Chris InglisThe bullet heaven genre has exploded recently, with titles like Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Achilles: Survivor captivating players with their simple yet addictive gameplay. Now, Hordes of Fate: A Hand of Fate Adventure enters the fray, bringing a unique twist to the formula and aiming for a 2025 release.
Developed by Australian developers Spitfire Interactive and published by Defiant Development, with strong ties to the team behind the Hand of Fate series, this game blends the familiar auto-shooter action with deck-building mechanics and a distinct narrative flair. After spending some time with the demo, I’m keen to see it develop further.
At its core, Hordes of Fate has a familiar feel as you choose the trickster hero initially and navigate arenas swarming with enemies, automatically attacking while collecting upgrades to enhance your survivability and damage output, working your way through portals down to the Goblin King. The demo offers a taste of this core gameplay loop, showcasing a variety of enemies, objectives, and power-ups.
The graphics are well represented, retaining the dark fantasy aesthetic of the Hand of Fate series while adapting it to the top-down perspective. The voice acting of the narrator is great, and it’s genuinely fun to play and see how long you can last against hordes of enemies.
The deck-building element, a hallmark of the Hands of Fate series, adds a layer of strategic depth. Before each run, you will construct a deck of cards that determine the encounters, challenges, and boons you will face. In the demo, you can only choose from one of each of the decks of cards but it gives you an exciting taste of what’s to come.
Of course, it’s still early days. The demo provides a limited glimpse into the full game, and some aspects remain to be seen. How well the deck-building and auto-shooter elements will truly mesh in the long run, and whether the narrative can maintain its intrigue throughout the full experience, are questions that can only be answered with the full release.
Despite being a demo, Hordes of Fate: A Hand of Fate Adventure has made a strong first impression by blending the addictive gameplay of the bullet heaven genre with the narrative flair of the Hand of Fate series. If Spitfire Interactive can deliver on the promise shown in this demo, the game has the potential to become a standout title in this increasingly crowded genre. I’ll be eagerly watching development of the game through to full release.
This demo preview utilised a key provided by The IndiEXP and Hordes of Fate: A Hand of Fate Adventure is currently in development with a public demo coming to Steam on May 15, 2025.
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