REVIEW: ‘HASTE: Broken Worlds’ Is A Fast And Furious Adventure

If there’s one thing that HASTE Broken Worlds understands right out of the gate, it’s an almost overwhelming sense of speed. A high-octane third-person running game demands attention, as one wrong move spells defeat. Zoe rockets across colorful landscapes as the ground disappears beneath her feet, hazards constantly in the way. It nails momentum, pulling the player for a fast and furious adventure. Developed and published by Landfall Games, HASTE Broken Worlds is excellent, with a memorable cast of characters, tight gameplay, and a roguelike formula that keeps the player returning for more.

HASTE Broken Worlds puts you in the shoes of Zoe, a young mail carrier tasked with getting to the heart of a world-ending mystery. Reality is being destroyed, a black fragmenting collapse ripping through the multiverse. Zoe needs to run across 10 shards, each holding a number of levels, piecing together the truth of what’s happening.

The story in HASTE Broken Worlds is solid, with the ending being quite beautiful. Zoe is a great central character, exploring themes of destiny, choice, and community. She’s optimistic and enthusiastic while deeply caring for those around her. The rest of the supporting cast is bright and fun, each a bombastic personality in their own right. From the grandiose chest-puffed Captain to the quiet, butterfly-chasing Wraith, all of them are fun to get to know.

The primary gameplay loop in HASTE Broken Worlds is about running through procedurally generated stages, the black world destroying force nipping at your heels. The levels are short, each taking a minute or so, as Zoe moves at a hopefully blistering pace. Each is bright and colorful, drawing the player in with fun visuals. They can also randomly change with seemingly random permutations that can make a level grayscale, alternately colored, or even pixelated.

HASTE Broken Worlds can be pretty tricky.

It’s a great way to vary the experience as you run at any shard, with different biomes across the shards. You’ll replay shards often, as HASTE Broken Worlds can get complicated. It varies the experience immensely, even across runs, avoiding any visual fatigue from repetition. The most interesting part is that Zoe doesn’t jump because there’s no button. Instead, her momentum flings her forward, with the critical point being how you fall.

As Zoe flies through the levels, keeping her momentum is critical in HASTE Broken Worlds. You’ll get thrown into the air often, coming off an incline or lip, and controlling her descent and landing changes that momentum. Land on a downslope or flat ground, and Zoe will keep or build speed. Meanwhile, an incline or rough landing can slow things down severely. Each landing can get a different rank, ranging from Bad to Perfect, with the higher ranks adding more speed and momentum. The better a run-through a level is, the more currency you get to spend on upgrades.

The lack of a jump button was initially disorienting, but after a couple of runs, you start to attune to the layout of the levels in HASTE Broken Worlds. Looking for slight lips, controlling your falls to maximize down slopes, and launching into the air to avoid obstacles become second nature. Each level brings a zen-like flow state of focus, as the player gives in to the speed and geography, learning how best to use the speed to outrun the collapse. If you string together too many bad landings, the destruction can quickly catch up to Zoe, eating at her health and possibly ending a run entirely.

Outrunning the collapse is important, but so is dodging and worming through many environmental challenges. Trees and rock faces are early challenges, along with small buildings. Those quickly take a backseat to missile barrages, lines made of fire, constant explosions, or any other surprising death spirals HASTE Broken Worlds throws at you.

Some nodes in HASTE Broken Worlds offer different challenges as you choose your path through a shard.

Many are the standard runs that are an absolute joy to run through. Alongside those are campfires that can heal and restore hearts, challenges that can offer a lot of currency, higher difficulty levels that give items, and shops to buy items. The challenges are mostly fun, where Zoe might be chasing woodland creatures or restoring color to a small level. HASTE Broken Worlds also has several items to help Zoe complete a run.

The item economy in HASTE Broken Worlds is fantastic, with items that genuinely make a difference in how you approach a level. Some may restore health on shard pickups in levels or for close calls to avoiding level geography, while others can increase Zoe’s boost gauge. As you speed through a level, Zoe has a boost gauge that increases on successful landings. Four special items can be equipped before a run that uses the indicator. Ranging from a surfboard that increases speed to a Spider-Man-like grappling hook, they massively change how you move through a space.

Each plays entirely different, but all are effective in HASTE Broken Worlds, coming down to personal preference. The surfboard was a close friend for half the game, while the Wraith’s Hourglass, allowing Zoe to enter a slow-mo for a few seconds and reorient, became the favorite. The special items and the kit you build through a run are all essential, especially in the final part of any run: the amazing bosses.

Boss design in HASTE Broken Worlds is a highlight, with four different ones you’ll encounter across the ten shards. You’ll face three of them, three times over, increasing in difficulty significantly across encounters. The first boss, a giant mechanical rabbit that shoots plenty of projectiles at you, is simple enough. Dodge, get close, repeat. The second time around? The projectiles get much denser and increase in number while adding a colossal wave that Zoe needs to overcome.

Though some can be overly difficult, each fight is incredibly memorable and a blast in HASTE Broken Worlds. The Convoy is a personal favorite, a massive train that runs across the level. On the other hand, the Snake will push players to use every item and meter of space on the map. Successfully taking down a boss completes the shard, rewards the player with upgrade currency, and unlocks the next shard.

HASTE Broken Worlds nails the roguelike formula that it’s built on.

The procedurally generated levels are fantastic, each a completely different experience than the one before. Zoe starts with three hearts, so dying three times launches her out of the shard, forcing her to start again. The good thing is that the player gets upgrade currency regardless. You’ll get more for winning, but each run is meaningful.

Surfboard aside, all of the other notable items need to be bought. You can also upgrade Zoe herself, increase the number of hearts, boost her health, and so on. Because you get rewarded for each attempt, Zoe’s upgrades come at a consistent clip, alleviating the frustration that can come from having to restart a shard. You always feel like you’re making progress, even if you fail, learning to upgrade Zoe better, use a new item, or buy new unique items.

The music is another standout part of the package in HASTE Broken Worlds. The drum and bass seem to boost every one of Zoe’s steps, propelling her forward with each hit. It fits the epic and unrelenting force that is each run. Each track is electric, hyping up the player to keep running.

As for performance, HASTE Broken Worlds runs at a rock-solid 60fps on Steam Deck. It also looks beautiful, with no technical issues to note. Hopping in for a quick couple of runs is a blast, making it a perfect companion handheld.

HASTE Broken Worlds is fantastic. It’s a constant assault on the senses in the best way. It immerses you in its world as the player looks forward to the next run. Its sense of speed and momentum is unrivaled, even beating out a certain blue hedgehog. The item economy is rewarding, and the player constantly feels progress. The core gameplay loop is addicting, and the boss design is fantastic. HASTE: Broken Worlds is easily one of this year’s best indies and shouldn’t be missed.

HASTE Broken Worlds is out now on PC.