Hand Of Fate 2

Hand of Fate 2 is one of the most unique dungeon crawlers released in a long time! The game runs at near 4k resolution and features expanded options from the prequel.  You operate your characters with a board of cards, using deck building styled resource management to control the flow of combat and leveling up your protagonists. Hand of Fate 2 borrows numerous concepts from the viral Hearthstone release. Both feature deck building controls and turn-based strategy. 

The difference is that Hand of Fate 2 has more personality, the NPC's taunt you and play mind games on the player in real-time. The game is designed around chaos and randomness, with an air of unpredictable elements that interrupt and dynamically change the flow of combat within seconds! Every component of Hand of Fate 2 adds strategy and chaos. You must prepare your deck and monsters accordingly, because the battlegrounds shift in real time, eliminating predictable elements from the gameplay. 

Hand of Fate 2 delicately crafts an RPG with a perfect symmetry between tension and humor. You are marooned in a city infested with diseases and unique story elements! Protecting a delusion man who hordes potatoes to finance a trip to find his lover. Or traversing cityscapes made of randomized cards, solving murder mysteries in a randomized world where everything operates through turn-based strategy. The narrative never feels boring in this RPG, because the world always evolves in real-time as you explore each level! These modular stories are captivating. Each area has an overarching anecdote but also contain sidequests based on the cards you choose when constructing your deck. 

Some are repetitive one-offs, like being entrapped by goblins or visiting a diviner, while others are linear stories that you struggle your way through from mission to mission. The customisable constitution of these stories and challenges allows you to nurse narratives in a way that is unique to your playthrough, and to modify difficulty based on the cards you choose.

Hand of Fate 2 is a perfect example of how to create an exceptional sequel! It improves on every aspect of Hand of Fate 1 while adding better graphics, better story, stronger combat, and more innovation to the franchise. As it stands, Hand of Fate 2 is Divinity II Original Sins only competitor for RPG of the year in 2017!

Final Verdict:
Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Sound: 9/10
Replayability: 10/10
Overall: 9.5/10 (Incredible!)