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Welcome to another purchase reflection, where I walk you through my personal thought process when deciding whether to buy a game or not. Today’s subject is Haste, a high-speed, third-person running game from Landfall that shadow dropped on Switch 2 this morning with absolutely zero prior announcement.
I’m just like you: a Nintendo Switch gamer who often has to make buying decisions with incomplete information. In this case, there was basically no Switch 2 information available before I decided to purchase Haste. I bought it blind, based on what I’d seen from other platforms, and I want to tell you exactly why.
From my first impressions, the game is really fun, but there are a couple of negatives that are worth pointing out. Let’s start with something positive first.
Is Haste Worth the Price on Nintendo Switch 2?
Haste sits at $19.99 / €19.99, which feels fair for this indie title developed by Landfall, a studio best known for games such as Content Warning and Clustertruck.
Right now the game is only digital, so there is no concern of a Game Key Card edition looming on the horizon.
For the price you get to enjoy a fun, fast-paced game that takes around 20 hours to fully complete, runs well, and features online co-op.
Why Sonic the Hedgehog Fans Will Love Haste
While I was searching and waiting for more info about this game’s performance on Nintendo Switch 2, I decided to take a look at other platforms to get acquainted with the gameplay.
The eShop page doesn’t even have a video, making it difficult to judge it fairly. And after watching a couple of videos, some clicked immediately.
As a Sonic the Hedgehog fan, my brain is hard-wired to like fast-paced running and platforming, and I just couldn’t hold myself.
Then I learned that this game’s levels were actually randomly generated and you’d be going through them in roguelike fashion.
How Haste’s Roguelike Loop Works
In Haste, you enter these big shards and have to run as fast as possible in each area while collecting sparks before it collapses. If you succeed, you move on to the next area and can spend your earned sparks on items that will boost your stats.
Once you are done, you’re back to square one with no items and are free to challenge the other levels available.
This part of the gameplay hooked me way more than I was anticipating, and combined with the tight gameplay, it creates the possibility of a never-ending gameplay session.
How Haste Runs on Nintendo Switch 2
This is the part that worries every Nintendo Switch 2 fan, since there are high expectations when a game releases with the Switch 2 Edition banner.
I’d like to assure you first that the game runs well, and you can enjoy it thoroughly the moment you load it on your system.
However, it will not run at 60 fps, and I can’t say for a fact what the target resolution is. But from my experience, it seems to be 30 fps, and the visuals are inferior to other platforms, undoubtedly.
The Graphics Settings Problem
Haste does something that is rare with console releases: it allows you to change a ton of graphical settings. And honestly, this was something that I thought I wanted, but after playing so much of my Steam Deck, I don’t anymore.
Just give me 2 graphical settings, Performance Mode and Quality Mode, and I’ll be happy.
When you load the game for the first time, all settings will be on low, and they were right to leave them like this since just trying to change the quality to medium was enough to see noticeable lag when sprinting fast.
This makes me believe that this port is not well optimized for the Nintendo Switch 2, and I truly hope it does one day via patches.
Should You Buy Haste on Nintendo Switch 2?
The price is fair, the movement system is excellent, and the roguelike loop gives you genuine reasons to keep playing. The performance leaves me a bit sour, but the devs seem to care and will certainly release a patch or two to improve the game on Switch 2.
If you’re a fan of speed, momentum, and games that reward mastery, this is absolutely worth the price tag, even with the downsides I mentioned.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll be seeing you again next time with brand-new content.
