Hand of Fate 2

 Xbox One
Hand of Fate 2 Image
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 22 Ratings

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  • Summary: Hand of Fate 2 is a dungeon crawler set in a world of dark fantasy. Master a living board game where every stage of the adventure is drawn from a deck of legendary encounters chosen by you.

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ID Xbox - Official E3 2016 Trailer

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. GameGrin
    Dec 18, 2017
    95
    What are you waiting for? Go forth and take on the Dealer’s challenge! Yes, you will need to manage your Resources, choose your Equipment carefully, plan for Encounters, and fight your way through many foes, but proving yourself is more than enough of a reward, is it not? The Game is waiting, take your seat and experience it for yourself.
  2. AusGamers
    Dec 20, 2017
    93
    In the end though, what you get with this budget, Australian-made title is a game with endless challenge, with a sense of direction not necessarily ever seen in a wholly-made local product, and a lot of fun. Anthony Skordi returning as the beaten Dealer serves up arguably the best voice-acting performance of the year and the game’s overall presentation and polish, outside of the negatives mentioned above, belie the budget constraints Defiant likely faced. This mature and confident game development in a genre they’re pretty much crafting on their own at the moment. Honestly, I can’t recommend Hand of Fate 2 enough.
  3. The Sydney Morning Herald
    Jan 7, 2018
    80
    With more ways to influence the outcomes in your favour, a greater variety of chance-based gambits and a structure that almost (but not quite) eliminates the frustrating repetition of the first Hand of Fate, there's a lot to like here for tabletop devotees and action-adventure fans alike.
  4. IGN
    Nov 7, 2017
    80
    Hand of Fate 2 doesn’t change much of the concept that made the first game so appealing, but everything here – whether it's challenges, smarter deck building, companion characters, and better combat – marks a major improvement over what we saw in 2015. Repetitiveness can still be a problem, but it takes much longer for it to show up. This time around, this is definitely a hand worth playing.
  5. TheXboxHub
    Jan 15, 2018
    80
    The surprise success has spawned a fitting sequel in Hand of Fate 2, with deeper RPG elements, interesting lore and some really great challenges which all feel different.
  6. XboxAddict
    Jan 23, 2018
    80
    On one hand, the randomness adds in a factor of replayability, but on the other, the sheer randomness and luck involved with some of the elements can either be very rewarding or outright punishing. While it can become repetitive after a while, the decision to cut-up the campaign into mini stories is a great one, as you can sit down and do a challenge in a short amount of time if you don’t have much time to game in a single sitting. Even hours in, the gameplay is challenging and the randomness will constantly keep you on your toes, forcing you to weigh your options ahead of you. When all is considered, Hand of Fate 2 is still worth your time, so pull up a seat and get dealt in.
  7. Xbox Tavern
    Dec 16, 2017
    70
    The gameplay remains tense and unpredictable throughout the entirety of play, and the dark alluring atmosphere is equally as potent. This wont blow your socks off, but it will definitely keep you entertained for hours on end.

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. GBG_Jason
    Dec 1, 2017
    9
    If there was one thing I heard people make fun of from elementary school to present day, it was people that played Dungeons and Dragons. ItIf there was one thing I heard people make fun of from elementary school to present day, it was people that played Dungeons and Dragons. It was limited to the nerdiest of the nerds, where people would dress up and role-play as their character in this made up story. I’ve never had the opportunity to play a full on game of D&D, but I’ve played plenty of board games and video games that were inspired by it. One of the biggest struggles in playing (in my experience, and partially why I never got to) was finding a Dungeon Master, and a party with a schedule that matched your own. So what if a video game could provide that piece for you?

    Hand of Fate 2 doesn’t exactly fill the role of DM, although it does something close. The game is played out based on the cards you select prior to starting each mission, which determines the encounters, equipment, characters, and spoils for your journey. The DM character then explains the situations, and you read each card’s situation as you go. If you are completely oblivious as to what you should be choosing for each level, you can have the game auto-select for you. But as the game points out, the AI is only so good when compared to an experienced player. It can mean choosing an encounter with great equipment as a reward opposed to a “freebie” card where you don’t lose anything, but don’t earn much else either.

    You’ll have card stats such as hit points and food that determine whether you live or die. Run out of food, and traversing the map will kill you unless you find more as each step damages you. Other stats like fame will allow you to wield equipment that required you meet a certain threshold. You’ll have gold for purchasing things such as healing, food, weapons and armor, as well as for the various encounters you run into during your travels. You never know when money will serve you better than your sword. Everything is easy to keep track of, as it’s always shown on the screen.

    Quite honestly, the card based part of this title is more fun than I expected. You’ll run into encounters where you’ll have to roll dice to succeed, use a pendulum to avoid combat, or choose the correct option in a dialogue tree. But the section you see throughout this review in the screenshots is the combat. This is a pretty large part of the game, albeit not always the best choice depending on the situation. Diplomacy is often not best executed on the battlefield.

    Combat is simple enough if you’ve played AAA action games in the past few years. In particular, it reminds me of Rocksteady’s latest series. You have a normal attack, a counter/defense button when you see green, and an evade button for when you see red. There is also a bash button to lower defenses if the enemy is covered in stone or has a shield up, for example. Earn enough hits without taking damage and you unlock the equipped weapon’s special ability, which can be merely a critical hit, or it can be something like an AoE attack. There will also be times when you’re prompted with a button to finish the enemy, and you get a neat little animation dependent on the weapon you you’re using.

    While the fighting works, it could definitely use something to make it stand out. I appreciate the different characters that you bring into battle, and the skills they offer against your own, but having more options in this mode would be nice. Something along the lines of Shin Megami Tensei‘s battles, where demons can give up or you can befriend them through a dialogue would really set this apart. The combat works, but adding something to make it a bit more unique compared to what other action games offer would really drive this game home.

    If you enjoy story based games mixed with action and lots of luck, this may be the perfect game for you. With a story you create yourself each time you play, mixing so many things people love about the physical board game with present day action games, it’s hard to not fall in love. Hand of Fate 2 is going to be overlooked by people because it’s card-based – don’t let that prevent you from trying this. There’s plenty to keep you coming back, and you never have to worry about anyone’s schedule to play it, other than your own.    … Expand
  2. Xbox_Alive
    Jan 3, 2018
    9
    I was a massive fan of the original Hand of Fate and in a way I thought that the game breathed new life into the RPG formula, so when Hand ofI was a massive fan of the original Hand of Fate and in a way I thought that the game breathed new life into the RPG formula, so when Hand of Fate 2 was first announed I was really looking forward to it, but I must admit that I didn’t think they could improve much over the first game. To my surprise Hand of Fate 2 has managed to improve in a number of ways over the original and this makes the game a must own in every way. The first improvement you will see is when it comes to the combat, and I was very pleased that they made the combat more fluid and responsive. I would however have liked to have seen a little more variety in the combat. The cards in the game are as good as ever and the best thing is that each card matters, which means no game ever plays the same so you will remain interested and invested for quite a while. The game boasts quite a lot in terms of content and the game does a great job of making you want to carry on so that means you will unlock even more content. Once again the quests in the game have a great variety to them, and the best thing is that each quest is actually a pretty memorable affair. I will say though that quite a lot of the quests are very challenging and this could be off putting to some. The presentation side of the game has seen some significant improvements and this in turn makes the game even more immersive. Don’t get me wrong the visuals and sound design won’t win any awards, but they don’t need to win any awards because they expertly combine together to create a unique experience. At the end of the day Hand of Fate 2 is the perfect sequel and the main reason for that is because it manages to improve in pretty much all areas. If you were fan on the original game then Hand of Fate 2 will be something you absolutely adore and the best thing is that it has even more content for you to get to grips with. Without a shadow of a doubt this game gets a full recommendation from me and I hope the series continues to go from strength to strength.… Expand

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Awards & Rankings

35
#35 Best Xbox One Game of 2017

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