So, here we are. Nearly 25 years after Terminator 2: Judgment Day graced the silver screen with its liquid metal badassery, it’s getting a new video game. No, it’s not some high-budget, photorealistic, open-world, choose-your-own-adventure experience. It’s not even a first-person shooter designed to make you feel like you’re actually Arnold Schwarzenegger stomping through time to save John Connor. Nope, we’re getting a side-scroller—because obviously, that’s what the world has been clamoring for.
The Legacy of Terminator 2 in Gaming: A Mixed Bag of Nostalgia and Questionable Decisions
For those unfamiliar, Terminator 2 has had its fair share of video game adaptations over the years, most of which were, well, just fine. You had arcade shooters, side-scrolling beat-’em-ups, and even that one weird Game Boy version where everything was a pixelated mess. Despite the mixed quality, T2’s presence in the gaming world has been consistent, much like its on-again, off-again movie franchise.
But what sets Terminator 2D: No Fate apart? Well, for one, it’s developed by Bitmap Bureau—the same folks who brought you Xeno Crisis and Final Vendetta. If that doesn’t immediately fill you with unshakable confidence, I don’t blame you. Their work is solid, but they’re also very committed to the retro aesthetic, which means you should expect pixels. Lots and lots of pixels.
What We Know About No Fate (And What We’re Already Side-Eyeing)
In No Fate, players get to control Sarah Connor, the T-800, and an adult John Connor. That alone sounds promising—after all, Sarah is the ultimate badass, and the T-800 is an unstoppable tank of cybernetic fury. But let’s be honest, the real selling point here is John Connor. Not the whiny ‘90s kid version, but the full-grown leader of the Resistance, presumably doing actual cool stuff rather than yelling at a reprogrammed killing machine to be more fatherly.
Each character has their own gameplay style: Sarah gets the stealth-and-guns treatment, the T-800 smashes everything in sight (including, as the trailer suggests, doing so in the buff), and John takes on the role of a running-and-gunning battlefield commander. There are also “multiple endings,” which means you can play through the game multiple times and see just how badly you can screw over humanity. Fun!
Will This Be a Love Letter to the Franchise, or Just Another Cash Grab?
Here’s the real question: Is No Fate going to be the Terminator game that finally gets everything right, or is it just another attempt to milk the nostalgia cow until it’s bone-dry? Because let’s face it—while T2 is a sci-fi masterpiece, its gaming adaptations have often been as inconsistent as the Terminator movie franchise itself. For every Resistance (which was actually pretty solid), we’ve had a Terminator: Salvation (which was...not).
Bitmap Bureau is promising a mix of classic scenes from T2 alongside new material, which means it could either be a creative expansion of the lore or just another way to rehash the same story for the umpteenth time. And considering that T2 has already been endlessly adapted, from arcade shooters to guest appearances in Mortal Kombat, we’re cautiously optimistic but not exactly holding our breath.
Retro Platforms? Because Why the Hell Not?
Adding to the curiosity, Bitmap Bureau has teased that No Fate will be coming to “retro platforms” at some point. What does that mean exactly? Are we talking about an actual SNES or Sega Genesis cartridge? A port for the Dreamcast because someone still refuses to let that console die? Or is this just a cute way of saying it’ll be on the Nintendo Switch in 8-bit mode? The mystery remains.
But hey, at least it’s coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, so those of us who aren’t stockpiling vintage consoles like doomsday preppers can still play it.
The Timing of It All
Releasing on September 5, 2025, No Fate arrives just in time for T2’s 25th anniversary in 2026. That’s a clever marketing move, but let’s be honest—it’s been almost 35 years since T2 actually came out in 1991. So, are we just pretending the first 10 years of T2's existence don’t count? Or is this an elaborate attempt to get us all to believe time travel shenanigans are real?
Either way, this game will either be a delightful throwback or another cautionary tale about clinging to nostalgia. If nothing else, at least we’ll finally get to see Sarah Connor kick ass in pixel form—something we never knew we needed until now.
