Released in 2015, the original Hand Of Fate was an interesting mix of tabletop RPGs with deck building elements. It was a really enjoyable game, but there were definite areas where it could have been improved, especially in terms of player agency. The recently released sequel, Hand Of Fate 2, succeeds in making significant improvements, and offering a more compelling and tighter gameplay experience, making you feel in control while also trying to trip you up at every step.
You have a dealer that lays out the encounter for you, and you get to decide how the encounter plays out by choosing from a deck of cards. The mission is presented as a sequence of cards, and you progress by turning over and playing out one card at a time. The Dealer sets up the encounter, and you can make choices and decisions about certain events. Some of these decisions are further complicated in-game challenges – stopping a spinning wheel at the right spot, or pressing buttons in conjunction to a pendulum, and so on.
Then there are combat encounters, some of which you choose, while others are chosen for you. These happen from a fixed camera third person perspective, and actually have fair depth to them. You be attacking, evading and countering attacks. It’s fun and challenging enough to keep you hooked. The small arenas look great, and set a good tone for the overall narrative as well.
Some longer missions, however, can lead to frustrating moments, especially if you die towards the end and have to restart all over again, scrubbing an hour of progress. These are rare, but annoying nonetheless.
As you progress, you start unlocking items. You’re given multiple options at any time, and need to pick what you want. The game does a fairly good job of telling you what everything is so that you don’t end up with something you didn’t really want. Also, many of your stats affects the outcome of random dice rolls, and events. There’s only so much that pure skill can take you through. Chance is a major element here, but Hand Of Fate 2 does a great job of making you feel like you’ve control, even when you don’t.
Hand Of Fate 2 is an excellent example of a developer building up on great ideas, and putting forth an even more compelling game. Sure, there are still some issues, but the improvements here easily overshadow them. The moment to moment narrative, decision making, and combat is really enjoyable, and I would highly recommend everyone to give this game a try.
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