Hand of Fate 2

Defiant Development is back with new cards to play in semi-roguelike action RPG Hand of Fate 2. The combat is crisper, the deckbuilding more elaborate, and the semi-random card-flipping dungeons deadlier than ever.

But players have new tools to take solace in, like a much bigger array of weapons, a new system for charged-up abilities, and more deckbuilding tools. Perhaps the coolest new feature is a companion system allowing players to use NPC allies both on and off the battlefield.

The dealer is back in Hand of Fate 2, training the protagonist to defeat the hero of the first game — who after defeating the dealer went on to become a magic-outlawing tyrant. As always, everything is represented by cards, from blighted and corrupted soldiers, knights, and the “ace” mini-bosses popping up around the card-created dungeon maps.

While the first game was a unique experience that played around with the concepts of deckbuilding and action through card-based, choice-laden environments, this second offering features improved graphics and some serious upgrades to the major sticking point of the first title: the combat. This time Defiant made the combat a lot cleaner by linking the special-ability system to weapon attacks.

Instead of sitting around waiting for your weapon ability to come online, you’re rewarded by chaining combos to power up your special skills.

Companions are a huge addition to the roster. Once acquired, they can be used immediately and in the missions that follow. Companions provide massive assistance in combat and abilities outside on the board as well.

The bard companion we played around with in the demo, Malaclypse, offered magical support in our battles, with ranged attacks and plentiful buffs. Outside battle, Malaclypse allows you to reselect cards during random spins, perhaps turning a failure into success.

Outside of the standard dungeon crawls, players also face significant special challenges and feats to unlock achievements, like delving down 10 levels of a dungeon or collecting 300 pieces of gold in a single run.

The original Hand Of Fate had a clever premise. Players composed a deck of cards full of encounters, weapons, and enemies, and then an A.I.-controlled dealer dealt out a random dungeon in front of them. As players explored this card-created world they quickly powered up their hero while engaging in miniature story encounters in the vein of Dungeons & Dragons. Each playthrough unlocked new cards as players worked their way up a chain of fearsome boss monsters. Defiant Development's upcoming sequel sticks close to that formula while tweaking some of the original's wonky mechanics to hopefully create a more rounded experience.

One of the big new changes in Hand of Fate 2 is the addition of multiple win conditions. In the first game, players won a round of cards when they reached the end of a dungeon and faced off against a boss. For the sequel, new final objective cards are shuffled into the deck before the game starts, and these cards might task you with surviving a set amount of time or ask you to attain a certain amount of gold before clearing the dungeon.

This diversity of mission objectives extends down to each encounter card. For example, during one encounter we met a goblin who asked for our help robbing a few unsuspecting guards. In the first game, this encounter would have ended as soon as we'd smashed the goon's heads against the ground, but this was a timed encounter, so we weren't expected to defeat the guards, just hold them off while the goblins lightened their coin purses. Once the goblin was done, he jumped through a magic portal and we quickly followed suit.

This goblin wasn't the only friendly being we encounter on the road. Later on, we ran into a few thugs who were shaking down a bard. After chasing the thugs away, the bard offers to join our quest. Companions like the bard join you in battle, but they also aid you outside of combat. For example, this bard's perk allowed us to reselect quest rewards if we weren't happy with our spoils. Our lute-playing friend also provided commentary during story encounters and negotiated a weapons trade that saved us 50 gold.

Near the end of the dungeon, we discovered a treasure chest that allowed us to experiment with Hand of Fate 2's new dice minigame. When players face dexterity challenges, they must roll a set of dice in hopes of reaching a target number. If players fail to roll the correct number, they can choose to reroll any number of the dice at least once. This is a simple minigame, but it helps shake up the action and provides a small strategic challenge.

The original Hand of Fate was only a few cards shy of a full deck. It had an excellent concept and theme that was marred by repetitive combat. Thankfully, Hand of Fate 2's Arkham-style action feels much tighter, so Defiant Development might be holding all the aces when this sequel drops later next year.