Fates: Determination
Fate Determined The Downfall
This game actually has an interesting premise. You get to play as both Jake and Amy, experiencing the same conflict from opposite sides. One discovers he has powers, while the other joins a secret government organisation hunting people like him.
Sounds great, right? Sadly, the execution is pretty hit-or-miss.
About This Game
Storyline
The first 4 episodes were easily my most and only favourite part of the game. There was enough mystery, drama and character development to keep me interested.
The problem is that Episodes 5 and 6 felt a bit too rushed.
A lot of things that could have been properly explored are instead resolved very quickly. Characters and situations that seemed important suddenly get very little attention, and the ending left me thinking, "Ehhh?? That's it?!?!?"
The game also advertises that your choices matter, but honestly, I didn't feel like they mattered that much. There are multiple endings, but I expected much more branching considering the setup.
And the English translation definitely needs work. There are quite a few awkward sentences, incorrect tenses and strange word choices that can pull you out of the story.
Gameplay Mechanics
It's a pretty straightforward visual novel:
Two protagonists
Choices throughout the story
Multiple endings
Optional adult scenes
The dual protagonist system is probably my favourite gameplay idea here, but I wish the choices had more meaningful consequences.
Also, there's no proper scene gallery, which is annoying if you want to revisit something you've already unlocked. And unfortunately, the adult scenes don't have much variation. They're there, but I wouldn't buy the game specifically for them.
Visuals & Audio
This is probably where the game performs best. There are around 3k static images, and quite a few of them look genuinely good. The quality isn't completely consistent, but overall the renders are decent enough.
There are also animated scenes, although most are quite short and don't have much variation.
The audio is nothing particularly special. There's some ambient sound, but no voice acting that really stands out. I did like the way the episodes are presented, though. The little epilogue and teaser at the end of each episode are a nice touch.
Pros-
Interesting superpower/conspiracy premise
Playing from two different perspectives
Some really good renders
A few animated scenes
First 4 episodes were enjoyable
Multiple endings
Nice episode endings/teasers
Cons-
Episodes 5-6 feel rushed
Ending is disappointing
Choices don't feel as impactful as advertised
Characters could use much more development
Translation has noticeable problems
No scene gallery
Limited adult scene variation
Too many interesting ideas are left underdeveloped
Conclusion
I really wanted to like this game more than I actually did. The concept is good, the visuals are often good and the first half had me interested in seeing where everything would go.
But the final episodes really hurt the experience for me. There was clearly enough material here for a much bigger and more satisfying conclusion, but instead everything gets wrapped up way too quickly.
Definitely worth considering if you like supernatural visual novels, but I'd recommend getting it on a steep discount. I also don’t see any recent patches, so I doubt the developers are going to update the game anymore.
Rating: 5/10
Good idea, decent presentation, disappointing execution.
