Game: Half Past Fate
Genre: Adventure, Simulation, Puzzle
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam)
Developers|Publishers: Serenity Forge| Way Down Deep
Price: £17.99| €19.99|US $19.99| CA $20.99|AU $29.99
Age Rating: EU 3+, US E
Release Date: 12th March 2020
Review code kindly provided by Serenity Forge
In Half Past Fate, you follow the adventures of six people and their journey through time, finding love and friendship. You are with them when they have their life changing moments, quirky events and when they make decisions that will change their future.
Help romance along by solving puzzles
That description sounds a lot like a visual novel, doesn’t it? I wouldn’t put Half Past Fate in that genre though, the developer describes the game as a rom-com. Romantic, yes, with elements that’ll have you smiling. The game is a relaxing journey that brings back a lot of fond memories for game geeks and movie buffs.
The story isn’t told in a straight line though as the game hops from the one romance to the other, and in doing so, goes back and forward in time. You play chapters about one of the couple and set in a certain time and unravel it by solving puzzles. And then move to another couple somewhere else in the timeline.
You start off with meeting Rinden, who is trying to get to a meeting in time and still have his favorite cup of coffee to take with him. Not as easy as it sounds, he is clearly having one of those days, where everything goes wrong. We have all been there right? Luckily you are there to help him: check out all objects that you can on the scene and talk to people. Each time the story progresses it pays to talk to everyone again, as you might get more background info to ask of them.
It’s never as straightforward as doing task a then b and then c. From the first you know you have to reach goal a, but to do that you will first have to solve task c, which in turn leads you to d first. And only after clearing that you can check off goal b and ultimately a. It’s not difficult, but oddly fulfilling to see everything falling into place.
Fond memories for gaming geeks
Let me be clear: don’t buy the game if you don’t like reading text. Because there’s a lot of it, and it is a big part of what makes the game. Unlike many games out there, the things the characters say are real too: for instance, Ana and Jaren meet at a Tea festival.
Ana is there to do some research on how to interest newcomers to tea. She is a tea lover herself. Trying various samples of tea, she gets to experience the teas through Jaren’s eyes, a total newbie to the entire tea-scene. There’s Matcha, Snow Cone tea, Oxy-tea, Kombucha and more. And the info given on things like the difference between rooibos and black tea is true. Details matter in Half Past Fate.
It’s clear the game is made by video gaming fans themselves. Examples: Jaren works at GamerForge, and has to find a receipt for a pre-ordered video game. In many of the conversations specific fan merchandise is named, if you check on groups of people chatting, they are talking about the latest big movie. Video games are named, like one of the older Serenity Forge games, Lifeless Planet!
Somehow, recognising the things the protagonists are talking about makes the characters all the more likeable!
Finding BB Bunny
The game is made in a 3D pixel style. At first I was wondering if I’d like that, you know how much I like my visuals in a game. Pixel art isn’t my favorite, but I must say that somehow, the developers managed to convey emotions and specifics in the characters really well.
It’s the little details that matter here. For instance, at one point you borrow a pair of reading glasses from a person to use in your puzzles. You will see her with the paper she close to her face to be able to read anything, as soon as you give the glasses back, her little avatar is bespectacled again and she reads normally. I love things like that, it shows the attention to detail from the developer.
And in each level to put a little joke, finding a plush BB Bunny! If you manage it, you will get one of the 42 achievements available (they are under the + button), the one called Hop to It!
The graphics are good, though I did see one of the characters disappear into a big planter when she walked to far to the side of the street. The music and the background sounds are nice.
Conclusion
Don’t go into the game thinking you’ll do some mindless gaming. Because of the mixed up timelines, familiar faces and tie-ins between the three couples Half Past Fate needs your attention.
Like I did, you’ll no doubt have a favorite couple. Whether it’s Rinden and Mara, Bia and Milo or Ana and Jaren, all the stories are interesting. If you like story based games, solving puzzles and are in the mood little romance to go with it, you really can’t go wrong with Half Past Fate.
Final Verdict: I like it a Lot 