Hand of Fate: Hordes sounded familiar when it landed in my inbox last week. That’s because it first appeared under the name Hordes of Fate: A Hand of Fate Adventure. I prefer the new name, for what it’s worth.
Hordes, as I shall mostly refer to it henceforth, is a new auto-shooter by Spitfire Interactive, the same studio that gave us the two Hand of Fate games before this one. Funny that. The key difference between those games and this one is: genre. That’s because, as the name implies, Hordes is a bullet heaven inspired by Vampire Survivors.
One of my favourite things about the game, after playing the demo this weekend, is the way Spitfire has integrated the deckbuilder elements of the first two games into the bullet-heaven format. Hand of Fate has always been a cut above the pack when it comes to presentation and immersion, and that’s no different here.
The camera is a bit closer and more personal than you’ll find in most titles like this, but it’s worth it to get a better look at the pleasingly chonky 3D visuals. Much like Hand of Fate is a visually impressive deckbuilder, Horde stands up well against its fellow auto-shooters.
Another thing I liked is how Hordes integrates RPG elements to string things together, with shorter, more concise excursions that chain together to create a narrative that carries your efforts forward. This appears to create a more cohesive layer around the gameplay, but I await the full game before I get too into the meta-progression side of things.
There are two characters in the demo (I think) out of four that will be in the game at launch, although I did note in the presser that “heroes, quests, dungeons, bosses and weapons” will be added as the project moves through Early Access.
With its slick presentation and layered gameplay, Hand of Fate: Hordes has shot right to the top of my wishlist when it comes to upcoming auto-shooters and bullet heavens.
The demo coming up is part of Steam Bullet Fest, which starts on June 8th at 6 pm UK time, so hit this link and try it for yourself while you/we wait for Hordes to arrive in Early Access on PC (Linux, Mac, Win) on July 22.
