When players complete a mission, they gain access to the majority of its scenarios in the form of collectible cards. This brings us to the game's main "hook": deck building. Expect to navigate narrow figurative hallways one mission, only to find wide open fields during the next.Īs you might expect, the sheer variance of experiences in Hand of Fate 2 means that each level requires its own strategy if players are to succeed. Meanwhile, the board itself cleverly arranges the cards on the table to provide some added "flavor" based on the story context of the level. The Dealer, with his grim, foreboding narration, essentially serves to set the mood for the game while simultaneously explaining each of Hand of Fate 2's intricate layers. In practice, however, Hand of Fate 2 does an excellent job of doling out new rules, systems and obstacles the more you play - and in most cases, it communicates these changes organically through its storytelling. On paper, these mechanics seem like a lot to manage. Whether it's trudging through a series of "Blizzard" cards that eat away at your health or cautiously navigating a board of "Wild" cards that grant you either a boon or a bane, Hand of Fate 2 provides a diverse and oftentimes unpredictable campaign. Each has a different individual win condition, and each introduces distinct cards that affect the board in special ways. These objectives, which range from finding and wielding a legendary weapon to preventing the assassination of a priest, vary wildly in scope and structure. If managing different gauges and stats weren't complex enough, each level in Hand of Fate 2 also presents an overarching objective that players work toward over the course of each scenario. Meanwhile, money is used to do a variety of contextual-based things - including buying new weapons and armor, bribing individuals, and gambling. Certain scenarios, such as bandit fights, can lead to the loss of health, while eating food allows players to restore health and avoid starvation over the course of their journey. Fame allows players to equip more powerful equipment that they earn. Conversely, by choosing to stand idly by, players are able to avoid combat, at the cost of whatever reward they may have been granted.įinding the optimal outcome for each scenario is important, as Hand of Fate 2 tasks players with juggling and maintaining a variety of survival-lite resources, including fame, food, health and money. By aiding the woman and successfully fending off her assailants, players receive some valuable supplies as spoils of the battle. The city street scenario, for instance, provides a choice of whether or not to defend a woman being attacked by city guards. In most situations, scenarios offer multiple options in how to proceed, which in turn influence their overall outcome. One scenario, for instance, may have players exploring a city street another scenario may see players engaging in a local arm-wrestling competition, while a third may have players ambushed by a group of bandits in a forest. Walking onto a card triggers its effect, which plays out in the form of a specific narrative scenario. During each mission, players navigate a board of face-down playing cards.
Gameplay takes place across 22 different levels, each of which is accessible via a diorama of a world map. It's a welcome ode to stat-heavy, narrator-driven RPGs like Dungeon & Dragons and Pathfinder. The setup includes creating a user avatar, being confronted with various random encounters, and rolling dice to complete certain actions. After a brief introduction, the Dealer introduces players to an in-game tabletop setup. Players sit at a table across from a cloaked individual known as the Dealer. Hand of Fate 2's structure takes a page from the storied history of tabletop role-playing games.
Repetitive combat and lengthy load times prevent it from being an essential experience, but Hand of Fate 2's novelty shines through in spite of its rougher edges. With its unique premise and surprisingly robust deck-building mechanic, Hand of Fate 2 is a compelling option for those hungry for a solid card-based game for their Switch. However, in 2018, Hand of Fate 2 received a new lease on life in the form of a Nintendo Switch port, bringing its card-collecting goodness to a new, handheld audience in the process. The sequel to the 2015 original, Hand of Fate 2 initially released at the end of 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
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