According to a tweet from developer Defiant Development, their upcoming game Hand Of Fate will be releasing later this month. The promising table-top hack n’ slash hybrid has been in early access on Steam and we got our hands on it.

Evident from the moment you hit start, Hand Of Fate is a unique game. The gameplay is intriguing, and exciting, the graphics are gorgeous, and the art style is remarkable. Upon starting the game you are introduced to the card dealer. He is a mysterious yet charismatic man who sets the scenarios for you to overcome. The goal of the game is to acquire cards for your own deck by defeating his champions.

Gameplay has been fantastic in Hand Of Fate. When sitting at the table with the card dealer, he will lay out a series of cards. Each card presents a different situation. These situations can include coming across an item shop, spotting an item in a canyon, meeting a priest, and being attacked by bandits. When you flip each card, you a presented with text that gives you the details to the scenario in your story. This can lead to a card shuffle game of chance, drawing an item card, or using your gold at a shop.

The cards can also lead to the game’s awesome combat and deadly mazes. When a combat card is activated you are taken to the battlegrounds and the game turns into a third person hack ‘n’ slash with similar mechanics from the Batman: Arkham series.

Although this isn’t the final build of the game, the mechanics and animations of the combat are very crisp but still leave room for improvement. The mazes in the game are engaging, fun, and actually get very difficult. One of which took far more of my health than any combat challenges.

The most remarkable part of the game is its ingenuity. If the game ever feels repetitive, it is the player’s fault. This is because you are not only playing with the dealer’s deck of scenarios but yours as well. When selecting a champion to fight, you also select a number of cards to be placed into the dealer’s deck. This mechanic allows you to change the probability of the circumstances you will engage in during the game as well as the items you will find and the people you will meet.

The game not only runs well in this early state, with little to no technical issues, but it looks and sounds incredible too. While character models in combat sequences may not be as impressive, the card dealer could easily be a product of an AAA design team as well as the environments of the game. The consistent tone of the game is well represented by the well-designed art style and the dynamic music.

Hand of Fate is stacking up to be and early indie gem of 2015 as long as it plays its cards right (pun very much intended). You’ll be able to pick up Hand Of Fate later this month on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux. Be sure to check out our full review when the game releases.

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Matt Batson is one of the many Matts here at MONG. He enjoys games, heavy metal, and comic books. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.