Recent reviews by Prof. Turquoise

Lovely game, controls like a dream. My simple pitch for this is if the good 3D Sonic levels were randomly generated, didn't have any "auto-steering, hands-off-the-controller" sections, gaining speed was its own reward/safety, and had roguelike items/builds/synergies.

The Sonic comparison is inevitable because Haste really feels like it was made by a team of fans that really tapped into what makes the gameplay of Unleashed/Colors/Generations work, while jettisoning off the parts that don't. Haste is a simple game in that regard, and one that you can get a deep understanding of as soon as you clear the tutorial.

My only issue with the game has to do with the story (Obvious Story Spoiler); a bunch of fun interesting characters are introduced to you early on, and they join your party which is cool, but about halfway through the game, every single bit of dialog you get reads like a Philosophy 201 class about metaphysics and timelines and alternate universes, and I mean that in the worst way. Instead of interesting character interactions, you have to click through pages and pages of a wikipedia article about time loops disguised as plot. A bogged-down story isn't what I hoped for in a game like this, and even Sonic games have the good sense to keep the story moving.

But despite all that, my issues with the writing/story shouldn't be a deterrent to giving this title a try. This isn't really the sort of game that needs to rely on a story to save itself; the gameplay loop of running at blinding speed and eagle-eye spotting the best place and angle to land and hit the ground running is exactly as satisfying as it looks. (Final note: I strongly recommend getting the Sage's Cowl unlock asap from Daro, it opens up a lot of landing options!)

This is the roguelike I have been waiting to be made, since I first got into the genre. I am so proud to have been following this game since the beginning and watching it flourish has been a delight. It checks off all of my boxes: brilliant gameplay concepts, cute art, synergies you can build from the ground up fueled by your imagination, music that you can bop to, and replayability as a chief mission statement. I've recommended it to everyone, and while it might not BE for everyone, if you're anything like me, it's well worth your time.

This is an RTE auto-running rhythm game that is a bit bare-bones, but is more entertaining than just playing my music by itself. While it certainly could use an in-game unlock system, or a shop to buy new characters or styles, it was gratifying to slow get better and better at the timing to move to harder difficulty modes. I give it a thumbs up.