We never imagined Bitmap Bureau (Xeno Crisis, Final Vendetta, Battle Axe) to take on a licensed project, but the chance to incorporate the Terminator franchise into a new arcade-style shooter was likely too good to pass on.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE is intended to be the quality T2 game we never saw in the ‘90s, with developers of the era squandering the chance to make something worthwhile. We’re looking at you, Acclaim and LJN.
Sarah Connor, John Connor, and the T-800 will be playable, with levels featuring new scenarios and scenes from the movie, along with multiple endings. The team has also managed to create new robotic adversaries for boss encounters that fit into the Terminator universe. Music meanwhile will be new compositions of renown tracks.
Story Mode, Arcade Mode, Infinite Mode, Boss Rush, and Level Training will feature, along with something called ‘Mother of the Future’ – which isn’t clarified in the press release.
“It’s a love letter to 80s/90s arcade games and we feel like it’s the T2 game we should have had back in our youth,” said Bitmap Bureau’s Mike Tucker.
Terminator 2D: NO FATE has a release date of 5th September on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Switch and PC. Excitingly, it’s coming to retro systems too. There’s no word on which yet, but Xeno Crisis ended up on multiple formats such as the Dreamcast, SNES and N64.
Publisher Reef is going all in with this one, with three different physical editions due. To quote, The Day One Edition comes with a Reversible Cover Sleeve, “Unknown Future” Cloth Poster, 25mm Collectible Metal Arcade Token, Full Colour Manual Book and Collector’s Box.
The Collector’s Edition includes everything in the Day One Edition, as well as a Collector’s Tin, Steelbook, “Fiery Visions” Cloth Poster, Premium Metal Paperweight, Flipbook and Art Book.
Then there’s the Reef Online Edition, which has a special black version of the Collector’s Tin and a bonus “Steel Mill Showdown” Cloth Poster.
Here’s the trailer and a six minute ‘making of’ video:
Making Terminator 2D: NO FATE
Terminator 2D: NO FATE – Announce Trailer