After a successful Kickstarter campaign in December for the PC, Mac, and Linux versions, Defiant Development has announced that Hand of Fate will be released on the PS4 and PS Vita, with a release date likely happening this year.
Described as a “roguelike that blends tabletop card gaming and video game magic,” here’s a pre-alpha gameplay video of the PC version to give you an idea of what Hand of Fate is all about:
If you’d prefer a written description of the game, here it is:
Inspired by tarot and fantasy, all bets are off as you create your own journey by building a collection of cards used to deal out a boardgame-like dungeon teeming with enemies, treasure, and adventure. Upon entering combat, the cards come to life as the player is propelled into a beautiful 3D environment to brawl it out with foes. Draw your cards, play your hand, and discover your fate.
Being a roguelike, Hand of Fate’s strength is its nearly endless combination of cards and ways to play. The deck builder lets you determine a mix of combat, chance, and equipment cards for your deck before you set out on your quest. Equipment selection ramps up replayability as the player is introduced to a slew of artifacts, weapons, and armor that modify gameplay. The player has the freedom to choose their cards, but how and when they are dealt out is purely up to The Dealer.
Over on the PS Blog, Kim Allom, Associate Producer at Defiant, talked about Hand of Fate, saying, “In theory, yes, you should be able to Cross Save, but we’ll be able to answer this question more confidently as we progress through development.”
After confirming that we’ll hear about pricing and a release date “at a later stage,” Kim explained how similar the cards part will be to Elemental Monster:
The card element of Hand of Fate comes largely from the deck builder mechanic. As you complete encounters (quests) and defeat enemies you will gain access to new combat, chance, and equipment cards that you may decide to add to your deck. During play, they will pop up at the will of The Dealer and you will venture through those cards.
You may decide to play a combat heavy quest or play something with an adventure focus. You get to decide what your game will look like as you unlock its features.
Allom then revealed that “we may have expansion packs later down the line, but they will be DLC, not micro-transactions,” while also talking about how many players will be supported:
We’ve decided to go single player only with a goal to focus on amplifying the single player experience. Being a small indie dev team, we’ve also had to be realistic about scope and how we can deliver the best experience given the resources provided.
What do you think of Hand of Fate? Let us know in the comments below.
