Hand of Fate 2 (2017) review

Despite its geographical isolation, Australia’s indie development scene has a surprisingly strong track-record when it comes to releasing small titles that go on to become global hits. Fruit Ninja, Crossy Road, Antichamber, Armello and the original Hand of Fate all hold up as pretty good examples of this phenomenon.

Still, it feels rare that local indie teams go in on a sequel. Usually, hitting it big just inspires the search for something new. Sequels tend to come with additional strings and expectations attached. Games development can be hard enough, and not everyone wants to play on a higher difficulty.

With Hand of Fate 2, Brisbane-based Defiant Development are looking to make the rare sequel that outshines the original. Something that’s not just a better game than the original but something that acts as the final word for its unique, genre-bending title. Something that articulates both an evolution of everything that worked about the first Hand of Fate and an eloquent response to the aspects that didn’t come together quite so cleanly.

Stacking the deck

As the title might lead you to suspect, the setup here is pretty close to that of the first game. Hand of Fate 2 sees players overcome a set of tabletop trials built from a deck of collectible cards and handed out by the series’ menacing and enigmatic Dealer. Each level sees the deck dealt out as a map and each turn you’ll move your character across it in pursuit of some sort of goal.

Where the first game saw you crawl your way through dungeons of increasing length and difficulty, the second opts for a much more diverse set of scenarios. One mission will see you dragged into the inner politics of a thieves guild after its leader receives a death-threat. Another will see you recruited by the empire and asked to track down a set of cursed relics.

Unlike the first Hand of Fate, there’s a far-more concrete sort-of story happening here than first appears. Each of the game’s encounters – 22 in total – not only take the format of the game in different directions, but also dabble in world-building.

Over the course of the game, you’ll learn more about the empire, the northerners and the various forces, factions and figures that make up the world in which the dealer’s game takes place. You’re also able to customize your character this time around, which is a smart improvement.

For every card you move onto, something will happen. Maybe you’ll come across an inn and be challenged to arm-wrestle with its patrons. Maybe you’ll stop to catch your breath at a nearby creek and be ambushed by bandits. Whenever combat encounters like the latter kick off, your character is transported into a fully-rendered arena and you'll face off against your foes in Arkham Asylum-style combat.

Compared to the first game, the action feels sharper and more refined. In general, there’s a lot more going on. Where the first game had a straightforward weapon system, Hand of Fate one emphasizes specialised weapon types for different enemies. There are also consumable artifact cards that lend you new abilities and companion characters who can help support you in battle.

Each of these allies are full of personality and come with their own intrinsic perks, often bestowing benefits both in and outside of combat. I found myself constantly juggling between them, depending on the scenario and whether or not I wanted to try and progress their respective questlines.

Mana burn

While the first Hand of Fate was pretty minimal in its approach to translating tabletop RPG systems over to a digital frontier, the second game does its best to offer more of everything – an approach that largely shakes out in the game's favor.

Where the first game relied pretty heavily on its shell-switching minigame, this time there are three other sideshows sharing the load. Likewise, there’s a new Fame system, rounding out the health, food and gold management elements of the first game. Your level of notoriety opens (and sometimes closes) new dialogue choices on certain cards and is also required to use higher-end weapons and armor. It adds up to an experience that continues to throw new toys and tools into the pot all the way to the very end.

Building a sequel that trumps the original isn’t easy. You don’t just have to be better than the first – you have to be better enough that the net experience cleanly outweighs the novelty you get from seeing something the first time.

Despite this tall order, Hand of Fate 2 delivers. The combat is sharper and more dynamic. The new systems are easy-to-learn and hard-to-master, smartly adding depth where the original was shallow and diverse where it was repetitive.

Combined with a willingness to tackle more complex and ambitious storytelling that the first game lacked, Hand of Fate 2 ups the ante. It's an outright outstanding sequel that gives you everything you want and lays it all out in a perfect sequence.