When the new Fable trailer dropped on Xbox’s Series X stage in July 2020, fans of the fantasy RPG finally got their first look at the next incarnation of Albion. While the color scheme and storybook style were reminiscent of past titles, this new incarnation by Playground Games seems to be a new beginning for the Fable series. This will likely include leaving some of the less favored mechanics and features of the past titles behind, so what can fans expect to be forgotten in this new entry? While Playground hasn’t revealed much about its upcoming Fable game, some inferences can be made based on the information released up to this point.
Many stalwart fans of the original Fable found issue with the latest two main entries, with fans’ reviews of Fable 3 showing significant disappointment. Fable, the game that started it all, is a mysterious and, at times, dark story about the tale of the player as the hero or villain that will save Albion. It was rich with magic, mysticism, and classic British humor. Players couldn’t get enough. In contrast, Fable 3 is dark, but in a literal sense, and magic is mostly replaced with machines in Albion’s version of an industrial revolution. Spells can be replaced with guns, and most enemies have done just that. It’s a complete departure from the world fans grew to love in past entries.
If Playground Games wants to make a positive impression with its new Fable entry, then it should take a hard look at everything that saw past entries deviate from its core. Guns, introduced in Fable 2 for starters, have no place in a world where magical projectiles can literally fly out of people’s hands. The storybook magic quality of Fable is what made the game feel so unique in its original form.
The only reason the industrial revolution happened in the real world was because society could no longer maximize physical output without advanced machines, something magic would’ve been great for. As such, it feels odd to emphasize one in a world complete with magical powers. It would also do the new entry well to keep Fable 4‘s setting in Albion, something that Fable 3 began to veer away from, but also the purest, most magical form of the setting.
In the same vein, Playground’s Fable could benefit less from the ideas of science and logic that began propping up in Fable 2, and more the sense of humor and storytelling that has made the series popular. While important fields of study in real life, Fable is a world of magic. If the developer frames magic as science that hasn’t been figured out yet, it takes away from the mystery and light-heartedness of the Fable world.
The new Fable entry by Playground Games has a rare opportunity. Fans didn’t expect a new title for quite some time after the multiplayer Fable Legends was cancelled and original developer Lionhead Studios was shuttered in 2016. So when Fable was announced last year, the fans were practically giddy with anticipation. This can be a new beginning for the Fable franchise that focuses more on the stories surrounding these heroes and less on science and capitalism.
This doesn’t mean that Fable 2 and Fable 3 didn’t have their merits. The writing and humor that players had grown to love in the first entry was still present in the sequels, and the industrial setting even provided some new unique opportunities for storytelling. Some fans have even compiled a wish list of original Fable features they want in the reboot. Not to mention, the objective fun it was to have the chance to be a king of an entire realm in Fable 3. Making choices that had heavy moral and financial consequences was a unique and interesting mechanic that is still fun to re-visit to this day, so while these games were in no way bad, Playground should look at how it can replicate the fun of those games with the charm of the original.
Fable is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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