Welcome to a game that feels like it’s truly out to get you. Playing this I suffered more than just mere bad luck. I broke a mirror, walked under several ladders and constantly stared a black cat in the face. I rolled the dice and came up short, I picked the wrong card out of four, the success rate was 3/1 and I still kept getting it wrong, I kept missing the pendulum swing even when it was supposed to be easy. The dealer mocked and laughed at me.
Regardless of my many setbacks I persevered and triumphantly managed to complete the level. My luck has gotten better since and when you get into the Arkham style battle system your old gamepad reflexes kick in and can be the difference between a brutal death or success on minimal health. Challenge completed and victory won, I built my deck and eagerly await the next challenges to come.
Unfortunately I never played Hand of Fate, released in 2015 by Defiant Development, it was praised on its concept and reviews were on the fence about it. It needed something more, some fine tuning. Hand of Fate 2 has gone above and beyond and created a game 4 times bigger then the last. They have developed the game and polished their style into something quite remarkable.
In hand of fate 2 you are an adventurer being led through a dark fantasy world by the mysterious dungeon master known as ‘the dealer’. With 22 challenges to face in this card based table top RPG, you travel the lands aiding the unfortunate or battling hordes of blight stricken foes. Cards are laid out face down and will reveal your journey or encounters. The unique aspect of this game is that the style allows you to immerse yourself in third person action during battles or trap dungeons. With a variety of choices to make and companions to meet along the way you can delve into the many stories this game has to tell. Just hope that luck is on your side as many challenges will test you in games of chance.
As a nameless adventurer, or ‘coin slave’ as your first companion Malaclypse refers to you as, you find that each challenge has its own story to tell. Companions, encounter cards and weapons have their own side quest card challenges to complete, giving you more cards to add to your deck. This game is packed with stories that it’s hard to say if there is an overlaying story that covers it all, mostly in this world it seems to be a struggle between the ‘Empire’ and the blight that zombiefies the towns people.
The stories vary from dramatic to humorous, one challenge being to gain 6 blessings on the way to meeting the queen of the northerners to broker peace negotiations. Simple, by the book, fantasy storyline or they lean towards the slightly ridiculous challenge of escorting a potato farmer , who only eats potatoes and won’t give any to starving children, to meet his lover whom he ran from. He was so fixated on potatoes…..why? One of my favourite challenges is where you have to uncover an assassin who wants to kill the leader of the thieves guild. The assassin is one of his three assassins. You have to go on jobs with each of them and find information about them all and accuse the right assassin.
The soundtrack for hand of fate 2 is a good accompaniment for the world they have created, it’s not overbearing at any point and suits the table-top game style. The sound effects for weapons, armour, coins and food etc. are typical and simple so no complaints on any confusing sounds popping up unexpected. Now the real treasure of this game is the dealer, voiced by Anthony Skordi. With a collection of video game voice overs under his belt he delivers an amazing performance. Constantly critiquing your choices or giving a dose of sassy wit, he builds an incredible character that takes you through this sometimes cruel journey.
As a table top RPG game the cards are the main part of movement and progression in the game. With a simple layout set across a table in the dealers caravan you move across a level and flip the card to see what will befall you this turn. Each card will come with its text based decision, gambit or battle. The text is easy to read but isn’t read out to you. With the gambling parts there is a seamless switch to the dice, metronome or spinning cards. The niche part of the game is when it comes to a fight or dungeon trial. You get sucked into this wormhole with the cards involved in the battle leading through the void. Each weapon or armour card has a simple but effective drawn image on it and this goes beyond just the weapon cards. As you enter a battle any new weapon or armour equipped will have a little intro and a description. This is where I noticed an odd look on my character attempting a smile with a peculiar wide open mouthed grin.
The character selection isn’t vast and so you have a few selections in either gender and hairstyles tend to follow a Mohawk vibe in this world. I’m cool with that. At any point in the game, when going to a camp, you can change your characters look and gender at will. Your opening load-out for each challenge tells you what to expect for this challenge so you can build your own deck of cards to go in with. The different decks are separated and easy to scroll through.
The battle mechanics have stemmed from Arkham style battle system. It works very well in this game with indicators for when to parry, block, dodge. A variety of weapons and fighting styles to choose from as long as your draw them from the deck during your adventure. So if you like fighting with a big beefy axe then you can, maybe you want to be more nimble with dual daggers and faster attacks, or maybe you’re a sword and shield person. It’s got plenty of choice and even challenges set to particular weapons that unlock new and interesting things.
Now beware it can get frustrating at times you may just run out of luck, food or money. You can die near the end of a challenge and you may have to start from the very beginning. It can get tedious in long bursts of play if you’re trying to ace the challenge and get that gold coin. The story and ingenuity of the game is easy enough to outbalance the annoying deaths or severe bad luck you are fated to come across.
With so many challenges in game and not only the ‘main’ ones, there is so much to do even after completing the game. Some of the cards you come across have their own unique challenges that unlock even more cards and there are so many.
And the main replay value for hand of fate 2 is the endless mode. Not yet released but coming soon this year the developers have stated. Endless mode is a good way for you to try and beat the many challenge cards you have acquired from story mode. You will go through set dungeons of cards and progress to the next level.
The developers have also mentioned many updates for the year to come with lots of new content, they still have plenty of tricks up their sleeves.
As a mash of genres mixed together this game has something for any type of gamer. It’s challenging and engaging with a healthy dose of luck thrown in. It has the fun randomness you get from playing D&D combined with tried and tested battle system that changes the pace of the game and keeps things fresh. With more content promised its a game with challenge after challenge that you can put down and pick up again at any time. I think it’s time you all make a deal with the devil and let the cards fall where they may.
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