A lot of games look good, with all of those high-end newfangled graphics and shaders and what-not. And don’t get me wrong, I love a texture or a shader as much as the next PC gamer. But it’s rare that a game stuns me with something simple. At Fate’s End, even during its demo, has achieved just that.
Developed by Spiritfarer creators Thunder Lotus, At Fate’s End is a sort of hybrid between a visual novel and an action adventure game. There’s a clear delineation between combat and exploration—in the former, you’re having conversations and exploring, in the latter, the game plays a little more like Silksong.
At Fate’s End follows protagonist Shan Hemlock who, for reasons unknown, has been named the Princess of Swords. It’s her duty, along with her god sword Aesus, to gather all the blades of her (likely messed-up family), through force or diplomacy. Here’s my first impressions:
Frame a painting
At Fate’s End is adoringly animated—it’s rare that I’ll play a 2D game like this where there’s almost no effort spared. The fact that I had to stop for a moment to stare at just how pretty Shan’s ‘I’ve stopped running’ animation was—carrying her momentum with a cinematic gust of her hair—is a sign of things to come.
A pretty picture
It’s not just how it moves, though, it’s how it looks. At Fate’s End has this hand-drawn storybook styling that pairs with its eye-meltingly pretty tarot cards and stylised menus so deliciously that I want to find a way to scrunch it up and eat it. Even the sodding overworld screen is wallpaper-worthy.
Heart of the cards
It helps that I’m intrigued by the game’s mechanics, too. At Fate’s End has an equip-able card system where you’re inspired by clashes with your siblings to take on some of their abilities. However, each of these cards, like a tarot, has a reverse. For instance, big sister Camilla can let you either dash across the field or double-jump.
A few directions
Combat itself is a little rudimentary at first, though has plenty of room for depth. Like most 2D action games, it’s based on positioning. You have an omnidirectional attack and the aforementioned abilities, which you can activate once you’ve built up enough Arcana energy. There’s a pleasantly-themed skill tree to help out, too.
The pen is mightier
The other half of the loop are your insights. You explore the dilapidated demesne of the Hemlocks and have conversations with people who grant you cards, which can be used to progress through an ‘insight’ tree where you need to combine multiple cards to reach a conclusion about a family member. Do this, and you might just be able to talk ’em down
Bite-sized brawls
In between this back-and-forth of exploration and family business, At Fate’s End has miniature fights which you can cleanse in the interest of unlocking skill points or, in some cases, letting you progress the story.
Honestly, At Fate’s End has already charmed me and I can’t wait to see what the full game has to offer. This blend of emotional detective work and swordplay, and the way one is linked to the other, is legitimately engrossing. And the fact it looks so downright gorgeous certainly helps! At Fate’s End plans to release sometime in 2027.
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