You could finish Terminator 2D: No Fate’s narrative campaign in less time than the length of the film, yet this side-scrolling action platformer still comes across as a thoughtfully made salute to 90s nostalgia.
Terminator 2D: No Fate’s narrative mode opens by showing a winding stretch of road, with the yellow center markings drifting past at steady intervals, all while atmospheric, industrial music plays in the background. If you’re a fan of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, this sequence should feel familiar—it closely mirrors the closing beat of the movie’s theatrical debut, even if it’s not an exact match. The accompanying monologue also differs; in the game, it’s delivered through chunks of on-screen text rather than Sarah Connor’s signature hushed line from the film.
In the movie, this moment wraps up the tale while reinforcing moral takeaways, offering audiences a hopeful look at a better future. In contrast, No Fate starts by laying on a considerable amount of setup, spelling out the kind of terror to expect during Judgment Day and afterward, so you know what’s coming next in the game. Even with those changes, the overall feel stays strikingly faithful to the spirit of James Cameron’s blockbuster action movie—drawing from the same T2 brand of longing while also being distinct enough to give the experience its own personality. In short, that’s what you can expect from Terminator 2D: No Fate: it stays exceptionally close to the source material, yet still mixes things up and adds a few surprising turns that keep the gameplay engaging.
Bitmap Bureau’s Terminator 2D: No Fate isn’t only honoring one of cinema’s most iconic films—it also nods to 90s gaming culture, with echoes of Super Nintendo side-scrollers and arcade-style action games. If you grew up with that era, you’ll quickly spot parallels between No Fate and the Contra/Probotector lineup as you progress from left to right, pushing back against enemies and occasionally hopping onto different parts of the surroundings, while other influences from the time period show up as well. The tutorial stage, which is entirely new and not present in the film, opens with a wink to Double Dragon: John Connor gets hit in the stomach before a tough antagonist hauls him up over a shoulder.
Later in that same level, enemies poke out of windows and shoot down at Sarah and you, so you’ll need careful positioning to deal with them—especially since you can only fire horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, similar to how the Robocop arcade and late-80s home computer games work. The game also includes side-scrolling vehicle pursuit sections that ask you to watch the edges of the screen for hazards entering your path a la Battletoad’s famously brutal Turbo Tunnel, though in No Fate it’s much easier to handle. Double Dragon’s heavy elbow strike also returns, but here it shows up as a backhand from Arnie during the game’s charming barfight segment.
Going back to the Contra comparisons, No Fate’s Future War stages—where you play as a battle-tested John Connor—take strong inspiration from Konami’s action-shooter series. You’ll encounter a recognizable defensive-wall boss, weapon pickups that open up options like split-shot fire or homing plasma bolts, and even a fake Mode 7 moment where an HK Bomber moves toward the screen and lays napalm on the ground. These sections bring back memories of older games, but they also include a handful of simple upgrades to appeal to players who prefer more modern comfort, such as the option to duck behind walls or roll away from danger. Still, once the initial nostalgia fades, you’ll likely notice that these particular segments are among the weakest parts of the full package.
You see, No Fate really starts to stand out once it steps into new ground. When it isn’t just copying Contra, it reshapes moments from the original movie into interactive sequences that mirror the film’s story while also adding something fun and fresh. A perfect example is the memorable barfight where a bare Arnold asks for clothes, boots, and a motorcycle—this scene is extended a bit, briefly shifting the game from a shooter into a beat-em-up, complete with a lighthearted jukebox musical Easter egg. Another highlight is Sarah’s escape attempt from Pescadaro Hospital, where she’s relentlessly hunted by the T-1000. That level briefly turns No Fate into a stealth-style game, delivering tension and managing at least one jump scare, even though everything is rendered in big, chunky pixels.
And honestly, those pixels look great. No Fate’s retro presentation is impressive, mixing digitized vintage film frames for cutscenes between stages with sprites that are animated beautifully during actual gameplay. Standout details include how Sarah’s body sways left and right as she lands on ladder rungs, or how the earlier hospital escape portion plays out when the T-1000 removes the hospital guard—and then copies his routine of sipping coffee. Out of the many moments you could point to, I especially enjoy the sight of the T-1000 staggering backward after Sarah blasts him with a shotgun.
The fluidity…
How this character moves in-game nails Robert Patrick’s cold, deliberate read from the films. Watching him appear out of the wall in front of you during the Steel Mill level—then shifting into that unmistakable police officer look—is genuinely unsettling. That moment stirred the same sense of exposure and dread that hit me the first time I watched the movie. Likewise, when Sarah blasts a shotgun into his chest, the stagger animation flips the mood from panic to momentum: his shoulder is driven backward by buckshot, and large silver pockmarks bloom across his torso. Yes, Sarah! You can do this! This game captures Judgment Day’s biggest moments in such a convincing pixel form that it’s honestly a shame they don’t last longer.
As you’d expect from a 90s-style side-scrolling action shooter, the package includes short stages and a lean story. Back then, it was rare to see titles that stretched to 90+ hours, but here you can race through the whole Story mode in under an hour, and get everything from the main menu in under three. That approach fits classic arcade design, where the goal was to be finished in one sitting. If you’re planning on returning for repeated runs, the brevity works fine, but if you want a single, stand-alone experience, you may feel a little disappointed once the credits begin.
That said, there’s plenty here meant to pull you back in. Alongside the four distinct difficulty settings, you can also chase the goal of beating your earlier scores or times. Beyond that, the game offers two alternate endings to track down, a couple of additional stages to uncover, and a cheat menu that unlocks only after you finish the game on the hardest difficulty. You can also access extra features like Boss Rush and Infinite Enemies, though it’s hard to say how long they’ll keep players interested. Arcade mode and the unlockable Mother of the Future variants add further pressure by removing continues and slightly shuffling the order of levels, but at their core, they’re still the same game.
Each level also brings a satisfying variety of hazards, which keeps the action moving and keeps you engaged from start to finish. In the Future War segments, you’ll face a wide range of metallic nightmares, including Hunter Killers, Centurions, and plenty of different Terminator types. When the game shifts to 1995, it leans into more classic action-platformer obstacles—hot steam vents, laser traps timed to the moment, and those fragile-looking piston contraptions. None of the challenges are particularly brutal to get through, especially after you’ve repeated the stages a few times and learned their layouts, but they still offer enough friction to raise a few questions about the safety priorities of the time. It’s difficult to guess what Cyberdyne was thinking when building its facilities, but those exhaust ports that spit flames along staircases feel like a compliance nightmare waiting to happen.
It’s obvious that Bitmap Bureau holds both admiration and genuine affection for the source material—and for the period when Terminator 2: Judgement Day first arrived. That devotion is what makes Terminator 2D: No Fate such a treat for anyone who grew up in the 90s. With audio and visuals that bring you back to those first thrilling moments from the film, plus gameplay that calls to mind wired controllers, coins, and cartridges, No Fate plays like a small trip through time. Thankfully, it doesn’t send a guy back naked to track you down. Even if the overall runtime is fairly short and may put off some players, I’ll be returning for at least a couple more attempts before the year wraps up—so it’s an easy recommendation for all of you.
A copy of Terminator 2D: No Fate was provided for this review by Reef Entertainment.