By that definition, I think this system is brilliantly integrated, and adds a refreshing break in the pace of adventures. Rather than being some grand event, the battles are meant to be a more interesting version of a dice roll, where the odds are in your favour, though skill and chance have equal influence on the result. You see, the enemies you face in a battle are determined by randomly drawn cards which dictate their type and number, and barring poor equipment or getting blocked against a wall, should be simple. What I realized after a few hours with the game, though, is that the battles are intentionally easy. It feels similar to the combat in Assassin’s Creed, where mastering the ability to dodge or block (assuming you’ve found a shield in your adventures) can render most battles a breeze.
![ps4 hand of fate ps4 hand of fate](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2rsO0zeGqB0/maxresdefault.jpg)
The combat takes place in an actual 3D battle area, which is a great idea, but it’s not actually very fun. Here’s where I struggled with Hand of Fate at first. The dungeon cards themselves range from simple chance-based interactions, to challenge-based events, to actual combat. Each step consumes food, and if not enough is found or purchased when available, it can dictate a shorter, more direct route through an adventure, rather than a longer and potentially more rewarding one that may help to better equip the player for the inevitable boss battle that marks the adventure’s victory condition.
![ps4 hand of fate ps4 hand of fate](https://cdn.wccftech.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MarshThievesDayLogo.jpg)
Even though the player has chosen many of the cards that can be used within the dungeon, there’s no guarantee which order they’ll appear, or where the adventure-specific dealer cards will fall.
#Ps4 hand of fate series
The twist, though, is the adventure is arranged as a series of adjoined cards that are kept face-down until the player navigates over them. The adventures themselves play out similar to a traditional Roguelike, as there’s certainly no guarantee you’ll survive the experience, and death is failure. Anyone who has played Bastion will know the feeling of immersion that accompanies the narration of seemingly mundane events and how much it can improve enjoyment. Even this small addition helps to make an adventure in HoF feels like a much more personal experience. In addition to shuffling and flipping cards, he also narrates your adventures.
![ps4 hand of fate ps4 hand of fate](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UiZw8NozQoo/maxresdefault.jpg)
You see, when playing Hand of Fate, you sit across from the Dealer, who doubles as the DM/ GM you would have in a tabletop RPG experience. The reason I mention all of this, though is Hand of Fate has done what I always felt was missing from other card-based video games, which is mash in other non-physical systems. There’s something to be said for tangible media, but I’m also one of those weirdos who still buys literature that’s been scribbled onto dead trees, so call me old-fashioned. Typically, I tire quickly of digital deck building games as the physical experience of rifling through cards constitutes so much of the satisfaction for me. Hand of Fate is a game that seems to have achieved the impossible task of successfully blending the genres of Roguelike, Deck Building, RPG, and Action Combat. It seems I need to write more to fill my contractual obligation to the magazine, so here goes.