I want to share this game. It was funded and has been in development for some time, as it's currently in open beta, at the time of this post. I've been playing it all day, and I believe this is most certainly going to be my game of the year. In fact, by chance, it may be my favorite game of all time.
Hand of Fate is a dungeon crawling, RPG, CCG. where you are pitted against an eternal duel against a regal yet mysterious man by the name of The Dealer. Is was designed like the games of old, where you and your AI opponent sit at a stationary table and face each other in a single game. And also like games of old, you are given text-based adventures with choices to be decided and treasures to be plundered. But unlike the adventures of old you may be used to, these adventures are mostly chosen by you. These events are in the form of cards, where you stack your deck with the events that suit you the most. This also applies to equipment cards, as you can randomly get armors, weapons and helpful artifacts in your journeys. And your dungeons, as they are, become laid out by the dealer as he lays out what rewards and curses that you receive by every tile.
But wait... there's a twist. The combat is much more interesting. When you have a combat instance, you are put directly into a scenic area with randomly drawn enemy cards where you actually do the combat yourself. And the combat is quite similar to the free-flow style of the Arkham games. It's quite nice, though lacks the polish of the AAA games it reminds of. Perhaps when upon release, we will see a tighter product. And your gear accumulated through your fateful card game aid you in those instances.
I love all of that, but the best part has to be The Dealer. He has so many lines built into him, and has a very educated or sly comment about almost every move you make. I've played for about 6 hours thus far, and I've rarely heard him repeat a single line. The dialogue written for him, and the voice actor himself, create this atmosphere unmatched by any other game I have encountered. He makes so many great comments about life, death, and everything around the game and how it relates to reality. I've never skipped a line and I wait eagerly to hear every word he has for me.
So yes. This is currently my game of the year, and as I mentioned, a potential choice for my favorite game of all time. It's the ultimate game of risk, chance, and skill. And even as much of a successful courting as they are, you may find the players to be even more intriguing. You can get it on Steam for 20 bucks, or whatever form of coin you've accumulated.
http://store.steampo...com/app/266510/
