Terminator 2D: No Fate Review

The opening scene of **Terminator 2D: No Fate** immediately establishes its intent: the same, but different. A stretch of pixelated rolling tarmac and a text-only narration from Sarah Connor feels like something ripped straight out of *T2: Judgment Day*, and yet it’s still distinct. The game plays on this idea several times, even offering ways to explore alternate timelines through its 90s-inspired gameplay.

It’s very clearly a love letter to both the movie and the era it came from. Picking it up instantly sparked memories of *RoboCop vs Terminator*. This is old-school in almost every sense, starting with its 8-directional aiming system that has you gunning down cops, security guards, and clankers alike. Holding the aim button roots you in place for precision shooting, while a quick dodge or slide lets you evade incoming fire. Depending on the character you’re playing — Sarah Connor, John Connor, or even the T-800 — you might also have access to a pipe bomb for crowd control.

**Available On:** PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch
**Reviewed On:** PS5
**Developed By:** Bitmap Bureau
**Published By:** Reef Entertainment

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### Story and Gameplay

The story mostly follows the events of *T2: Judgment Day*, but throws in a couple of extra levels set in the future where you take control of John Connor. As you’d expect from an arcade-style game, storytelling is kept deliberately simple, relegated to chunky pixel-art stills and a few lines of text. That’s not really a problem; the plot isn’t complicated, and chances are you already know *T2* off by heart anyway.

Playing through the campaign means getting to experience several of the film’s most iconic scenes. Yes, that includes the biker bar sequence, complete with a naked Terminator beating the hell out of people. There’s also a solid dirt bike section where you outrun a truck, and a slightly infuriating hospital escape as Sarah Connor.

It’s a good mix of scenarios, and the levels are well designed, becoming surprisingly challenging once you crank the difficulty up. There’s even an authentic level of annoying enemies — the kind that feel almost unfair without actually being unfair. Anything above the easiest mode introduces both a strict time limit and a limited number of continues. Die enough times and you’ll be sent back to the very start of the story mode.

That could be a chore, but it’s softened by the fact that you can blitz through the entire campaign in around 30 to 45 minutes once you know what you’re doing.

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### Controls and Design

Adhering so closely to old-school design does come with a few frustrations. Controls can feel stiff by modern standards, particularly when it comes to platforming. When approaching a ledge, you often need to jump earlier than expected, as there’s no modern grace period that lets you leap when you’re already a few pixels over the edge.

Likewise, climbing only works if you’re very specifically pressing up before jumping, which takes a bit of adjustment. These are minor issues in the grand scheme of things, but they’re worth mentioning. It’s the kind of gameplay that takes a moment for your brain to recalibrate to — like stepping back in time to stop an annoying punk kid who’s going to ruin your evil robot plans. I mean, stepping back in time to a very 90s way of playing. Ahem.

You can occasionally pick up powerups, such as a spread shot, but I do wish more had been done here. Weapon variety is extremely limited: Sarah sticks with a pistol (with three assault rifles hidden throughout the game), while John uses a future-tech firearm. Aside from temporary powerups, that’s your lot, and there aren’t many of those either.

As a result, repeat runs can start to feel mechanically identical, even though the game actively encourages replaying it.

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### Cover System and Replayability

There’s also a cover system in play, though it feels underutilised. You can hide in specific doorways or behind certain walls, which are marked with floating text. That’s important information, because for the first few minutes I assumed you could take cover in any open doorway. That assumption led to a fairly embarrassing death, let me tell you.

Complete the story mode once and you’ll unlock two new branching paths for subsequent playthroughs, including scenarios like “what if Sarah Connor had shot Dyson?”. I love this idea, as it’s a fun way to add content and give players a reason to replay the campaign.

Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t quite live up to the concept. These alternate routes don’t significantly alter the story or gameplay, with the biggest difference being the ability to play as the T-800 wielding a minigun — which is admittedly badass, but not enough on its own. A few exclusive stages could have helped a lot, rather than just having a character swap in a stage you’ve already played.

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### Additional Modes

Outside of the main campaign, there’s an Arcade mode that strips out cutscenes and offers no continues at all. A Boss Rush mode lets you take on the game’s mechanised big bads one after another, while *Mother of the Future* stitches together every Sarah Connor mission — including those from the alternate branches — into a single extended run.

Fun fact: there’s a Trophy/Achievement for beating Arcade mode in under 15 minutes, a task that seems borderline impossible without using the built-in cheats. Even then, I barely scraped in at 14 minutes while ignoring most normal enemies. I’m not even sure Arnold Schwarzenegger himself could pull that off without bending the rules.

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### Final Thoughts

**Terminator 2D: No Fate** is uncompromisingly retro, for better and for worse. It doesn’t just borrow the aesthetics of 90s action games — it fully commits to their structure, their difficulty, and their occasional rough edges.

If that style clicks with you, there’s a lot to love here: tight level design, a genuine affection for *T2*, and enough challenge to keep repeat runs engaging. If it doesn’t, the stiffness and repetition will quickly wear thin.

Either way, this is a game that knows exactly what it wants to be, and it refuses to modernise just to make itself more palatable. For fans of the film and the era, that commitment alone makes it worth your time.
https://wolfsgamingblog.com/2025/12/18/terminator-2d-no-fate-review/

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