"C++ sucks" because it is widely used, its socio-techical landscape is well explored, including the "sucks" segment. In other words, most other languages suck as much as C++, they're just not that widely used, or have not been around as much.
If you're writing your own game project you can use a sane, minimalistic and syntactically pleasing subset of C++ and gain all the pedal-to-the-metal advantages. Don't discard C++ because other people say it is terrible. Other people are usually wrong. Make up your own mind.
For example, the Keyspace code is organized into classes; we use inheritance and polymorphism; we use templates in a few select cases; but we completely avoid exceptions, operator overloading (actually operators) and the STL altogether (we implement our own containers). It doesn't matter what others think about this specific subset - it works for us, we work well in this formalism, make few mistakes and produce good code that runs fast.
Very good points. Since C++ is a good match for the way people are taught to think about programming, it's obvious that anything good programmers can't easily and consistently get right is the fault of the language. With Haskell, you can't rule out unfamiliarity as the cause of any difficulties until you're already heavily invested in it. Most people really have no basis for challenging the statement that Haskell is perfectly suited for game programming in the hands of a competent programmer.
Pragmatically, for the OP, I think it's safe to say that C++ and Haskell are both very challenging languages that take a long time to master. The advantage of C++ is that there's ample evidence of its suitability for various domains. The advantage of Haskell is that you'll learn a different way of programming. The decisive factor may be whether it's your own money on the line.
If you're writing your own game project you can use a sane, minimalistic and syntactically pleasing subset of C++ and gain all the pedal-to-the-metal advantages. Don't discard C++ because other people say it is terrible. Other people are usually wrong. Make up your own mind.
For example, the Keyspace code is organized into classes; we use inheritance and polymorphism; we use templates in a few select cases; but we completely avoid exceptions, operator overloading (actually operators) and the STL altogether (we implement our own containers). It doesn't matter what others think about this specific subset - it works for us, we work well in this formalism, make few mistakes and produce good code that runs fast.