Well, Companions actually help by being the connective tissue between these chapters. One might think the 22 seemingly unrelated missions might feel disconnected for the sake of the card deck aesthetic. Also, careful selection of companions is also needed, as they aid you in combat, each in their own unique way.Ĭompanions are what change the game in a pretty big way. Essentially, it’s a game that rewards a skillful selection of cards to be put into a luck-of-the-draw situation. Hand of Fate 2 really balances skill with luck. Mentioned earlier, the weapons you have available are found throughout each chapter, as opposed to given to you outright at the start of each adventure. Not only that, but the enemies you encounter have different resistances and weaknesses to specific types of weapons. For example, a sword and shield are best for blocking and immediately countering an enemy, while an ax is best used to wear down an enemy with tough defenses. These moves are shaken up even more depending on the equipment selected. You have a standard attack, a parry/block, a kick/bash/stun, a special move and a finisher. Of course, being light may come off as a negative, but with the other elements of the game in mind, it requires just the right amount of skill to shake up the structure of the game without being too much of a departure. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing Shadow of War a lot recently, but the combat feels like a lighter version of that. You’re then dropped into a combat situation. When combat is inevitable, a portal opens up on the table and your figure, your current equipment cards, and the game master’s encounter cards are all swallowed up by it. This is where the item/gear cards come into play. The third way a challenge is encountered is with combat. You roll once, and if you don’t pass, you can select any number of die to roll again to try and beat the challenge number. You have a number to beat and three six-sided die. Another way the game tests your success is with dice rolls.
The game master shows you them, then shuffles them face down. Sometimes, you get four cards with any variation of “Success”, “Failure”, “Major Success”, and “Major Failure”. This fail/succeed decision plays out in a number of ways. But as anyone who’s played tabletop games before knows, you can’t just say you do it, you have to succeed first. The game master narrates what you encounter, and you must choose what you do in response. Luck is a major component in Hand of Fate 2, but it’s not the only play the game makes.Įvery card you flip over prompts an advancement in the story. This really alleviates feeling overpowered, and though a simple concept, it really did make the game unique in that way. It means you can encounter and acquire them throughout the chapter. The interesting thing about these items is that picking them for your deck doesn’t mean you start with them. Lastly, you also get to pick your item/gear cards. These companions are quite varied in terms of who they are and how they influence the stories’ outcomes. On top of this, players will also get to pick which companions they’ve met along their previous adventures will come with them. While each new chapter brings a new and unique challenge, players can pick which of their own cards will appear within the story, though they are in the hands of fate (ahem…) in regards to when it comes to where they’ll end up in the mix. But before each chapter, the player may assemble their own cards, acquired in previous chapters, to shuffle into the deck before it begins. Many of the cards you encounter are specific to the chapter at hand. Each mission actually feels different from the last. Each mission has a different objective, and it’s not just the same mission with a different color. Each card is an encounter of sorts that you must overcome. Each mission has the game master placing face-down cards on the table and a figure, representing you, that must choose which card to advance towards. The game features 22 missions with each one being portioned out as different chapters. The tabletop game elements are easy to understand with a lot of room for strategy. Hand of Fate 2 seems to have buffed them out and even added a few elements to the game. The original Hand of Fate was quite similar in concept, but as with all creative things, it had flaws. It actually feels like a single-player Dungeons & Dragons campaign, but with cards and playable action sequences. This man is the game master, and for one reason or another, you must play his game.
You start your adventure in a large stagecoach of sorts, sitting across the table from a very devious looking man in robes, equipped with an even more devious sounding voice. Hand of Fate 2 is essentially what you’d want to see when you mix a card game with a video game.