Hand of Fate

1. McNutt

   Mar 1, 2016

   9

   Great game. Unique. It reminds me a bit of the board game Heroquest, but with more options and an action play element. The RPG elements areGreat game. Unique. It reminds me a bit of the board game Heroquest, but with more options and an action play element. The RPG elements are easy to understand and the story doesn't take itself to seriously.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
2. ordoincendium

   Feb 11, 2016

   9

   Fun! Takes me back to classic RPG's and the Choose your own adventure books. The third person combat is simple and more of a side show. TheFun! Takes me back to classic RPG's and the Choose your own adventure books. The third person combat is simple and more of a side show. The main game of moving from card to card, spending food, gold and health brings reminds me of an Oregon Trail dynamic.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
4. GainesvilleGuy

   May 15, 2015

   8

   I'm giving this an 8 mainly because it is pretty unique. It is probably more of a 7 if you compare it to a top notch AAA title and once theI'm giving this an 8 mainly because it is pretty unique. It is probably more of a 7 if you compare it to a top notch AAA title and once the novelty wears off. Basically this is a card game of chance, with action sequences (like a low-rent Arkham Asylum) resolving the bad card outcomes. The campaign mode basically has you run through different levels of difficulty, throwing rules changes on you to mix it up while you try to work through the deck and then defeat the bosses (again, low-rent Arkham Asylum sequences).
   
   After beating the campaign levels you run through a mode where you just try to go as long as you can, meanwhile unlocking the rest of the cards (cards are not all unlocked until you achieve certain outcomes). However by the end it became tedious (trying to unlock the final few cards, which may not even show up in a game) but overall I enjoyed it. A nice mix of randomness and completionist keeps it interesting for a while.… Expand

   • 0 of 4 users found this helpful
5. Kersley

   Apr 28, 2015

   8

   Alright, it's not a huge budget game but if you're a fan of choose your own adventures it's a blast. Borrows from arkham,d&d, and a fewAlright, it's not a huge budget game but if you're a fan of choose your own adventures it's a blast. Borrows from arkham,d&d, and a few goosebumps choose your own. It's not perfect but if you can handle a bit of reading now and then you'll be in for a good time… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. zomboidmike

   May 16, 2015

   8

   Original idea and fresh game. Good mix of genre, full of cool things to do. I had a hack'n'slash from this guys on mobile before, talentedOriginal idea and fresh game. Good mix of genre, full of cool things to do. I had a hack'n'slash from this guys on mobile before, talented team. Worth the price!… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. MCPO

   Feb 24, 2015

   8

   Hand of Fate is a strange but excellent amalgamation of card, action, RPG, and rogue-like gaming. Although it's far from perfect, it has thatHand of Fate is a strange but excellent amalgamation of card, action, RPG, and rogue-like gaming. Although it's far from perfect, it has that addictive play-just-one-more-time quality about it. A single round might take you 5 minutes or 50, depending on a little luck and strategy. But once you get the hang of it, you'll be hard-pressed not to jump into another game. And another. And another.
   
   In a nutshell, you play a card game where the cards form levels that your scary mercenary must traverse. Included are some par-for-the-course RPG elements -- i.e. equipped items, health levels, food, gold, etc. The basic object is to move from one level to another by finding the exit cards. Each step along the way can be filled with traps and pitfalls or with new equippable items and treasure. To complicate matters, you also face off against enemies of various types, including bosses, in 3rd person melee action that is reminiscent of a game like Ryse or Batman Arkham Asylum.
   
   The narrator of the game doubles as the Gamemaster, dictating play with commentary that is perfectly timed with wit or snark or ominous foreshadowing of what lies ahead. Generally, it's excellent voice work and really draws you into the tabletop aspect.
   
   The combat portion of the game is also dictated by the cards randomly drawn from the Gamemaster's deck. These cards determine both the kinds of enemies and their numbers. You're then whisked away to do battle in one of maybe 20 or 30 different arenas of varying sizes. The melee combat is simple and fun. But not perfect.
   
   Let's get the bad stuff out of the way. The battle arenas take place from a semi-fixed view that follows closely behind the player. The problem here is that it never rotates, so you can't see what is taking place on a large portion of the battlefield. Instead, you have to rely on a little green indicator warning you of an incoming projectile attack. It makes for more than a few frustrating moments of timing your blocks. Also, I found myself sometimes getting caught in a corner of one of the arenas due to static objects which were difficult to see interfering with my movement.
   
   Technically speaking, the game takes a major frame-rate hit on screens where cards are being shuffled and dealt by the Gamemaster. It's nothing that really affects gameplay, as it never occurs in the crucial fighting portion of the game, but it's strange that Defiant Development didn't iron this out before launch, as this game is certainly not putting the Xbox One through its paces.
   
   Another annoyance is that the tabletop and the played cards are hard to read from the game's fixed first-person view. The seraph text font is too small, at least for these eyes. It would have been optimal to have included the ability to toggle a top-down view. As it is, the cards are only readable or even recognizable when the game view temporarily switches to the aforementioned top-down view to show the placing of a card on the table.
   
   One final, small issue is that Hand of Fate is light on options. There are no online ranking boards, a rarity in games these days, which seems like a missed opportunity to extend the life of the title.
   
   Graphically, Hands of Fate is no showstopper for the Xbox One. I've seen better on my 360. Having said that, I really like the art style. One example is how the playing cards are implemented into the introductions of the fighting sequences -- it's brilliant, but I'll leave that for you to check out for yourself. Needless to say, you're not buying this game for its 1080p, 60 fps, cutting-edge good looks.
   
   The team behind Hand of Fate has a potential cult hit on their Hands. It's a serious time waster with a fresh mix of fun gameplay elements that all come together nicely. Still, I can't help but get the feeling that this was a test project for something much bigger and bolder. Hand of Fate 2, perhaps? If so, deal me in.… Expand

   • 3 of 3 users found this helpful
8. Borgrumm

   Feb 21, 2015

   0

   DO NOT buy this on Xbox One. It seems like a great game, and it might be worth it on other systems, but on the Xbox One, when you enter aDO NOT buy this on Xbox One. It seems like a great game, and it might be worth it on other systems, but on the Xbox One, when you enter a battle with more than 4-5 enemies (which happens a lot), it slows down to less than a frame per second. It becomes literally unplayable right at the point where it starts really getting good.… Expand

   • 5 of 22 users found this helpful

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