Summoners Fate Early Impressions

Code provided with many thanks to GamesBranding.com

Choose Your Fate

Summoner’s Fate is a turn-based tactic and deckbuilding game in the top-down view. A game that offers randomly generated adventures where you need to master your strategy skills to get the best over your enemy as well as have the good luck of the dice roll. The developers gave me early access to the game so I can share my thoughts on what looks to be a very entertaining title.    

The Summoners

Before you begin a run in adventure mode you have a large list of fantasy characters called Summoners to choose from. You have the usual suspects like warriors, mages and rogues. But also some more unusual characters like an ogre or squirrel with a fine top hat. Each has specific perks and it was a lot of fun experimenting with these different characters on runs.

From there you enter an open area like a dungeon or a forest and your goal is to locate the boss hidden somewhere in the level. The route ahead is unknown with each room covered by fog. As you move to each room you will either need to engage in combat, find gold and resources, a camp to rest or possibly find a vendor to spend money or possibly free a prisoner if you want to take the risk. The game does an excellent job of explaining each step in its tutorial and if you choose you can have the game remind you of the mechanics if you end up being a little forgetful like I do. 

Tactics and Cards

When you engage in battle you need to eliminate the enemy in order to progress. Each player takes it in turns to move and make an attack on the enemy provided they are close enough. Attack an enemy head-on and they counterattack. But move behind them and attack and they will be unable to counter. It’s all about planning your moves and making the right move at the right time. I found myself stroking my chin very often, like a game of chess. If an enemy is hiding behind a tree you can also destroy the environment. Character placement is also important. Hit an enemy towards one of your allies and they will also attack increasing damage. It’s very satisfying when a plan comes together. If you do make a mistake though you are able to undo previous moves.

What expands the combat further is the game’s use of cards. As you explore the dungeons you will gain cards that you can activate during battles, provided you have enough mana to spend. These cards can cast spells, summon allies, give buffs and many other features to give you the edge in battle. Once they are spent though they are gone, so making use of these at the right moments is important for success. If things are not going well you can attempt to roll the dice for a chance to escape. But if you choose to do this the enemy will still remain in this area of the map until you decide to take them on again or just avoid them entirely. 

Roll the Dice

During your travels, you may encounter mini-quests where success is determined by a roll of the dice. An example of this is you may find a bear trapped in a cage. Roll high enough and the bear joins your party, roll too low it attacks you, or roll in the middle and it just runs away. The more dice you roll the higher the probability of success, but, you only have a limited number of dice to attempt this until you locate more on your adventure. This adds an interesting D n D style element to the game that adds a satisfying risk and reward feel to the experience. Even if things don’t work out it doesn’t mean the run is over. The game offers plenty of room for fault, it’s how you recover from it.

Graphics and Extras

As well as the adventure mode, Summoners quest also allows you to battle head to head with friends and other players online. Or if you have no friends you can always make use of the AI in the versus modes.

Graphically the game has a nice colourful cartoon style. There is a wide range of characters and enemies from goblins to skeletons. But I also like how the game has more unusual characters like giant bugs and squirrels. My favourite feature by far was how, when you select your character in battle, they look to you in the heavens from guidance. I don’t see myself as the best deity since most of my runs ended in utter failure but it felt pretty cool to be in that position.

As Fate Would Have it

Summoners Fate is a challenging title. Death can come thick and fast in this world of fantasy and squirrels. But with its unique approach to turn-based combat, cards and dice rolls. This is sure to be a title worth playing run after run until you inevitably get called back to the real world to wash the dishes. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing through this early build. If you like your board and card games in video game form then this is a title well worth keeping an eye on.

If you want to try the game now there is a free demo available on Steam.

No release date has been set for Summoners Fate. But it’s looking to be released on PC and mobile devices. Let’s hope we also see a Nintendo Switch release sometime in the future.