Hand of Fate 2

Hand of Fate 2 brings the greatest strengths of its predecessor back in the sequel. Innovative gameplay combines Action-RPG combat with roguelike progression and deckbuilding, and small quality of life issues in the controls do little to detract from the masterful storytelling of this title.

​Hand of Fate 2 improves the first chapter in every possible way, but lack of real innovations.

Hand of Fate was a hidden gem, a Kickstarter surprise that showed us that there was a cool way to mix up an action-RPG with tabletop conventions. The sequel polishes and preens itself into a much more efficient and entertaining entity, and if you can handle some less-than-stellar combat, you find yourself immersed in a spectacular world.

Hand of Fate 2 is a clearly superior version of the first game, including remarkable improvements in some aspects (roguelike elements, deck building) and small to some others (combat), but it's a totally well-made game that can keep you busy for hours.

Hand of Fate 2 is certainly a much more improved product over the original. Upgraded presentation aside, there's more of a story to back up the game, so you're given a purpose instead of playing The Dealer's game just for the sake of it. Combat may not have improved much, but everything else has, making for a deeper journey even if luck spoils things now and again. Even without the upcoming extras, Hand of Fate 2 is worth checking out.

The original Hand of Fate took a lot of different styles of gaming and brought them together successfully to make something really unique. Hand of Fate 2 improves upon nearly every aspect of the original, providing diverse new challenges that help build the world around the Game of Life and Death. The new scenarios, the success checks that come with them, the companions, and new encounters and gear cards all add hundreds of unique touches to the game that make every card flip an experience. Meanwhile, despite a few small flaws combat is as smooth as ever with the new weapons and companion abilities allowing players to find their own preferred way to dispatch the wide array of opponents they come across. Luck is a fickle mistress and this game isn’t shy about stomping out your quests like a merciless tabletop game master in any part of your endeavors. That said, Hand of Fate 2 rewards the determined and stacking the deck in your favor to overcome its challenges makes this quest well worth the effort.

This canny combination of gaming media provides a deep and satisfying virtual pen-and-paper RPG-esque adventure that's certainly worth taking a gamble on. [Christmas 2017, p.80]

Playing cards, throwing dice, swinging pendulums and spanking villains: it's great fun if you can live with the random element of the game.

Hand of Fate 2 is a satisfying sequel and a meatier dungeon crawler, but still somewhat hampered by limited combat.

Hand of Fate 2 retains the same basic gameplay of the original, but the new additions to the game make it a vastly improved product. Yes, I still have an issue with luck determining the outcome of much of the game, but this falls both ways - good and bad. It's just that the bad rolls are much more frustrating. But this is the only real issue I have with Hand of Fate 2. The visuals set a wonderful tone, as do the music and dialogue, but the smooth combat and the addition of the companions make battles feel fairer and more complete, whilst also providing support to the enjoyable storylines.

Hand of Fate 2 is an interesting fusion of deck building games mechanics and the world of Interactive Fiction. Defiant Development has created a nice fusion between narrative driven game with a high number of player choices.

An outstanding RPG, very narrative focused, that polishes and improves many aspects of the original.

Hand of Fate 2 is a great Action RPG with an amazing narrative. It is replayable, funny and very addictive.

Hand of Fate 2 is vastly superior to the first game, and a great game in its own right. If you’re looking for a highly replayable Action RPG with beautiful visuals and fun combat, look no further. There really isn’t a game quite like Hand of Fate 2, so help foster innovation.

The moments of frustration in Hand of Fate 2 are worth enduring for the sweetness of its adventures, and getting to know the different cards and learning to build a deck that is perfectly suited for the mission you're entering is satisfying. Hand of Fate 2 is a realization of the first game's promise, and it's exciting to play a game that blends seemingly unrelated elements together so well.

Clever developments to gameplay and visuals make this sequel an exciting progression that can become an act of patience when the numbers stop going your way.

Hand of Fate 2 doesn’t change much of the concept that made the first game so appealing, but everything here – whether it's challenges, smarter deck building, companion characters, and better combat – marks a major improvement over what we saw in 2015. Repetitiveness can still be a problem, but it takes much longer for it to show up. This time around, this is definitely a hand worth playing.

Unfortunately, sequel kept some of the problems. The major one is how luck-dependent the progress is, especially when it comes to food: if you don’t get an encounter with a trader in time, you’ll die of hunger, but if you meet him too early, when you don’t have money to spare – again, starvation it is. If you get robbed at the market... well, you get the idea. [Issue#226, p.55]

A good idea finally becomes a good game. Hand of Fate 2 retains the concept of the innovative first game, but adds enough new elements, so the successor performs noticeably better.

I’m really glad that the developers decided to create a sequel, as they learned a lot and managed to improve every element of the original game, including the campaign which evolved into a really thought-out, demanding adventure. [01/2018, p.40]

Excellent combination of deck building, action RPG and roguelike that unfortunately is not the step forward with respect to its predecessor that it should have been and retains all of the drawbacks of the first game, like the repetitive combat system with almost no depth. Besides that it is a great game worth trying if you want a different and fresh approach to RPG games full of personality.

Hand of Fate 2 improves on its solid predecessor, but it's a couple of cards from a royal flush.

Probably best reserved for the most diehard fans, but even they should enter with caution.

The sequel of Hand of Fate convinced us that its unique mix of card game and real-time combat could be more than a one-shot gimmick, though it still has a long road to achieve an even quality across all its areas. The card side of the game may be vastly improved, but the real-time combat is the part that is still quite underwhelming. Hopefully in the next iteration we'll see the combat receiving the same attention as the card side of the game.

The art style, music, and core gameplay offers players a unique gaming experience unavailable elsewhere. Lady Luck isn’t always kind, however, and when combined with the occasional graphical issue, unwanted frustrations arise. Despite its flaws, it’s still worth the effort for those with patience and determination.