Octopus Overlords

http://store.steampowered.com/app/266510/
Saw this on Steam the other night and it up in a moment of weakness figured I'd take another one for the team based on the considerable good feedback.

Really different than anything else I've played, but very fun in the little time I've spent with it.

Basically it's a rogue-like at heart, with each game being a quest through a "dungeon" to find a particular enemy. The first twist is that the dungeons are all randomly created by playing cards from a deck you design. Each turn you move your piece to a card, and a different random event will fire off based on the card shown... some are battles, some are skill tests, some are shops or other events, etc. Successfully completing encounters can give you draws from various reward decks that can give you gold, food, or items.





Between games you can tweak your deck by adding and removing encounter cards and item cards, and it's those cards that drive all the encounters that might get played. Items and encounters are marked as new and don't give you any information about them until you actually encounter them in a game. Beating that encounter, or finding an item in a game gives you a token for that card, and after the game you are given new cards and other rewards for each new token you received which encourages players to include new cards in their deck and not just a reliable set of encounters they like.



The other big twist in the game is the battles... if you run into a battle encounter, cards are drawn from an encounter deck and enemies of the proper type and number based on the card drawn will be loaded into the new battle arena (i.e. if you draw a 2 of skulls, you'll fight 2 skeletons, draw a 5 of dust, and you'll fight 5 thieves, etc). Each battle arena is a small map where you control your character in the third person, and fight all the enemies that were drawn in an action oriented battle pretty reminiscent of the combat from the Batman: Arkham XXXX games... so depending on your equipment lots of counters, finishing moves, combos, etc.



It was really a complete surprise the first time I loaded into a battle and saw how they were handled... it takes a little getting used to, but they really put together a pretty solid little combat mini game that feels well polished.



Once you progress through each game's dungeon to the bottom level you will encounter the dungeon boss. The first two for instance are the Jack of Dust and next the Jack of Bones. Defeating each boss unlocks a number of new cards you can put in your deck, and unlocks the next enemy in line for you to quest against.



The game seems remarkably polished so far with solid art direction that reminded me a little of Torchlight during the battles, while the dungeon portions gave me a bit of an Ultima vibe (since you're sitting across from a fortune teller of some sort who is playing the game cards like he's doing a tarot reading).

The only major downside I've noticed so far is the cost... it's $25 currently for the early access which feels a little pricey, but I haven't played enough to get a real feel for how much content is in the game. It took me probably about a half hour to play through the two simple starting games and there are a total of around 20 bosses to fight, but I really don't have a good feel for how long a non-tutorial game would take to play out.

So two tentative thumbs up from me for this one... it's fun in it's current form and the devs seem active and competent. I'll post more impressions as I have time to play.

I thought it looked familiar -- and we did have a brief (but distracted) discussion about it back in July.

Smoove_B wrote:I thought it looked familiar -- and we did have a brief (but distracted) discussion about it back in July.

Ah, thanks for the link... I even posted in there, but apparently I was too focused on MST3K to actually observe what the thread was about.

I picked this up about a month ago when it was in a humble bundle at the $15 level. I've been waiting for some of the rough edges to be taken off of it before trying it out. Seems like there are still quite a few issues. There's a new patch coming out any day now that should help that though and I may decide to take it for a spin then depending on what I read.

EDIT: And that patch is out today:

Patch Notes [UPDATED September 30]
Sept 30 Beta6 EA 1.3 13354
Endless mode improvements
Forest performance improvements
Subtitles for voice over
Improve cameras in mazes (especially for keyboard)
Show gamepad/keyboard controls
Optimisations to the card table scene, especially towards the end of the game
More music
Card table scene changes through progression
Environmental VFX
New card table environment
Show DS3/DS4 button icons, if you have one plugged in
Shop variations and level variations
Environment polish
Updated gamepad support
Achievement fixes
Lots and lots of bugs and exploits fixed, thanks for reporting them

Ah, good deal. I didn't notice any major issues when I was playing last night, but I didn't play for too long.

I'll hopefully play a bit of this depending on how fun and stable the new Elite patch ends up being.

You lost me at the combat. If it were turn-based or even slower- paced, I'd be on this like stink on a chimpanzee.

<edit> I take is back. Watching a couple of play videos, it does look very enjoyable. I may pop for it after all.

From what I've been reading on the Steam forums, the most recent patch totally broke the balance in the story mode portion of the game. So, I'd hold off on playing it for a while until the devs address things. Especially if you're new to playing it.

ColdSteel wrote:From what I've been reading on the Steam forums, the most recent patch totally broke the balance in the story mode portion of the game. So, I'd hold off on playing it for a while until the devs address things. Especially if you're new to playing it.

Did the patch make it harder or easier? I'm struggling with using the keyboard and mouse for combat, so finally broke down and bought a controller.

tgb wrote:Did the patch make it harder or easier?

It made it much harder, apparently.

Picked this up over the holidays and am really enjoying it, especially now that I've switched over to using my 360 controller.

I haven't played it since I first got it several months back. I keep meaning to, but then decided to wait until it's officially released.

OMG... two 'Huge Failure' card picks in a row when I entered the Carnival of Mysteries, I believe it was called. First sent me stumbling, lost, deeper in. The second had me

p.s. Love the writing and execution of the Narrator / Dealer. Awesome stuff.

Picked this up as an impulse purchase. It's out of early access and has a small release discount.

This is one of the most refreshingly different games I've played in a long time. It's not what I'd call original or unique, but it combines different genres is ways I haven't encountered before. It's part tabletop RPG, part hack 'n' slash brawler, part deck builder, and all roguelike.

Gaming value wise I'm not yet sure it's worth the $20. I don't think it will have the depth or legs that other $20 gaming investments can get you. (E.g. a not-old AAA on sale.) But in terms of entertainment value, you'll definitely get more than a couple movie tickets' worth if it's the least bit up your alley.

Recommended if you want something accessible but different. While the verdict's still out on depth, it definitely has plenty of variety. This might be an ideal short-to-medium length play session game.

Is it playable with mouse and keyboard or is it essential to plug in my controller?

Plays fine with mouse and keyboard IMO, but controller is ideal.

Started playing this tonight, very well done, great atmosphere and plays very nicely.

My opinion has improved. The brawling may indeed be on par with Sleeping Dogs, Arkham, etc. Albeit less fluid, but augmented by the different items it can be very fun. Especially once you get to face opponents who have shields and unblockable (but dodgeable) attacks.

It seems like some of the items may be a little overpowered, but that's probably appropriate (and even desired) in a roguelike. The majority of items are mediocre or strong only in specific circumstances. But I got a good AoE trinket it addition to the item that grants magic arrows whenever you kill an enemy, and I was transformed into a dervish of death.

Getting pained down to 1/1 HP though? That's just ugly.

Yep, I’m enjoying this one a lot. I do feel like it’s a game that is better than the sum of its parts though. Taken alone the combat is a bit loose but add in the card game, the choose-you- own-adventure elements and the great narrator and it all just works.

I’ve made it about half way through the 2nd row of boss cards and the difficulty picks up significantly.

I just posted a brief recommendation for this. It is so right up my alley I can't even tell you. I only had an hour to play today and I was planning to play Shadow of Mordor, but this won.

I played Hand of Fate a bunch over the weekend and really liked it. Deck-building is not usually my thing, but the choose-your-own-adventure aspect really hooked me, and my lizard brain has always been a sucker for simple brawler action.

I've completed the campaign and taken a few runs at Endless mode. There are several storylines that I still want to see play out, but in order to turn up those cards I have to play through a bunch of familiar material for the nth time, and I'm not sure that I have the patience for it. Still, a neat little game and a worthwhile purchase.

I'm just getting to this after a break in my schedule (and let's be truthful, Mad Max) and I'm liking it. I didn't realize there was actual combat to sort out - I thought it was 100% deck building, but I really like it. It reminds me a bit of the card game Fallen, though not nearly as deep with the RPG elements. Still, quite similar and I've been enjoying the angry banter of the dealer as I keep drawing cards that are from what I guess is the tutorial deck. I'm just using the "build best deck" option as I don't really have any interest in crafting a deck. Between the story mode and the fate deck DLC I picked up, this looks like it has some real nice "I have 45 minutes..." gaming potential to it.

I bought this one, perhaps during the holiday sale, and finally installed and tried it today. Pretty fun, though at least early on the combat is quite easy.

I wanted the early combat to be easy. I played for the overall feel, not for a 3D hack and slash.

JetFred wrote:I wanted the early combat to be easy. I played for the overall feel, not for a 3D hack and slash.

Easy combat is my preference as well.

Yeah, I love the overall theme and feel but the combat difficulty really increased significantly (IMHO) after the 3rd boss.

Some of the later bosses used to be incredibly cheap. Thankfully, they patched it to be a bit more reasonable.

Hand of Fate 2 comes out tomorrow. RPS:

In the first Hand Of Fate, a sly and effective singleplayer collision of roguelite and collectible card game, I fought onwards primarily due to a deep and burning desire to wipe the imagined smirk off the face of The Dealer, an AI-controlled dungeon master and nemesis rolled into one, whose e’er-taunting voice was the exact sound of a perpetually-raised eyebrow.

Hand Of Fate 2 is a superior sequel in many respects, but either he’s mellowed or I have. Now, we play the game together, fond old sparring partners rather than eternal enemies.

All over this. I loved the first one.

morlac wrote: ↑Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:53 pm All over this. I loved the first one.

Me too!

Yeah, this was a good one. Though I still have a decent amount to play in the first one, I think. So I'll hold off on the sequel, at least long enough for reviews to roll in.

Arise thread...

So Hand of Fate 2 is on sale. Steam reviews are a little mixed (and generally worthless). Any thoughts from the OO crowd?

Hand of Fate 1 and 2 were both games that I really wanted to like more than I actually did. The core gameplay concept is interesting, but the uninspired combat in tiny arenas is boring, there's a ton of RNG at play, the production values (outside of the stellar voice work) is 'meh', and the whole thing just never really came together like I hoped it would. I'd maybe recommend it at $10, but doubt I would at $20.

I liked the first one well enough, but was unable to overcome the end-game difficulty hump.

Also, it's got the "sunless sea/skies" storytelling method, where each individual story is told in little two sentence chunks. To see the next chunk, you have to run through the dungeon again.

I liked the combat (it's very similar Batman: Arkham Asylum/City, but with less complexity and animation budget), and the deck-building aspect of it. But for $20, I'm not in on the sequel.

I found the original Hand of Fate to be more entertaining than its sequel, as long as you can look past the randomness and somewhat prosaic combat in small areas.

What sets them apart for me is the Dealer character. The Dealer was one of my favourite aspects of the first game. In the original, the Dealer serves to oppose the player throughout the challenges and makes for a surprisingly entertaining and effective foil (so it feels immensely satisfying when you're finally able to defeat him at the end). But in the sequel, the Dealer is relegated to being merely another extra companion and as I best I could tell, he's no longer even part of the main story.

Thanks for the feedback. I thought the crowd had enjoyed the original more. Regardless, I held off on picking up the sequel, though I did go back and play the original some more. I've got maybe half of story mode finished, so I've got a ways to go.

I really enjoyed the first one, enough so to buy the second and back the board game version. However, for some reason, every time I sat down to play the sequel I could never make it past the first "boss" battle. I really don't understand the why of that but after several repeated attempts I walked away from it to some other shiny thing. Need to give it another whack, it would seem. One of these days.

I recently picked up Hand of Fate 2 for the Switch for $10 without having touched either 1 or 2 before. I've found it to be a pretty engrossing and enjoyable hand-held console game. If I had bought this for the PC I'm not sure I'd enjoy it as much. Even though I have a controller I can hook up to my computer, I don't particularly enjoy using it.

I've always enjoyed games with layers, and this has three. First layer: Selecting the map you move and fight on. Second layer: selecting the decks you play with on that map. Third layer: 3rd person combat, good but hectic. I like that I can skip some maps until later, and you can stack things in your favor a bit by adding challenges you know you can accomplish with relative ease to help soften a long journey.