Since she had
such a marvelous guest review of Darkest Dungeon, Glitchiee returns this time
to put Hand of Fate through the ringer. So
take it away Glitchiee:
Hand of Fate deals you cards that hold delicious food, armor, and vampires…but where
does that leave all the combat?
STORY:
The
player is sat across from a mysterious dealer that continually provokes you
throughout the game. Have you lost your
memory? Is this card game going to get
you killed? Can you understand the
dealer's words as he talks underneath a handkerchief? These and other questions arise as you play
through the game trying to acquire the mysterious dealer's items. Food carts, platforming death mazes, luck,
and a clunky combat system ensues.
"Abradna cabrshea sha."
"Yeah, you're going to have to repeat that. I can't understand a word coming out
of your mouth with that scarf wrapped around your head."
"Bi sauegd abrashhh cabrabra."
"You know what? Forget it. Let's just play 'Go Fish' or something."
GAMEPLAY/THOUGHTS:
Hand
of Fate is comprised of two different play styles. There is the card game section and then there
is the combat section. And having the
two mixed in a pixelated cocktail is a concept most gamers have yet to come
across. It brings a fresh take on most
card games that are currently floating around in the gaming world.
Let's
start with the card section of gameplay.
This is by far the best part of the game, due to smooth animations,
fantastic voice over, and overall concept.
The player builds a deck of cards consisting of various combat equipment
and encounters. These can range from
swords, rat cleavers, fancy rings, goblins stealing your stuff, a funky
carnival, and lava golems. The cards you
select are shuffled in with other encounter, heath, and gold cards, and then
are laid out in various patterns. And
you use the token representing your character to move around the dealer's
table, selecting which cards it will jump to.
Some layouts are much more difficult than others, causing you to move
unnecessarily, which in turn will cost you precious food. And when you run out of food, well…you start
losing health per each move, which can result in you starving to death. If you happen to survive at the end of each
board, you will either hit stairs, a forest, or a ship to take you across the
sea to more encounters. And after each
encounter you become closer to facing that level's boss.
Now,
not only do encounters give you items or have hilarious text or force you into
combat, but there is also a chance mechanic.
Typically there are four cards you can choose from with various chances
of success. These get shuffled and you
have to pick what you think is the right card in order to succeed. This is where luck plays a huge role in the
game, just like any other card game. So
if you're the type of person that buys their lottery tickets already ripped up,
you might have a tough time in this area, because if you choose unwisely and
fail, you can starve, lose health, face more enemies than you can handle, or
even get cursed.
"You want me to what? Nope. I'm fine staying right here. If I get hungry, I'll just eat my mace."
This
then brings us to the not-so-successful
combat portion of the game. When you
land on certain battle encounters, you are then whisked away from the card
table and dropped into a randomized location filled with goblins, ugly rats,
death-dealing mazes, humongous Minotaurs and bosses. It's in these combat areas that your
equipment cards turn into actual weapons and armor, while the suit cards
materialize into living breathing bloodthirsty enemies, allowing the clunky
excitement to really begin.
While
the combat makes it seem like the battling would be the highlight of the game…this
is where you would be oh so very wrong.
The mechanics are awkward, the game slightly lags during fights, and
there is no way to change your point of view.
Most of your time will be spent attempting to find out where enemies are
and then repositioning your character so that you can actually be able to land
a hit. And if there are more than five
baddies floating around, forget it.
Instant game over. Now there may
be rare instances where you have an awesome weapon, artifact, or something
that'll actually let you survive, in which case, you'll probably get extremely
giddy. But don't get your hopes up.
With
all that said, there are some fun parts in the combat sections. The enemies will make hilarious noises,
especially when you kill them. And when
you whack the last enemy to death, it makes a gong like sound. You seriously have a gong sound announcing
you are the winner. How amazing is
that? You can also kill enemies by
reflecting their projectiles back at them, adding depth to your defense and if
performed correctly, is even more amazing than a gong sound. Which in turn will make you scream at the PC
like a maniacal villain, "mwhahahahaha
idiot, you thought you had me but I got you with your own throwing knife." Truly epic indeed.
"Hmm...sitting across from a shady dealer wanting to play some random card game HE invented
sounds like fun. Deal me in. And why can't I see your face all of a sudden?"
CONCLUSION:
The
massive difference between the amazing gameplay in the card section and the
absolute horrendous gameplay mechanics in the combat section is the only reason
why gamers won't be singing Hand of Fate's praises. Imagine attempting to defeat a boss with the
awkward combat mechanics and during the battle, trying to compensate for
lag. It's terrible. So it's extremely possible to be stuck on the
very first board with absolutely no way to advance. On top of that, where is the story? Oh wait, that's right…there really is
none. The dealer seems just as confused
about the plot as the main character.
Maybe if there was a reason to keep playing, you'd be a little more
invested in the game.
So
if the battle mechanics were cleaned up or they added a story to keep you
playing, Hand of Fate's score would drastically improve. But with a great idea and fantastic card game, it's a shame Hand of Fate has to fall short in the combat area. If that part of the game was just pushed a
little further, or cleaned up a smidgen, then Hand of Fate would rock your
world.
EDIT (4-25-15): The
latest update for Hand of Fate introduced playable Fates. These Fates allow the
player to pick their difficulty, from apprentice to warlord. Each Fate comes
with its own encounter card series, so not only can you replay the game on
another difficulty, but a new encounter comes with the deal. Even though game
controllers still seem to be glitched, being able to play on easy mode makes
the game—especially the fighting—much better.
3
out of 5 Stars (minus a star for both
combat mechanics and missing story)
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