At Fate's End stands out with stunning artwork

After years of writing about games, my threshold for a single piece of artwork grabbing me is high. I didn’t go to an Xbox indie showcase at GDC expecting to play At Fate’s End, and I didn’t even know it existed, but a few seconds of animation was enough to pull me into the demo chair.

The game blends 2D action with family drama and deliberately avoids copying Hades’ roguelite structure. From the opening 20 minutes or so, Shan’s tale seemed to be about reconciling with more powerful siblings after awkwardly becoming the Chosen One as the runt of the family.

A conversation system lets you choose how to interact with each sibling, collect clues, and peel back the layers of the family trauma that keep them distant—though you can also skip the nuance and fight. Those conversations also produce tarot-card artwork that serve as Shan’s powers.

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