| Terminator 2D: NO FATE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Review Overview
What is Terminator 2D: NO FATE?
Terminator 2D: No Fate is a retro pixel art arcade shooter and platformer that is scheduled to release on December 12, 2025, for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Steam. The game adapts the events of the 1991 film, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the sequel to 1984’s The Terminator.
Terminator 2D: No Fate puts players in the shoes of Sarah Connor and the T-800 in the past and the leader of the resistance against the machines, John Connor, in a dystopic future. All protagonists must face the artificial intelligence, Skynet, in a battle to stop its plans to eradicate the human race.
With beat ‘em up style gameplay, stealth missions, and shooting mechanics, Terminator 2D: No Fate pays homage to the classic arcade games of the '90s. No Fate dons its inspirations with retro pixel art and a CRT screen filter feature to boot. The game also has original scenarios and multiple endings that were never seen in the original Terminator 2: Judgement Day film.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE features:
⚫︎ Arcade Side Scroller Shooter Gameplay
⚫︎ Retro Pixelated Visuals
⚫︎ Terminator 2 Storyline With Additional Scenarios
⚫︎ Boss Rush Mode and Other Gameplay Modes
⚫︎ 3 Playable Characters
⚫︎ Multiple Weapons and Variety of Levels
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Terminator 2D: NO FATE’s gameplay and story.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Steam |
 PSN |
 eShop |
 Xbox |
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| $29.99 | |||||||
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 Good Variety of Levels Amazing Presentation |
Extremely Short Conditional Replayability Artificial Difficulty |
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Story - 8/10
The narrative of the game retells most of the key scenes of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which are definitely presented and paced quite well. Outside of that, the game offers two additional "what if?" scenarios to round out the time-travel plotlines of the series. Bitmap Bureau went above and beyond by adding these branching paths, giving more depth to the already entertaining series.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Gameplay - 7/10
Those who have already played an arcade side-scrolling shooter would already know how to play this game. Its simplicity makes it a no-brainer to pick up and play. While the game offers a good variety of gameplay modes and level design, there are some flaws that make it feel like it’s meant to drain quarters from you, especially in the higher difficulty levels and game modes.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Visuals - 9/10
The game's visuals are stunning. The use of painstaking hand-drawn sprites, paired with well-animated movements, makes the game resemble a modern port of a classic that never was. While the character designs aren’t anything new, its use of color and eye-catching special effects make it look like you’re playing a game straight out of a ’90s arcade.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Audio - 7/10
It’s important to highlight the soundtrack of the game, as not only does it enhance the retro vibe, but it also elevates the presentation to a different level. However, the game does lack voice acting and impact when it comes to sound effects, which could’ve taken the game to a whole other level.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Value for Money - 3/10
For $30, the game is extremely short. To the point where a measly 3 hours would already mean you finished the entire storyline, added scenarios and all. Its replayability is mostly conditional, as it depends on your enjoyment of playing the game’s levels again on a higher difficulty level or to get that perfect 'S' ranking on each mission. There are various game modes, sure, but most of these involve playing through the same levels with a different character.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Overall - 68/100
Terminator 2D: NO FATE is a successful throwback to the classic arcade shooters that are designed to eat your quarters. Its straightforward yet varied gameplay and stunning presentation make it an instant classic, one that fans of the franchise will definitely appreciate. However, this is also its biggest drawback; it's mostly for the fans, as its short runtime and simplistic design make it hard to draw in anyone else.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE Review: A Beautiful Nostalgia Trip That Ends Early
"Hasta la vista, baby."
No matter how long it’s been, this specific line never gets old. Now, it could be Arnold Schwarzenegger’s delivery of the line, or maybe it was such an iconic moment that it stuck with me even though it’s been more than two decades since my first watch.
Regardless of the reason, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of those "comfort" films that I watch when I want to see a movie that just starts and never lets go. So when I heard about Bitmap Bureau’s upcoming game to make a retro arcade shooter based on arguably one of the greatest action films of all time, I knew I had to try it out.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE is a 2D arcade-style side-scrolling shooter where you relive the iconic scenes of the movie, presented in a retro pixelated style that screams ‘90s era. After multiple delays, is the game actually worth the hype? Short answer: yes. But if you want the long answer, you’re just going to have to come with me if you want to know, or something like that.
Iconic Scenes Made Even Better
Without going too much into it, the story of Terminator 2D: NO FATE is quite literally the film itself. You get to relive all of the iconic moments in the film—the iconic T-800 bar brawl, the hospital chase where Sarah attempts to run from the T-1000, and even John Connor’s side of the Future War. What the game does well, however, is adding context and additional scenes to explain the time-travel portion of the plot as well as give even more depth to the story with its what-if scenarios.
The what-if scenarios are simple butterfly effects to the main plot. Like, for example, what if Sarah Connor reset the chip of the T-800? Or what if Sarah decided to go through with killing Miles Dyson, who becomes indirectly responsible for the creation of Skynet? It’s these types of questions that will definitely pop up the first time you watch the film, and one that I appreciate the guys at Bitmap Bureau adding, since it just adds so much more to the already memorable narrative.
Honestly speaking, the video game is quite literally the easiest way to digest the story of the franchise. It even matches the film’s no-nonsense storytelling with how everything moves briskly. I would even go so far as to say that it might be the next best way to experience the Terminator franchise, second only to watching the actual movie.
Also, let’s not forget about the stunning visuals and amazing soundtrack of the game. Everyone and their mothers know that the Terminator franchise is old, so what better way to represent it than to create a well-animated 16-bit version of itself that comes with a banger soundtrack? It even pays homage to the old Terminator games of the older eras. Hell, it even plays like it, too.
Simple Run-and-Gun With Good Variety
Those who have lived long enough to play retro arcade shooters like Metal Slug and Contra will immediately find the game familiar in how it plays. To the uninitiated, it’s basically a side-scrolling game where you shoot the bad guys. Realistically speaking, there’s not much to its gameplay; you just move across the screen most of the time, spamming the shoot button since there’s unlimited ammo.
But what makes it much better is the variety of levels. During the course of the main campaign, there’ll be the simple levels where you just get from point A to point B and eventually defeat the boss, and there’ll be levels that are structured like chases and play out like Battletoads. There are also stage gimmicks like the hospital level, where you need to be stealthy, or the Future War segments, where there are simple cover shooting mechanics at play.
When you’re done with the main campaign, the game also has additional game modes like its Boss Rush, Infinite Mode, and Arcade Mode. These game modes offer a different kind of challenge, which is greatly appreciated, adding more ways to play the game, which is already as simple as it is. Which brings us to its main issues: the extremely short runtime and its conditional replayability.
Flaws in the Design
Arcade games are simple by design, and since Terminator 2D: NO FATE is modeled after them, it’s no surprise that it’s not complicated either. And linking it to the movie itself, the game is as straightforward as it is, meaning that there’s not much else to experience other than its iconic scenes. The game suffers from a really, really short runtime, one where you can already experience most, if not all, of the game in about 4 hours.
To unlock the other game modes, you’ll need to play through the game about three times to cover every branch in the story that the game has. Afterwards, you’re able to access the aforementioned game modes. The thing is, by the time you play through the story enough times, you’ve quite literally covered or beaten every enemy there is.
What I’m trying to say is that the game does have great variety in its levels, but the structure of replaying the levels diminishes every other game mode since you’ll eventually be playing the levels again. And while you do get to play as a character that you like in the other game modes, they aren’t that much different from playing it through the intended character.
This also affects the game’s replayability, since not everyone is a fan of retro arcade shooters, and not everyone, including myself, is a fan of doing the same thing but harder. Since the foundation of the game is arcadey in nature, it’s no surprise that its simple gameplay caps out at what it offers, and it only has replayability based on how much you enjoy perfecting things.
It also doesn’t help that the difficulty is mostly artificial in this case, since it mostly just adds more enemies on screen, making it more of a bullet hell designed to frustrate you.
It’s similar to the aforementioned Metal Slug or Contra games, where some players only enjoy as much as what the surface shows, versus the others who are willing to replay a whole level to reach the highest possible score. With that being said, the replayability and short runtime become its two biggest flaws, which are, in themselves, flaws of arcade games in general.
Is Terminator 2D: NO FATE Worth It?
Wait For a Sale
So is Terminator 2D: NO FATE worth the hype even after multiple delays? Yeah, I’d say so. But would I recommend you buy it immediately? I’d lean more toward saying no. Don’t get me wrong, the game plays, looks, and functions amazingly well as a retro arcade game. However, the extremely short runtime and conditional replayability soured the entire experience. So much so that the price of the game doesn’t exactly match the value that it brings to the table.
Regardless of these flaws, however, the game is definitely a love letter to both the franchise and the genre. One that fans will appreciate the most, especially with how much passion was put into recreating its iconic scenes in 16-bit glory. I could even go so far as to say that it’s one of the best Terminator games of all time, but the experience is just way too short-lived.
I would recommend waiting for a sale instead of getting the game at full price, especially since you could get much better deals from other games that offer a similar gameplay experience.
| Digital Storefronts | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steam |
PSN |
eShop |
Xbox |
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| $29.99 | |||||||
Terminator 2D: NO FATE FAQ
How long does it take to beat Terminator 2D: NO FATE?
In the reviewer’s experience, the main campaign, along with all of the branching paths, was finished in three hours.
Is the story of Terminator 2D: NO FATE original?
Some parts of the story are original, but most of it comes from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The added parts are what-if scenarios that branch from the main storyline.
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Terminator 2D: NO FATE Product Information
 |
|
| Title | TERMINATOR 2D: NO FATE |
|---|---|
| Release Date | December 12, 2025 |
| Developer | Bitmap Bureau |
| Publisher | Reef Entertainment |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch |
| Genre | Action, Arcade, Shooter |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | M |
| Official Website | Terminator 2D: NO FATE Official Website |
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