Fable is coming! It’s fair to say the gaming showcase season is definitely underway, with the PlayStation Showcase, Summer Game Fest and now the Xbox Showcase having been and gone. For many the PlayStation Showcase was a letdown, Summer Game Fest raised the bar and the Xbox Showcase at least met those same expectations. Either way, it was definitely better than the middling effort of their competitor.
Many were expecting some sort of news of the long-awaited Fable reboot, but we got a considerable amount more than we expected, including the traditional humour of the franchise, a look at some giant vegetables and a lot of Richard Ayoade’s vegetable enthusiast Dave.
Fable – The Age of Heroes is Over
Fable has long been synonymous with the Xbox brand, which is part of the reason the closure of Lionshead Studios in 2016, months before the launch of Fable Legends was such a shock to the gaming community, both fans and other developers alike. That would have be the most recent entry in the Fable franchise, but seven years on from that, and eleven from Fable III, we’re only now coming to a new and exciting re-entry into Fable lore.
Not much can be gleamed from the two minute trailer, with the majority being devoted to the aforementioned Richard Ayoade’s Dave, the vegetable loving villager. Or is he a villager? Whilst he’s busy discussing and explaining the current status quo of the Fable universe, we’re shown various cinematics including a little fighting, a lot of drinking and a considerable amount of gigantic vegetables.
Fable has always had a unique, tongue-in-cheek sense of humour about it, and it’s never shied away from having big names play a part in the game, with Stephen Fry being a notable voice actor in Fable II as Reaver. Whether we’ll get to see and interact with Richard Ayoade’s Dave in-game is up-in-the-air, as it turns out he’s actually a giant, and attempts to squash/murder the trailer’s hero… poor choice for him, as the trailer closes out with the same hero sat on his oversized glasses, about to chow down on a particularly appetizing looking sandwich.
Fable – A New Beginning
“What does it mean to be a Hero? Well, in the fairytale land of Albion, that is entirely up to you. With a dark threat looming, and in a world where your reputation precedes you, your choices will change Albion forever.”
It’s been almost three years since we last heard anything regarding the Fable reboot, and its clear that rather than spend their time continually updating us, Playground Games have spent their time capturing the same Fable magic we all remember and love so fondly.
The game’s official synopsis certainly points towards a similar continuation and tone compared to the original trilogy, and if Playground Games can put their own spin and modernise the franchise at the same time, its fair to say the Xbox brand may be on their way to repairing the hit to their reputation both Redfall and the Activision Blizzard merger have caused in recent times.
As has become customary with Xbox’s biggest games, it’s promised that Fable will hit Gamepass on day one, but when that’ll be is anyone’s guess, as we weren’t privy to a release date at this point. it’d be fair to say at the earliest it’ll be this holiday season, but more likely to be early 2024.
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