TheRetroArcade
Veteran
Posts: 1,997
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
Sword-centric demigod sibling drama never looked so good.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
I've been writing about games for long enough that my threshold for a single piece of artwork grabbing me by the shoulders and screams "PLAY ME!!" in my face is pretty damn high. I did not attend an Xbox indie showcase at this year's Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco with a plan to play At Fate's End. I did not, in fact, know At Fate's End existed. But a few seconds of animation was all it took to magnetize me to that demo chair.
Even compared to stiff competition like Supergiant's Hades or last year's Dispatch, the artwork of At Fate's End is striking. Much of that's due to its fine touches that stand apart from other 2D games with hand-illustrated styles. When I first took control of protagonist Shan, the young outcast of a family of demigods, I noticed the way she'd shift her weight when she stopped running, her hair sweeping forward under lingering momentum. Conversations that at first seemed like they'd be static, driven just by dialogue boxes, were granted a breath of life by occasional shifts in posture and small gestures. The way the camera whirls around Shan during a climactic confrontation feels like a pure animator's flex. At Fate's End seems to relish every opportunity to bump the lamp.
But what is it, anyway, other than beautiful? A slightly odd mix of 2D action and family drama, but blessedly not aping Hades' roguelite structure. Shan's story, as best I could follow it from the opening 20 minutes or so, is about reconciling with her more powerful siblings after somewhat awkwardly becoming the Chosen One as the runt of the family. A conversation system lets you choose how to interact with each of them to figure out in what specific ways they're sad, mad, or otherwise fucked up, and you collect clues that peel the corners of the layers-deep family trauma holding you at a distance.
There's also the option to blow past nuance and kick their asses instead.
Or maybe you'll end up kicking their asses regardless of whether you make a therapeutic conversational breakthrough? That I'm not so sure about. But within the conversation system lies a whole other collection of amazing artwork in the form of tarot cards that serve as Shan's powers. At Fate's End isn't a deckbuilder, but the cards represent abilities you'll be able to use mid-combat by tapping a trigger on the co...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
GamesRadar+
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
I've been writing about games for long enough that my threshold for a single piece of artwork grabbing me by the shoulders and screams "PLAY ME!!" in my face is pretty damn high. I did not attend an Xbox indie showcase at this year's Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco with a plan to play At Fate's End. I did not, in fact, know At Fate's End existed. But a few seconds of animation was all it took to magnetize me to that demo chair.
Even compared to stiff competition like Supergiant's Hades or last year's Dispatch, the artwork of At Fate's End is striking. Much of that's due to its fine touches that stand apart from other 2D games with hand-illustrated styles. When I first took control of protagonist Shan, the young outcast of a family of demigods, I noticed the way she'd shift her weight when she stopped running, her hair sweeping forward under lingering momentum. Conversations that at first seemed like they'd be static, driven just by dialogue boxes, were granted a breath of life by occasional shifts in posture and small gestures. The way the camera whirls around Shan during a climactic confrontation feels like a pure animator's flex. At Fate's End seems to relish every opportunity to bump the lamp.
But what is it, anyway, other than beautiful? A slightly odd mix of 2D action and family drama, but blessedly not aping Hades' roguelite structure. Shan's story, as best I could follow it from the opening 20 minutes or so, is about reconciling with her more powerful siblings after somewhat awkwardly becoming the Chosen One as the runt of the family. A conversation system lets you choose how to interact with each of them to figure out in what specific ways they're sad, mad, or otherwise fucked up, and you collect clues that peel the corners of the layers-deep family trauma holding you at a distance.
There's also the option to blow past nuance and kick their asses instead.
Or maybe you'll end up kicking their asses regardless of whether you make a therapeutic conversational breakthrough? That I'm not so sure about. But within the conversation system lies a whole other collection of amazing artwork in the form of tarot cards that serve as Shan's powers. At Fate's End isn't a deckbuilder, but the cards represent abilities you'll be able to use mid-combat by tapping a trigger on the co...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?