Fate: Reawakened

FATE: Reawakened had the difficult task of reviving a beloved but long-forgotten series. And it does so… halfway. The graphical update is appreciable, the structure is solid, but it lacks ambition. No significant innovations, no evolution of the gameplay. If you’re looking for an old-school dungeon crawler, full of loot and with a cozy atmosphere, then it’s worth a try. But if you’re not already a fan, this remaster is unlikely to change your mind.

It would have been nice to have a few things updated like a better way to hot-bar or cast spells, similarly to how it’s possible to quickly use potions. Strangely the lack of modern-day quality of life features such as this manages to only add to this game’s charm as a fantastic time machine, back to when western developers embraced dungeon crawler RPGs

While Fate Reawakened brings a beloved classic back for modern audiences, it fails to truly elevate the experience. The minimal graphical upgrades, the gameplay feels dated and unbalanced, and the lack of meaningful improvements make it hard to recommend over the originals. Fate: Reawakened gets the Thumb Culture Bronze Award.

FATE: Reawakened delivers a noticeable graphical improvement over the original games, bringing the classic dungeon-crawling experience into a more modern light, but suffers from a long list of technical problems that significantly detract from the experience. Many of these bugs—particularly those involving item stats, retirement exploits, and missing UI elements—impact core gameplay mechanics, making progression either frustrating or easily exploitable. While the game is still playable, these issues demand urgent attention from developers. Without meaningful patches, the game risks alienating both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Dive back into the FATE series, revamped for the HD era

FATE: Reawakened is a solid remaster that won’t compete with Diablo IV, Last Epoch, or Path of Exile 2, but it also doesn’t have to. I wish some of the menus, UI, and other gameplay bugs didn’t bog the overall experience, but thankfully there’s still a solid game here. FATE: Reawakened is a reminder of a simpler time, and while it doesn’t hold a torch to the original, it’s still a nostalgia trip worth taking.

Though mostly faithful to the original, FATE: Reawakened remains a game hard to recommend to newcomers to the franchise or die-hard fans of the series, as it feels far too dated to keep the long-term attention of new players, and makes unnecessary changes that the fans don’t enjoy. Regardless, if you’re nostalgic for the series, it may still be worth giving it a try.