Hand of Fate is a mix between a tabletop card game and an action/RPG video game, with some added tarot, fantasy and roguelike inspiration thrown in. Featuring hundreds of items, armor, weapons, artifacts, curses, blessings, encounters and quests, every single playthrough is unique. On top of that, the deck-building mechanic adds even more variety as you customize your deck to suit your needs and playstyle. All of this across two modes of gameplay. Whew, someone deal the cards already!


++ Playthrough Randomness
++ Quest Cards
++ Deckbuilding System
++ Voice Acting
+ Action Combat
+ Visuals/Graphics

- Frustrating Chance and Luck of the Draw
- Single Player Only

= Truly an amazing game! I wish I had thought of it. Highly recommended!


PROS -- At the top of my list is the randomness of each playthrough. Sure, you'll see the same cards a lot, but no two hands will ever be the same. There are so many factors and variables at work that each time you play will be a different experience. This is huge for me, because it's what will keep me coming back for more.

One of the most fun features I've found in Hand of Fate are the quest cards. These often have interesting situations, stories and adventures, that you get to see unfold right then or spread across several games if the quest has multiple parts. Fun stuff and, again, keeps me coming back for more!

Which brings me to the deckbuilding system. By completing quest cards, defeating bosses, and other such things, you'll recieve tokens (which work similar to booster packs in a TCG) giving you more cards to add to your deck. You can let the game recommend and build your deck for you, or you can hand select individual cards to build your own deck. Granted, this system may seem pretty standard, but there was something about winning tokens and unlocking new cards that consistently gets me excited throughout the game. Not to mention that it adds variety to my deck, which -- you guessed it! -- keeps me coming back for more.

When it comes to voice acting, the dealer character is the only one that has any dialogue. That being said, I don't think they could have found a better voice actor for the job. It's done extremely well, and fits perfectly with the theme. Not only that, but the script is excellent, because his idle chat and card/situation specific dialogue never seems to get old and has a genuine feel to it.

Mixing action RPG (Batman/Shadow of Mordor-esque) combat might have been a risking move on the developers part, but it was executed very well. Combat starts out ridiculously easy as it teaches game mechanics, but as your deck gets stronger the enemies do too, thus making the fights more challenging. A lot of reviewers say it's too easy all the way through, but I guarantee they died in combat plenty of times, and if they didn't then they didn't play very far into the game. I will agree that combat might not be very complex, but it's fun and satisfying, and just challenging enough to mesh well with card game without drowning it out.

The last "pro" I have to add is that the visuals and graphics, even the animations, are really quite good. It's all very pleasing to look at, and I was particularly impressed with the combat scenery. The card artwork was well done too, and the theme fit perfectly.

CONS -- Not much to add here, but like any card game, sometimes it comes down to the luck of the draw, which I can attest does not always go your way. And it can be frustrating at times, especially later in the game when a single misstep can be very dangerous and potentially cost you the game. Some people find this intolerable, but I don't really mind it that much. It's a card game, after all, and chance is part of the territory. Besides, there are blessing cards to help tip things it your favor (curse cards to make it worse too, so watch out). And when you have to pick a card to determine success or failure, it's made so that you can try to follow movement of the card you want during the shuffle. Still, it can be quite punishing at times, which turns some people off.

Finally, I'm disappointed that there's no multiplayer. Not entirely sure how it would work in this game, but I'd love to play a card game like this with friends!

OVERALL -- There's so much to like about Hand of Fate, and very little to complain about. Without a doubt, this is one of the best games in my steam library. I can't believe I never even heard of it until recently, but I'm very glad this game entered my crosshairs, because it's a true gem. I most certainly recommend!

[h1]Introduction:[/h1] [i]Hand of Fate[/i] is a mix between a tabletop card game and an action/RPG video game, with some added tarot, fantasy and roguelike inspiration thrown in. Featuring hundreds of items, armor, weapons, artifacts, curses, blessings, encounters and quests, every single playthrough is unique. On top of that, the deck-building mechanic adds even more variety as you customize your deck to suit your needs and playstyle. All of this across two modes of gameplay. Whew, someone deal the cards already! [h1]TLDR Highlights:[/h1] ++ Playthrough Randomness ++ Quest Cards ++ Deckbuilding System ++ Voice Acting + Action Combat + Visuals/Graphics - Frustrating Chance and Luck of the Draw - Single Player Only = Truly an amazing game! I wish I had thought of it. Highly recommended! [h1]Review:[/h1] [b]PROS[/b] -- At the top of my list is the randomness of each playthrough. Sure, you'll see the same cards a lot, but no two hands will ever be the same. There are so many factors and variables at work that each time you play will be a different experience. This is huge for me, because it's what will keep me coming back for more. One of the most fun features I've found in [i]Hand of Fate[/i] are the quest cards. These often have interesting situations, stories and adventures, that you get to see unfold right then or spread across several games if the quest has multiple parts. Fun stuff and, again, keeps me coming back for more! Which brings me to the deckbuilding system. By completing quest cards, defeating bosses, and other such things, you'll recieve tokens (which work similar to booster packs in a TCG) giving you more cards to add to your deck. You can let the game recommend and build your deck for you, or you can hand select individual cards to build your own deck. Granted, this system may seem pretty standard, but there was something about winning tokens and unlocking new cards that consistently gets me excited throughout the game. Not to mention that it adds variety to my deck, which -- you guessed it! -- keeps me coming back for more. When it comes to voice acting, the dealer character is the only one that has any dialogue. That being said, I don't think they could have found a better voice actor for the job. It's done extremely well, and fits perfectly with the theme. Not only that, but the script is excellent, because his idle chat and card/situation specific dialogue never seems to get old and has a genuine feel to it. Mixing action RPG (Batman/Shadow of Mordor-esque) combat might have been a risking move on the developers part, but it was executed very well. Combat starts out ridiculously easy as it teaches game mechanics, but as your deck gets stronger the enemies do too, thus making the fights more challenging. A lot of reviewers say it's too easy all the way through, but I guarantee they died in combat plenty of times, and if they didn't then they didn't play very far into the game. I will agree that combat might not be very complex, but it's fun and satisfying, and just challenging enough to mesh well with card game without drowning it out. The last "pro" I have to add is that the visuals and graphics, even the animations, are really quite good. It's all very pleasing to look at, and I was particularly impressed with the combat scenery. The card artwork was well done too, and the theme fit perfectly. [b]CONS[/b] -- Not much to add here, but like any card game, sometimes it comes down to the luck of the draw, which I can attest does not always go your way. And it can be frustrating at times, especially later in the game when a single misstep can be very dangerous and potentially cost you the game. Some people find this intolerable, but I don't really mind it that much. It's a card game, after all, and chance is part of the territory. Besides, there are blessing cards to help tip things it your favor (curse cards to make it worse too, so watch out). And when you have to pick a card to determine success or failure, it's made so that you can try to follow movement of the card you want during the shuffle. Still, it can be quite punishing at times, which turns some people off. Finally, I'm disappointed that there's no multiplayer. Not entirely sure how it would work in this game, but I'd love to play a card game like this with friends! [b]OVERALL[/b] -- There's so much to like about [i]Hand of Fate[/i], and very little to complain about. Without a doubt, this is one of the best games in my steam library. I can't believe I never even heard of it until recently, but I'm very glad this game entered my crosshairs, because it's a true gem. I most certainly recommend!