Summary
This title is a clear step up from Terminator 2 Judgment Day on the SNES, offering enjoyable Easter eggs, expanded story moments, and responsive controls with mostly well balanced difficulty. While later stages can feel a bit cheap and the arcade style continue system may frustrate some players, the music, pixel art, and gameplay are all strong. The main drawback is the price, especially given the game’s length, but whether bought at full price by dedicated fans or on sale, it is still a worthwhile experience for Terminator 2 fans.
Developer: Bitmap Bureau
Publisher: Reef Entertainment
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam (Reviewed)
Code provided by Publisher
Who would have thought that in 2025 we would have a new Terminator game coming out? At this point we have seen almost every genre of game get a Terminator treatment, and with the latest entry we go back to the origins. Terminator 2D: No Fate is a side scroller shooter in the vein of Contra just like some of the original Terminator games most similar was the SNES version of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
I think John Connor himself might be sending video game developers back in time to take their shot at creating a successful Terminator game. One that captures the action packed pacing of the movies without straying too far from the source material. Enter Terminator 2D: No Fate. Shoot and platform your way through the entire film and more, in a series of 12 main storyline levels. From the dark battlefields of the future, the hallways of Pescadero State Hospital, to the city streets of Los Angeles, and the labs of Cyberdyne Systems.
The story starts with Sarah training John to prepare for Judgment Day and her attack on the original Cyberdyne factory. We then jump to the future war as John Connor as he tries to prevent Skynet from sending the Terminators back in time. These levels are like the traditional side scrolling shooters like Contra, jumping and ducking to avoid enemy bullets while blasting everyone away with yours. There are weapon upgrades that you can collect to allow your gun to utilize different shooting modes for limited time.
After clearing these levels we get a genre swap to a brawler. Playing as the Terminator as he punches his way through the biker bar looking for clothes. Then another genre swap to a stealth game as Sarah sneaks out of Pescadero. Cutscenes show the in between scenes that provide more context of the Terminator 2 storyline including what is covered in deleted scenes like Sarah deciding on what to do with the CPU. After completing the story mode and during your next playthrough you can make some alternating changes that deviate from the original storyline to explore what that would lead to.
As we transition to the next levels we get to experience a side scrolling driving mini game avoiding debris and vehicles on the road to escape the T-1000 that follows the iconic chase scene. Also the helicopter chase scene as well. Lastly for the remaining few levels we get back to the Contra style levels as we go through the ending of the movie and expanded future war to finally stop Skynet.
Overall, the game is very brief. All of this can be experienced in just an hour however there is replayability through different difficulties. As I mentioned before there are also alternative choices that can be made when you play through the game again. To round out the package there is also a Boss Rush mode. Based on your performance in these modes you can achieve high scores and see who can beat your record.
For fans of Terminator 2, you are going to enjoy all the Easter eggs and expanded story sequences and it’s definitely a much better experience than Terminator 2 Judgement Day on the SNES. Controls are responsive and the difficulty of stages is most balanced, however at the end the game can throw some cheap ways to drain your Credits. Just like back in the day, if you lose all your continues you will have to start all over again. The music, the pixel art, and the gameplay are all great but the biggest con for this package is the pricing.
The game includes a story mode, alternative story line choices, boss rush mode, and more. As a huge fan of Terminator 2 which is my favorite movie of all time, I would buy the game at full price not only to support more Terminator games being created but also to support the devs to see what other license games they can give this treatment. However, I can certainly understand waiting for a sale based on the length of the game but either way it is worth a buy!
