The meme mantra of the Xbox brand as the Xbox One generation went on was simply, “Halo, Gears, and Forza“. They were the pillars of what was a very rough generation for the brand that people were getting sick of. But all throughout the original Xbox and Xbox 360 generations, there was another pillar taking the form of a fantasy RPG known as Fable. The Fable series had its last official entry in 2010 with Fable 3. Where the developers, Lionhead Studios were forced to develop niche titles outside of the normal series. Such as Fable Heroes, Fable: The Journey for the Kinect, and the canceled live-service game, Fable Legends.
It was after the cancelation of Fable Legends that Lionhead Studios was shut down. To fans of the Xbox brand who just wanted a normal fantasy RPG, they were left wanting for what felt like a painful eternity until 2020. Where Playground Games, developers of the Forza Horizon series took up the responsibility of reviving the long-dead series in an announcement at the Xbox Games Showcase of 2020. It was a short trailer, but one that gave fans of the series some hope, me included.
Following that announcement from 3 years ago, Playground Games finally showed what the game would be like yesterday. While the trailer they had was very light on actual gameplay. They were able to show fans who are eager for the game that they understood the IP and were not going to copy other fantasy RPGs like some would want. Namely The Witcher series, as Fable already has established principles in both tone and its established world.
Fable Was Never “Childish”
When talking about the original Fable series, both kicking chickens and farting are brought up to ask for a more “mature” tone. However, to those people asking for these changes, they have not played Fable. If one were to simplify the original game, one would find that it’s a very dark game with light-hearted dialogue here and there. The opening segments of the original trilogy, in fact, illustrate how cruel Albion is at the time. For example, in the first game, you watch as your hometown is razed to the ground. As well as the second game opens with the main character and their sister as orphans in the cold, trying not to starve.
Picture Credit @Shinobi602 on Twitter
There are many truly dark, scary, and even heartbreaking moments in every game of the trilogy. To ask for a more “mature” tone is very ignorant. As in our day-to-day life, we try to make each day in this cruel world as joyful as it can be. But sometimes life just isn’t kind. The trailers for Playground Game’s Fable capture Albion perfectly so far. With light-hearted dialogue in a fantastical world with traces of its darker side. The pixie getting eaten in the first game was funny, yes, but a living being’s life was lost. The trailer yesterday showed a hero living in a tavern and taking down bandits. But a small glimpse of a Balverine atop some ruins was also shown.
There is a very mature and dark side to Fable that Playground is already showing they understand. The same can be said for the combat, for what little we saw of it.
Glimpses of Reinvigorated Combat
I will not pretend like I know what the new combat for Fable is going to be like in its entirety. We only saw the hero take down a few bandits, throw a fireball, parry and try to avoid death by a giant. But the original combat of the series was simple and made weirdly simpler in later entries. As fewer spells and less complex upgrades for strength and skill attributes were added. But the new combat system looks at least somewhat reminiscent of the original game.
Clearly, it is hard to tell whether or not it will take cues or influences from The Witcher. But if a parry and finishing moves are added into the mix of dodging, blocking, and flourishes, it will only elevate the new game. It is also worth noting that the hero in the trailer was taller than the foes they faced. Meaning that muscular upgrades like those found in the original could be in the new game. As you could turn your character into the Hulk by maxing out everything in strength.
Picture Credit @Klobrille on Twitter
It Should Stick to the Roots
One last thing that made Fable unique was the choices you could make. In the original, it was either evil or good sides you could pick for every quest. While I do wish similar choices like these are in the game, I also hope that the farther-reaching choices like those found in Fable 2 and Fable 3 are there. For example, in Fable 2 you can choose to invest in a town that houses an arena. If you choose to do so, after a time jump in the story you can return to a flourishing town. But if you do not, the town remains in the same decrepit state. As well as Fable 3 has options to either break promises you made for profit and save your kingdom with the capital. Or keep those promises and find ways to save your kingdom on your own merit.
Obviously, the reboot for Fable has big shoes to fill. But asking someone else to fill those shoes for you seems disingenuous towards the initiative. I do not want people asking Playground to replace the light-hearted, yet grim, world of Albion with something artificially “mature”. I do not want them simply copying other combat systems one-to-one to satisfy people who didn’t care for the series’ later entries when the blueprint is already made with the original. To add, please make the good and evil choices with far-reaching choices a staple in this new saga. It would be a shame if Fable fell to modern derivatives from series like The Witcher, and not its origins.
