Like Arnie’s pulverised cyborg at the end of T2, the Terminator franchise has lumbered on long past the point of being properly functional. Every film since Judgment Day has been a disappointment or an outright disaster, and its video game spinoffs haven’t fared much better. While some half-decent ones have emerged, such as 2019’s Terminator: Resistance, there hasn’t been a great Terminator game in about 30 years.
So it makes perfect sense for Terminator 2D: No Fate to attempt to fix our broken future by travelling back to the past. Developer Bitmap Bureau appeals to the series’ heyday by retelling the story of Judgment Day through a medley of retro 80s and 90s playstyles. The result is a charming and frequently thrilling action throwback, though ironically it is at its strongest when it strays furthest from James Cameron’s film.
Terminator 2D begins several years before the events of the film, charting Sarah Connor’s doomed attempt to sabotage Cyberdyne systems before her incarceration at Pescadero Hospital. These early levels, which see Sarah running and gunning her way through a gang of outlaws, police, and hazmat-wearing researchers, are among the game’s best. Bitmap Bureau does a remarkable job capturing Linda Hamilton’s gritty performance in a handful of pixels, while the scenarios eke impressive variety from simple arcade fundamentals.
The momentum carries on into the future, where you spend a couple of levels fighting the armies of Skynet as adult John Connor in nuclear-blasted LA. Terminator 2D ramps up the spectacle here, with laser weapons and incendiary grenades deployed against Chrome-plated T-800s and several enormous mini-bosses. The section culminates in a thrilling boss fight against a flying Hunter-Killer drone, at which Bitmap Bureau throws all the fireworks its 16-bit aesthetic allows.
No Fate loses some of its thrust once it catches up with Judgment Day. The midsection replicates key scenes from the film in playable form, such as the chase sequences that bookend the story. But these feel overly constrained by the game’s self-imposed limitations and aren’t very exciting to play. Better served are Arnie’s bar-fight scene and Sarah Connor’s escape from Pescadero, which employ beat ’em up principles and stealth respectively. While stylish and capably designed, these ideas deserve more room to breathe.
T2D regains its earlier verve in its concluding levels, though the story reaches its denouement quicker than the actual film. Fortunately, as is always the case in Terminator, the end is not really the end. Like its arcade forebears, No Fate places heavy emphasis on replay value. Not only do its harder modes challenge you with adjusted enemy placements, completing the story mode unlocks new pathways that explore alternate futures hinging on Sarah’s choices.
While No Fate doesn’t move the needle for Terminator games as much as I’d like, it succeeds in resetting the clock for the series’ interactive arm. It’s a pointed reminder that Terminator has gaming greatness within it.
Terminator 2D: No Fate is out now; £24.99