Haex – a wild, amazing adventure around the world | Sports

TThey are found in the northern Arctic region: tall pine trees, light algae, and the sun that never sets in the summer months. The world is beautiful, yes, and unforgiving, but in Haex (pronounced “hex”) you have a strange tool at your disposal to be a little more hospitable: a cube that fits comfortably in your hand that grows a plant. You plant so-called Seeds in the world and – voilà – the world around you changes: new plants and environments and the next narrative thread, and, naturally, enemies. Use these small-but-mighty disasters to your advantage.

“What you do and your world are the same as the players,” said Haex director Tobias Nyman. He explains that each campaign begins with a unique, custom-made world. Each seed has its own characteristics that make it look good in your eyes. “You change the world as you go,” he says. “It’s very special.”

The integration of any game is important to keep not only yourself but also other players on their toes. This is one of the wrinkles of Haex: it is an online cooperative game, which means that your friends can join you in the survival adventure that evolves.

In co-op, you play as a team of research scientists sent to search for aliens in the harsh Scandinavian environment. You encounter odd, shape-shifting creatures and monsters: for example, a pale gray creature with spikes protruding from its face that would make even Pinhead from Hellraiser shudder; Also, the wall of the circle is so big that it breaks the clouds. There is another layer to this place and, perhaps, strange secrets: the unknown language of arcane sigils that must be deciphered.

Nyman speaks eloquently about influences: sci-fi movies like Destruction and Arrival (as seen in the trailer); author Jeff VanderMeer’s amazing fiction, too. Unexpectedly, the creative director mentions a niche music genre called cosmic black metal as a touchstone. “It is in the north, dangerous, cold winter, the outside world is something that passes through the clouds,” says Nyman, pointing to the feeling between the music he likes and the game: a mixture of fear and horror, and the search for more than nature.

Nyman co-founded the Haex studio Dead Astronauts (another nod to VanderMeer), in 2024, having previously worked at Ubisoft Massive, where he helped create recent blockbusters, Avatar: The Borderlands of Pandora and Star Wars Outlaws. But while the settings of their roles are beautiful and grand (“significant,” emphasizes Nyman), they are also static. In contrast, the game world of Haex is very dynamic, and is being developed by only 12 developers. The theory is that its flexible, geo-engineered environment should promote fluid, fun experiences, although Haex is focused on shooting that feels better and is more about survival.

Independence has also helped Nyman create the game he loves the most. As a child, he divided his time between Stockholm and northern Sweden. He remembers looking up at the starry night sky as his father explained Einstein’s theory of relativity. Another memory: looking at the giant cloudberry trees — “a field of gold,” says Nyman, because of the small size of the fruit. What has stood out to him the most, however, is the silence of the area – so quiet that “it almost cried out to me”, he says. This sounds like a summary of Haex’s intentions: an event that is both miraculous and sinister; a place that is beautiful but can feel like it is bothering you and is very cruel.