Adored for its humor and its enchanting universe, the saga of Fable is among the most popular on the Xbox side. Alas, the franchise imagined by Peter Molyneux has not returned to the front of the stage for more than 11 years. But this absence will soon be filled with this new opus developed by Playground Games.
It was during a showcase dedicated to the Xbox Series X that Microsoft unveiled the first images of Fable in September 2020. A simple teaser that clearly didn't tell us much about the action-RPG created by the developers of Forza Horizon.
A story to rewrite
After three first games remembered and promises not always kept by the very controversial Peter Molyneux, the saga of the defunct Lionhead Studios got lost along the way. As a point of no return, we can highlight the brutal cancellation of the free-to-play Fable Legends in 2016. A sad fate that will even lead to the outright closure of the British studio. After this tragic announcement, Microsoft had stored the saga at the bottom of an obscure cupboard.
However, hope is reborn because after 10 long years spent on Forza Horizon, Playground Games is working on a new Fable. There will be no question of a sequel but of a reboot qualified as a "new start" by the developers. For the moment, no details have filtered about the scenario of this episode. However, the teaser demonstrates that the humorous tone of previous games will be retained, and the voiceover hints that we'll be free to choose our own path. But other than that, it's impossible to say anything.
Adventure with a capital A
It is also very difficult to guess the content that will be offered to us in this new generation Fable. But since the talented teams at Playground Games are in charge, we can make some obvious guesses. Already, we should be dealing with a relatively large open-world in which the player will be free to roam. With every Forza Horizon boasting a gigantic sandbox, that formula shouldn't change with Fable.
In addition, the description present under the trailer invites us to explore "a universe filled with fantastic creatures and wonderful places". Exploration should therefore occupy an important part of this epic. This fourth Fable will also have to be inspired by Skyrim, The Witcher 3, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and other Elden Ring which have all marked their era on the open world RPG side. We can thus expect many heavily scripted quests.
A lot of assumptions while waiting for concrete
Obviously, we will have to wait for the first in-game images to learn about the combat system or even the gameplay itself. Weapons for hand-to-hand combat, those for inflicting damage from a distance or even magic should make a comeback to allow us to defeat the opponents encountered by our avatar. However, Playground will have to modernize the handling and why not add some innovations to it in order to set Fable apart from the competition.
We also expect a graphic slap worthy of the name on Xbox Series X. The English studio has always been at the forefront of technology and their latest production, Forza Horizon 5, is the perfect example. So, the RPG could repurpose the ForzaTech engine that truly works wonders on the racing game series. But again, we will have to wait until a proper presentation of the title to get an idea.
A fable soon ready to be told?
The teaser was also unable to reveal a date or even a release period. And information from March 2022 does not make us really optimistic about the rapid launch of the game. Indeed, Playground Games would encounter difficulties during development because of its inexperience in RPGs. Animations, scripts and the quest system were until now elements little or not used at all by the studio. The production time would have been revised upwards to overcome these new constraints.
The only thing set in stone for now is the fact that Fable will be released on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Let's hope for a little presentation during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase which will take place on June 12th.
