Being late to the party, as usual, I just recently got around to checking out the preview of Playground Games’ Fable, which was featured during last month’s Xbox Developer Direct. As a fan of the original series, I’ve had my eye on this new entry since it was first announced way back in the summer 2020. Being a perennial cynic, I’ve long kept my hopes at bay, because though the snippets of the game that were released between then and now showed promise, they didn’t provide much insight into Fable’s reimagined world and what players would be doing in it. After watching the preview, I think I can finally let loose in saying that I’m pretty darn excited for Fable!

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times – the original Fable opened the door to what’s now my gaming bread-and-butter: narrative RPGs. Before it, my wheelhouse was primarily filled with 2D and 3D platformers, various arcade titles, fighting games, and a smattering of PC shooters. While many of these games possessed stories, some of which were quite compelling in their own ways (i.e. Super Metroid), none of them unfolded in the same manner as Fable. It was my first experience with evolving a character from nothing to something. One minute, I’m a kid looking to buy a birthday present for my sibling; the next, my village is being overrun by bandits. Then I’m suddenly a sole survivor who’s taken into the mysterious guild by an even more mysterious person with magical powers. From humble beginnings, my journey to becoming the Hero of Albion then begins. The setup might sound a little antiquated now, but at the time, it was magical. And honestly, when I play the original game now, it still is.

Original developers Lionhead Studios then upped the ante in Fable 2. The rags to riches backbone remained intact, but the world had expanded, and so too did the hero’s story. Most fans agree that Fable 2 is the game to play of the original trilogy, and I agree. It provides players with a richer experience, a more open world to explore, more customization options, and more moral shades of gray. Fable is about becoming the hero you want to be, whether angelic or ruthless, and it’s great to see the emergence of this notion in what Playground Games is doing. It looks to be a true re-imagining of the original Fable, made bigger, brighter, and bolder thanks to today’s tools and tech.

Even with my excitement for fable in full swing, I can’t help but harbor at least a little of that ol’ “cautiously optimistic” feeling, because, well…2020 was a long time ago. Sure, six years isn’t six hundred, but the industry itself has changed significantly since then (whether it wants to admit it or not). I’ve felt a bit underwhelmed by some recently titled for which I was hyped (lookin’ at you, Obsidian), even though such experiences were generally enjoyable. My hope for Playground Games’ Fable is that it reminds me why the original games are among my all-time favorites. If it achieves that, then I’ll be kickin’ chickens with the best of them for a very long time.

Lede image © Playground Games, Xbox Game Studios.