Batora: Lost Haven

Overall, despite some questionable design elements, Batora: Lost Haven is a solid action RPG once given time to properly gel.

65%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

optimization, grinding

61% User Score Based on 239 reviews

Critic Score 70%Based on 17 reviews

Platforms

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About

Batora: Lost Haven is a single player hack and slash game with fantasy and drama themes. It was developed by Stormind Games and was released on October 20, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

The physical and mental balance of a naive and reckless girl who lost everything is the only weapon to save the Earth from oblivion. Jump on a journey across colorful and mesmerizing planets in this fast-paced adventure where your conscience will carry the weight of your decisions.

+11

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 239 reviews

story66 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Unique duality combat system switching between melee and ranged forms that is engaging and adds tactical depth.
Beautiful and vibrant art style with detailed environments and strong visual presentation.
Interesting story premise with meaningful choices affecting narrative outcomes and multiple endings.

Combat becomes repetitive and can be frustrating with clunky controls, poor enemy telegraphs, and limited character progression.
The writing and dialogue are often immature, cringy, and cause a disconnect with the story and characters.
Linear level design with limited exploration, shallow puzzle variety, and technical issues like bugs and unskippable dialogue.

story
281 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
68%
9%
The story in Batora: Lost Haven is generally seen as ambitious with interesting sci-fi and cosmic themes, featuring moral choices that affect outcomes, but it suffers from predictable twists, simplistic or juvenile writing, underdeveloped characters, and pacing issues. While some players appreciate its emotional moments and impactful decisions, many find it bland, poorly executed, and disconnected, making it hard to stay engaged or feel attached to the narrative despite the game's visual and audio strengths. Overall, the story often divides opinion, praised for concept and thematic depth but criticized for execution and lack of meaningful impact.
- “Her journey begins with grief and confusion but rapidly evolves into a mission that spans multiple worlds tied to elemental forces.”
- “The story hits home really hard, having both the aspects of being personal as well as a big overarching story affecting the world as a whole.”
- “If you enjoy games with heart, rich sci-fi themes, and layered storytelling, Batora is absolutely worth playing, especially if you value strong female leads.”
- “The story is a total mess, despite this game being sold on being so story heavy focused in design.”
- “The story is genuinely terrible, not only because the writing is so bad, but also because it has some really good ideas and interesting worldbuilding, and it just hurts to see those ideas massacred like that by absolutely incompetent storytelling.”
- “Predictable story with what might be the worst character development and dialogue of any game I’ve ever played, very much reminiscent of Forspoken.”
gameplay
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
62%
9%
Batora: Lost Haven features a unique dual-nature combat system that requires switching between melee (physical) and ranged (mental) attacks, offering fresh tactical elements and varied boss mechanics. While its gameplay is praised for tight controls, puzzle variety, and a smooth flow, many reviewers find it repetitive, shallow, and somewhat underdeveloped, with limited customization and pacing issues that are exacerbated in later stages. Overall, the gameplay is solid and innovative in concept but lacks depth and replay value, making it enjoyable mainly for those who appreciate its mechanics despite narrative interruptions and repetitive combat.
- “At the heart of Batora’s gameplay lies its dual-nature combat system, which distinguishes between physical and mental energies.”
- “The combat mechanics are fun and even pretty creative, forcing you to switch up between two forms ('physical', with melee attacks, and 'mental', with ranged attacks), each having its own set of skills and health bar.”
- “The controls are tight, and the dodge mechanic gives you an extra sense of mastery, allowing creative use of your abilities.”
- “It's made the game too easy if you can just work out the jank hit boxes and nature switch mechanic. Although the rune-purchasing for character level-up is a nice idea, it's pretty one-dimensional as it only provides meager stat boosts and adds a few moves that don't significantly impact combat.”
- “As stated above, I was interested in the combat mechanics, but it really fell short of what it could have been.”
- “The combat is a large chunk of the game mechanics and is incredibly repetitive.”
graphics
95 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
44%
4%
The graphics in Batora: Lost Haven are widely praised for their unique, colorful, and stylized art style, with well-crafted environments and character designs that enhance the overall atmosphere. While some note that the visuals can feel a bit dated or inconsistent in quality, the beautiful animations, cutscenes, and varied biomes contribute to a visually engaging experience that stands out for an indie ARPG. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong highlight, even if enemy designs and some technical performance issues hold them back slightly.
- “Batora’s aesthetic presentation is one of its most consistent strengths.”
- “The art style is unique and extremely fancy, gameplay is smooth and the combat system is easy to learn and hard to master, like all good GDR games should be.”
- “I bought this game because I was intrigued by this kind of art style, and it really surprised me, especially the great care the developers have put in shaping and animating the various characters.”
- “The graphics, reminiscent of World of Warcraft, are visually pleasing but lack originality.”
- “The graphics are basic, cartoon-styled. Animations fit the graphics: not very detailed, but smooth.”
- “Graphically, Batora is often really pretty, and then again it has passages where it tends more toward 'mediocre'.”
music
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
52%
11%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric, inspiring, and cyberpunk-influenced soundtrack that enhances exploration, combat, and emotional moments. While some find parts forgettable or overshadowed by audio issues, many highlight the soundtrack as a standout element that complements the game's visuals and narrative well. Overall, the music is regarded as a strong and memorable aspect that enriches the overall experience.
- “The soundtrack, composed by Ron Fish, amplifies this worldbuilding with sweeping melodies and atmospheric cues that elevate both exploration and combat.”
- “And the soundtrack is another aspect that's really inspiring to listen to on its own with its highs and lows, fitting perfectly for every section of the game and the emotional moments.”
- “The story, setting, music, and voice acting are all top notch.”
- “Music: okay, there were a couple songs during boss fights I thought were good, but other than that, pretty forgettable.”
- “Music is unremarkable.”
- “On the other end, the big entities are voiced quite poorly, barely audible over the music because of some reverberation.”
emotional
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The game ambitiously aims for emotional depth and cosmic storytelling, with a soundtrack that effectively enhances its emotional moments. While some players connect with the protagonist's vulnerability and growth, others find the narrative pacing rushed and the writing inconsistent, which undermines the overall emotional impact. Ultimately, strong thematic ideas are often weakened by underdeveloped characters and pacing issues.
- “The overall production design works hard to pull players into the game’s emotional and cosmic stakes, giving each world a sense of wonder even when gameplay pacing falters.”
- “The emotional weight of her journey, especially how open she is with her fears, grief, and growth, hit close to home for me as a woman.”
- “It's rare to see a game explore emotional vulnerability alongside courage and power so honestly.”
- “A very stereotypical, boring story with cringy dialogues.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game is well-optimized, running smoothly across multiple platforms including desktop PCs, Linux, and the Steam Deck, with stable performance and no significant stuttering or crashes. Both DirectX 11 and 12 provide similar stability and performance, making it a reliable experience overall.
- “Performance: I have no issues with how the game runs, as it was always stable on my desktop PC.”
- “Runs great on Steam Deck - surprisingly best performance was with DirectX 12, which was supposed to be experimental. Otherwise default setting works well. Battery drains fast but can be tweaked.”
- “It runs smoothly (60 fps) on Steam Deck, making it a perfect game to play on the go.”
- “It works well on Linux too, even though there is some heavy stuttering during the first 15 minutes of play, after which it smoothens out.”
- “[h1] [b] graphics (quality/ui/performance) – [5/10] [/b] [/h1]”
- “Additionally, while DX11 is recommended for some reason over DX12, there was no difference in performance or stability between the two.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
88%
Grinding in this game is widely regarded as tedious and repetitive, with combat becoming increasingly monotonous due to tankier enemies and forced multi-layer mechanics. While not overly difficult, the gameplay loop stretches out unnecessarily, leading to a dull experience that some feel could have been improved with more engaging puzzles instead.
- “The gameplay loop, while polished and flows perfectly, gets very repetitive as enemies become tankier, making encounters increasingly tedious. It feels like a cheap way to stretch out a game that otherwise has a perfect length.”
- “The 'multi-layer' combat feels really forced and tedious to play.”
- “Combat felt simultaneously both boring and tedious.”
character development
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
Character development in the game is widely regarded as weak and predictable, with many finding the storyline and dialogue lacking depth and seriousness. While the character designs and art style receive strong praise, the plot and character progression may disappoint players seeking meaningful narrative growth.
- “The character design is also very impressive and I love the art in the game.”
- “The game does have an amazing character design, really enjoyable (if a little bit hammy) voice acting, and a decent overall idea.”
- “The artstyle is very enjoyable, there are plenty of well animated cutscenes, and the character designs are insanely good.”
- “Predictable story with what might be the worst character development and dialogue of any game I've ever played, very much reminiscent of Forspoken.”
- “The thing with 'Batora: Lost Haven' is that, albeit the gameplay is solid, the storyline, character development, and overall plot are just too ridiculous to take seriously at any given point.”
- “There is no actual character development.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally appreciated for its clever and funny dialogue, humorous cut scenes, and amusing situations involving likable characters. However, some users noted inconsistent character attitudes in dialogue that detracted from the humor. Overall, the game’s comedic elements contribute positively to the enjoyable and entertaining experience.
- “They were clever and funny.”
- “Good plot line with likeable characters and humorous cut scenes.”
- “The game is really funny to play and the possibility to play it with a gamepad makes it even more enjoyable, also because you switch between long range and melee combat.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its beautiful, serene worldbuilding enhanced by Ron Fish's sweeping soundtrack, creating an engaging and polished experience reminiscent of titles like Bastion. While the lore and story effectively immerse players, some elements, such as certain voice acting and character designs, feel out of place in the intended post-apocalyptic setting. Overall, the atmosphere captivates players, though exploration opportunities may be somewhat limited.
- “The soundtrack, composed by Ron Fish, amplifies this worldbuilding with sweeping melodies and atmospheric cues that elevate both exploration and combat.”
- “Like Bastion or COM, it is one of these little games which captures you with their serene atmosphere and polished world.”
- “The game is beautiful and I absolutely adore the atmosphere, however I rushed it, barely took time to explore what the game allows you to (very little) so my playtime is based on going from point A to point B with save scumming for achievements.”
- “The voices just did not fit with the atmosphere/characters, in my opinion.”
- “Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with bodacious midriffs being bared, but neither of these is exactly conducive to building a post-apocalyptic atmosphere.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers moderate replayability through multiple endings and a New Game+ mode, but its linear structure, unclear choice impact, and unskippable cutscenes limit the overall experience. While the decision system adds some variety, it feels shallow, and frustrating combat moments further detract from the desire to replay.
- “The game has a really cool art style, great music, amazing set pieces with a very distinct look and feel, and a lot of replay value thanks to the decision system, a new game + mode, and four different endings.”
- “There is a decent amount of replayability with the different endings, though you’ll still be through with it fairly quickly.”
- “For a higher rating, the replay value should have just been better, and fewer frustrating moments while fighting would have really enhanced the experience.”
- “For the choices, there's no clear distinction which path it affects, and is a pretty lazy mechanic to add so make the game 'semi re-playable'.”
- “The inventory system is complicated for almost no impact on combat, the replayability is made annoying by unskippable cutscenes, and the overall game just seems weaker than others in its category.”
- “The replay value is unfortunately limited by the somewhat low role-playing depth and the linear structure.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
80%
The game exhibits some bugs and occasional brief freezes, particularly on the Steam Deck, but overall runs well and is not plagued by major technical issues. Performance is best with DirectX 12, despite it being experimental, and the core mechanics remain stable and functional.
- “Runs great on Steam Deck. Surprisingly, the best performance was with DirectX 12, which was supposed to be experimental. The default setting is good too.”
- “The battery drains quite fast, but you can always tweak the settings.”
- “It was buggy, unpolished and somewhat chaotic but I liked it so much that I decided to buy it here on Steam as well and played once again all the way to the end (I also got a different ending).”
- “It still has bugs, and it randomly freezes briefly on Steam Deck even though it has been verified and set to low settings.”
- “Buggy.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the game's monetization significantly disappointing, especially when compared to its previews and advertisements.

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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 17 critic reviews

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17h Median play time

13h Average play time

6-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Batora: Lost Haven is a hack and slash game with fantasy and drama themes.

Batora: Lost Haven is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 and others.

On average players spend around 13 hours playing Batora: Lost Haven.

Batora: Lost Haven was released on October 20, 2022.

Batora: Lost Haven was developed by Stormind Games.

Batora: Lost Haven has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

Batora: Lost Haven is a single player game.

Similar games include Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, Mars: War Logs, Vampyr, Omensight, Children of Morta and others.

Batora: Lost Haven

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