Terminator 2D: No Fate – Review

Hasta la GRIND, baby!

Come with me if you want to survive. Because the year 2029 is fast approaching, Skynet is breathing down our necks with every new advance in artificial intelligence, and Bitmap Bureau offers us a short training session alongside Sarah and John Connor, together with the non-paranoid and muscular T-800 android. The fundamental question is: is this reflex and reaction time refinement worth $30, or should we look for another trainer?

Because Terminator 2D: No Fate manages to accomplish a seemingly impossible task in the 1990s: to give us an excellent game that faithfully reproduces the big-screen action without undermining the fun. The graphics are superb, painting with pixels the fidelity you might have expected 30 years ago in arcades or on consoles such as PlayStation and Sega 32X. The gameplay is also engaging, alternating between Contra and Metal Slug-style gunfights, stealth sections like we haven't seen since Codename Viper/Rolling Thunder (also known as Dead Fox for Terminator fans with yellow floppy disks), and adrenaline-pumping chases that reminded me of the cursed vehicles in Battletoads.

In fact, during the 3 hours I spent with Terminator 2D: No Fate, I rediscovered scenes and references to some of my favourite games from the NES/SNES/Sega Mega Drive era. The way John Connor is kidnapped at the beginning of the first mission is clearly a nod to Double Dragon. The scene where Arno… T-800 (because Bitmap Bureau couldn't get the rights to use the actor's image, so they made him look so generic that Dan Ciotoi is surely lurking around) beats up all the bikers in the bar looks like it's ripped straight from Final Fight II. The moments when young John Connor tries to escape the T-1000 on a motorbike reminded me of Excite Bike. And last but not least, the lifts in various levels made me think of our national pride, Door Kickers.

The other good part of the game, which might as well be the most legitimate reason to buy it, is the soundtrack. Indeed, Brad Fiedel's compositions are already uplifting, majestic and memorable: with arrangements that inspire both the tension and uncertainty of tomorrow, and a militant optimism. But what the guys at Bitmap Bureau did with the tracks and how they added original compositions to amplify the feelings experienced by the characters in each scene is equally admirable. After finishing the story, you'll find every track in the game's menu: from Bad to the Bone (the licensed song for the scene where the T-800 deals out justice in the biker bar) to the synthesizers that pulse heavily in the steel mill where the T-1000 meets its end.

But let's also talk about the less good parts, which make me hesitate a bit before recommending Terminator 2D: No Fate. And no, I won't complain about the one-hour duration… at least, not directly. My main problem with the game is that the levels end just as you start to get used to the new mechanics. Yes, you have 12 different stages that quite faithfully represent scenes from the film. And yes, the average length of such a level is 5 minutes… which is disappointing, I would have been happier with 7 or 8 more cohesive and extended levels to make the action flow better. Clearly, No Fate was designed to be played on the highest difficulty level. Because in any other situation, the progression is disappointingly easy. Without a real challenge, the game turns into too casual a stroll through a world that should be apocalyptic and full of uncertainty.

I also want to complain a bit about the controls — especially the jumping part. Maybe I'm looking at a tribute to early 1990s games. For better or worse. But you'd hope that a title released nowadays knows how to integrate fluid and frustration-free controls. There were moments when I felt almost the same as in the first Double Dragon or Castlevania 1 on NES when my character had to perform precision jumps. Although the situation wasn't that bad, I had somewhat higher expectations.

I'm also disappointed with the ending: after running from the T-1000 like the plague, you're not given the opportunity to have a satisfying final battle. A last clash of forces before he falls into the lava. I understand the desire to remain faithful to the film's events, but at the same time, every good game needs a memorable final boss. And Terminator 2D: No Fate is pretty weak on decisive battles. You effectively finish the game and shrug, wondering "was that it?". The feeling isn't necessarily about the duration of the experience, but about the quality of the climax: you're kept on edge anticipating a peak that doesn't appear to the extent you would have expected.

And yes, I'm aware that there are two moments in the story where you can make decisions that influence the sequence of scenes. But they don't change anything significant: whether you choose to reprogram the T-800's chip or leave it as it is, you'll end up in the same steel mill to face the same challenge. Also involved in the equation is the scientist who produced the first chip used by Skynet to create violent androids: you can spare his life or kill him in cold blood in his own home. But the difference is made by a single additional scene. Regardless of your thoughts about Dr. Miles Dyson, he will end up dying. The difference is only made by the concept of guilt: the one who kills him will end up affecting John Connor's future.

Die-hard fans of the Terminator 2 film will certainly appreciate these nuances. However, my perception was rather that Bitmap Bureau tried to artificially prolong playtime. To explore all the decision branches, which in turn unlock a few specific scenes, you need to go through the story 3 times: once to refuse to modify the T-800's chip and spare Dr. Dyson's life, a second time to reset the chip so the T-800 commits a cold-blooded murder, and a third time to leave the chip intact but accept the scientist's assassination. Each path unlocks about 5 minutes of additional action… but to enjoy these moments, you have to go through 55 minutes of identical and repetitive action.

For those who can't get enough of the Terminator 2D: No Fate universe, there's also an Arcade mode (non-stop action, no cinematic sequences), a Boss Rush challenge, and the option to train only in certain arbitrarily chosen levels. But I stopped pretty quickly precisely because I have many other games to play and I don't want to find comfort in repeating the same scenarios. Maybe the publication's name is GRIND, but there are many other titles waiting to be reviewed that offer a greater degree of satisfaction for repetitive actions.

What I do admire about Terminator 2D: No Fate, however, is the audacity to offer a short and compact experience in an era when studios seem to try to justify the price by artificially inflating play hours. No Fate doesn't drag on. It tells the story of the film Terminator 2: Judgment Day in half the time it takes to watch the movie, but in a much more dynamic and interactive way. And yes, it costs $30 and is worth the money. It's exactly what we would have wanted in the 1990s, when a good portion of games based on Hollywood productions managed to disappoint. I certainly would have loved to have something like this in the summer of 1998, when I first went to the seaside with my family and discovered an arcade cabinet with the game inspired by the Terminator 2 film — a strange thing with two pistols, which put you in front of such a difficult challenge that you ran out of tokens before you could even understand what you had to do.

If No Fate had been twice as long, I would certainly have played it with pleasure. But if it had stretched to 10 hours and extended the film's action with additional scenes and dialogues, then I wouldn't have been interested. The whole charm of such an experience lies in its duration: if you discover a simplified but concise version of the film, then that's more than enough.

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Available on: PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch/Switch 2, Linux, macOS
Played on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: 31 October 2025
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Publisher: Reef Entertainment