First Looks// Post-PAX Impressions: Guns of Icarus Online and Hand of Fate

Hand of Fate by Defiant Development

When playing collectable card games (CCGs) and living card games (LCGs) I always try to picture in my mind what is happening in the represented card that I just played. Whether it be flinging a fireball at some minion or creating a temporary shield about myself. I find it to be somewhat more gratifying than checking the numbers and colours of the card against my opponents. It would appear that I'm not alone in this, as Australian developer Defiant Development has created Hand of Fate. This is a game that combines deck building card games with combat-heavy third-person action adventure games.

Hand of Fate starts with a deck of cards being presented to the player by a hooded man who glowers across a table. As the player picks cards they are summoned into a realm and must fight off a series of foes in order to progress into the next realm.

Combat is very much akin to the Batman games made by Rocksteady. It relies on the timing of each executed move while blocking other assailants that attempt to harm the player. This makes for some very satisfying engagements as each blow feels it is making a positive impact. They certainly carry weight, something the developers have been painstakingly trying to achieve.

Set in a high fantasy world, Hand of Fate carries with it the normal accoutrements of action RPGs - specifically 'stuff'. This 'stuff' can vary from potions and food to armour and weapons. The latter of these two 'stuff' groups have a visual effect on the player's avatar as they wear the 'stuff' they equip.

This can turn them from being a loin-cloth wearing and spoon-wielding weakling to a hulking, fully-armoured unstoppable arbiter of death. All thanks to some judicious card playing and the odd punch to the face of some fool-hardy assailant. Kind of like your average weekly grocery shopping run, only less violent.

Presentation-wise Hand of Fate stands up well against many full-priced AAA games out there and this is something Defiant should be applauded for. The animations are well done, with the only major gripe being some of the buff and de-buff effects being a little too overwhelming. So much so that the enemies were little more than orbs of green and black as my cursed weapon de-buffed them by slowing them down. This is something Defiant is aware of and is looking into.

Hand of Fate is out on Early Access and is available on the PC with a PS4 also planned for release by the end of 2014.