Hand of Fate
Overview -
Defiant Development is a newer Australian company with some interesting titles under their belt, including 'Warco', a game intended to train journalists who are considering working in active warzones. In late 2013 they successfully funded a Kickstarter campaign for 'Hand of Fate' with a promise of Steam Early Access and a release in early 2014. The release was pushed back a year but we now have the genre-straddling 'Hand of Fate' on the PC, Xbox One, and PS4.
Video Review
'Hand of Fate' suffers a bit in the video and technical departments. It’s not bad-looking, but the textures and special effects are underwhelming, especially for a game with a price on the higher end of the indie spectrum. More importantly, the framerate can get pretty bad during combat. It’s not game-breaking, but can get irritating when the stutters interfere with the character’s movement.
Audio Review
The game has a great soundtrack, with an hazy and exotic flavor that helps carry it through the slower moments. The dealer has a good voice actor, although the accent becomes a bit fuzzy at times, as though he’s trying to sound like he’s from somewhere he’s not. He is the only voiced character.
Final Thoughts
'Hand of Fate' is the kind of deviously addictive game that doesn’t come along very often. It is innovative, easy to learn, and rewarding. It is also complex and punishing, but keep in mind that you’ll never lose any of your cards permanently - if the dealer defeats you, you only lose progress against the current boss, and can restart anytime. The deck-building is fiendish fun, and all those hours spent fighting in the 'Arkham' games pays real dividends here. The real-time combat lets the player make their own luck in many situations. At launch, 'Hand of Fate' has some noticeable problems on the technical side, but is still a great play, especially for card fans disappointed by this year's Magic.