Second Look—Hand of Fate

I normally don’t cover video games, with the exception of board games/CCGs that cross over into a digital format. Hand of Fate, though, caught my interest when I was offered a review copy due to my attendance at PAX East.

“In a cabin at the end of the world, the game of life and death is played. Draw your cards, play your hand, and discover your fate.”

Hand of Fate is a deck building, fantasy, action RPG. You play through a deck of cards, fighting monsters and gathering equipment as you progress through the deck. Eventually you start gaining new cards to customize the deck you play through. This allows you to try and best tailor your encounters, items, etc… as you play the game. It’s a very interesting concept.

The battles can get a bit tedious at times, but the thing that keeps me playing is building and customizing my deck. Keeping your deck well managed so that you can survive to the boss, and then survive that encounter is thrilling. Combine that with resource management (you need food to continue on your journey, and gold to buy new things) and you’ve got a pretty solid and entertaining game.

Right now the game is up for Early Release on Steam for $24.99.  It’s a pretty good price, but right now you’re paying for an unpolished Beta. Still, you’ll get the game as it’s completed bit by bit. It’s playable, with a few bugs here and there, but you’ll get a good amount of enjoyment out of your $25, and hopefully more features as they’re added into the game. Every time I see an update come through I eagerly fire up the game to see what’s been fixed/added.

A copy of Hand of Fate was provided free for review by Defiant Development.