsating tracks in the soundtrack.

Navigating through objects and deciding the best path forward are the primary hurdles during a run. Just like in a fast-paced shooting game (bullet hell shmup), Zoe must dodge trees, bypass motion-activated bombs, and find openings among towering metal extractors, all of which are randomly positioned. In the final stage’s boss fight against Jumper, she must steer clear of mortars that ignite trails on the ground. Sometimes players benefit from favorable obstacle placement, but a steep slope can lead directly to a cliff edge. However, getting unfortunate outcomes isn’t common; stages denoted with a skull on the roguelite map are much tougher than most.

In essence, I discovered that a significant portion of the challenge was due to maneuvering through levels, as some were expansive with numerous items obstructing the view of the rest of the stage. A guidance system like an arrow or indicator pointing towards the center path could have been beneficial. Additionally, many stages seemed shorter than anticipated, and I’m looking forward to seeing if there will be an option to lengthen them in the complete game.

Wrong place, wrong time

In the demonstration, Zoe finds herself in collapsing worlds, unaware of the cause. Characters she encounters, such as tutorial guide Riza, don’t offer an explanation. However, considering that the item trader, Gan, mentions he withdrew his merchandise from hypothetical parallel realities, it seems these alternate timelines could be behind the disaster.

Regardless, Zoe has multiple strategies to enhance her chances of success. One method involves her skateboard, which generates power upon successful landings and provides a minor lift during flight. Another tactic includes gathering sparks, a form of in-game currency found on the course and awarded for completing levels swiftly with an S ranking. This currency can be spent at the shop to acquire items that boost speed, restore health, expand the pickup radius for sparks, and offer numerous other advantages. Certain locations on the map may contain campfires where Zoe can recuperate health and lives, but this comes at the cost of missing out on potential sparks in other levels. With sufficient practice, players can bypass these campfires and unlock a more potent set of passive abilities instead.

2025 marks the planned launch of Haste: Broken Worlds, which will be accessible on PC through Steam. You can also find a preview version of the game on Steam right now.

This sneak peek was showcased during the Day of the Devs: San Francisco Edition event, which took place at GDC 2025 and was supplied by the game publisher.

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2025-03-28 18:27