Hand of Fate 2

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Hand of Fate 2 manages to take everything praiseworthy about the previous installment and make it even better. The challenges players face never look alike and the improved combat system manages to elevate the weakest parts of the original.

The Dealer returns for another round of cards and combat in Hand of Fate 2.

Hand of Fate 2 combines cards, fantasy, and storytelling to make a unique RPG experience, though not in the vein of Hearthstone. In this new adventure by Defiant Development, players travel the world with and through a deck of cards. Cards govern everything: gear, encounters, success. Quite a bit of skill and brain matter is required, but winning isn’t always a matter of “gitting gud.”

Dealt a good hand.

A mysterious dealer sits in a rickety wagon, casting your fate across the table in an ominous game of cards. He offers cryptic insight into the game itself while dictating your destiny as if it were preordained.

Updated graphics, additional gameplay mechanics, and engaging storytelling make Hand of Fate 2 an enjoyable gaming experience.

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.

Combat has also been expanded with new enemies, bosses, and weapon types. AI companions will also become available over time, each with their own unique powers. The fighting system itself hasn’t changed, feeling like a simpler version of that seen in the Arkham series and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War. For the most part that actually works in its favour, though there are times where Hand of Fate 2 can feel like a slog, either due to being swamped by loads of enemies or not having the equipment cards to kill them off quickly.

Hand of Fate 2 was an excellent spin on the ARPG when it came out in late 2017. It's even better now that it's on the Switch. The same issues are still present, namely that combat can be too simplistic, and there are just so many games on the console that Hand of Fate 2 could easily be overlooked. I hope that instead, Defiant's sequel sees a lot of new players, as it's a series I hope to see continue to evolve.

Hand of Fate 2 has stellar writing, fun deck building, and interesting stories. What it doesn’t have, however, is good combat. While I have grown to find the combat manageable, it should be fun and exciting. It stands as an odd blemish that has been carried over from the original while everything else as been prettied up. Still, I recommend giving Hand of Fate 2 a chance, especially if you never played the original. Even with the lackluster combat there is plenty to enjoy here.

Hand of Fate 2 is an accurate and bold recreation of a fantasy card game. However, authenticity aside, it jars as a video game due to its insurmountable randomness.