Fans of the RPG genre will likely rememberFablefor its fairy tale take on the “young hero” archetype. Unlike other RPGs that dabble with dark stories and gritty narratives,Fablehas players going on a journey to save the land. Moreover, its gleeful art style serves as a great alternate take to the more realistic-looking RPGs of recent years.
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As such, aFablereboot fromPlayground Gamesshapes up to be a nice change of pace for RPG enthusiasts. However, with a decade pastFable 3, just what can this reboot offer? Moreover, how would it be different from its predecessor? Are fans going to see a return to a more playful visual direction? Or isFablegoing to make a darker turn?
10What About Microtransactions?
Outside theFablereboot, folks from Playground Games are known for theirForza Horizontitles. Moreover, thanks to their remarkable treatment of theForzabrand,Xboxfans look at Playground GamesForzatitles as some of the best racing games in the genre. Interestingly, the recentForza Horizon 4doesn’t have any microtransactions for players. Thing is, would they follow the same trend in theFablereboot?
Given today’s trends, gamers should expect theFablereboot to have downloadable content and expansions. Unfortunately, microtransactions still remain a point of contention for players. As such, would further customization options be locked inside purchaseable packs?
9What About The Rumors?
Fans of the franchise would likely recallthe Reddit postfrom u/LagSwag1 in 2019. In their post, they elaborate on information from a “leak” that details some data on the final game. Granted, given that the Xbox Showcase only teased theFablereboot, just how accurate are these rumors?
For instance, in terms of the story,a mad kingapparently made a wish to the Spire that an asteroid hit the world and reform the land. This event coincides with the leak’s description of Aurora and Albion (from the previous games) as “Lands reduced to fables.” Additionally, the said king also wished for another asteroid strike in the future, hinting towards an apocalyptic event at the start or at the end of the reboot. While the premise may be interesting, it seems a bit dark for aFablestory - but fitting for a reboot.
8What About Character Customization?
Aside from the firstFable,Fable 2andFable 3let players pick between a Male or a Female avatar for the Hero. This choice doesn’t necessarily change any part of the gameplay and the story. Aside from compelling voicework and pronoun or title references for NPCs (e.g., he/she), players can get generally the same experience regardless of their avatar choice.
However, it’s still interesting to seeFablewith a deeper character customization option. For instance, would theFablereboot follow its RPG contemporaries and allow players to fully customize their characters? This option would be interesting, as an in-depth customization experience can fully personalize their reboot experience.
7What About Theme?
Again, from the rumors, it seems the reboot will use the Unreal Engine to supporta medieval motif. This detail makes sense, as bothFableandFable 2follow a comedic fantasy approach to visuals, gameplay, and story. However,Fable 3did mix things up by combining its fantastical elements with an Industrial Age motif, bringing light steampunk and guns to the new game.
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While the reboot teaser heavily featured a pixie and a sword, not much is revealed about the reboot’s time period. Regardless of the rumors, it seems heavily implied by the teaser that theFablereboot will at least feature medieval fantasy tropes and settings (e.g., fairies and swords). Of course, there’s also the worry that sticking too much to a medieval setting might give the game majorSkyrimvibes. Meanwhile, a more lightheartedFablemight not “fit” in the current RPG “club” of more grimdark and serious settings.
6What About Fairytales?
With both the rumors and the teaser taken into account, would the newFablereboot perhaps take in more elements from classic fairy tales? After all, fans love theFableseries for its rather lighter (sometimes even comedic) take on fairytale concepts and tropes. For instance, the trailer featured a fairy being eaten by a frog - a bit of refreshing dark comedy right there.
As such, what else could be in the reboot? It’s interesting to see if there are more allusions to fairytales,magic, fables, and even folklore from various cultures to be inserted into the reboot.
5What About Multiplayer?
Given the popularity of online-only titles today, it makes sense to ask the question of whether the newFablewould even have a singleplayer experience. Traditionally,Fablegames have stuck with a core singleplayer experience. Most titles also revolve around a story involving the player saving the world from some universal threat.
However, current trends of cooperative games and multiplayer experiences might lean towards multiplayer-oriented missions. Likewise, the reboot might have an option of making multiplayer rooms for coop experiences. Would players be able to play a singleplayer campaign as two Heroes? Or would an arena mode become the multiplayer feature?
4What About The Previous Cast?
If theFablerumors are true, then it makes sense for fans to wonder about the previous cast. In the rumors, LagSwag1 detailed that the Heroes Guild and Theresa (the sister of the Hero of Oakvale in the firstFable) survived the mad king’s catastrophes and now reside in another world. This detail implies Theresa, who has beena supporting characterthroughout the series, will still have an active role in this reboot. As such, it’s interesting to note who else might be present from the previous cast. Likewise, it’s interesting to see how they might be related to the new Hero.
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For instance, would the new Hero be a descendant of the Ruler inFable 3? Likewise, would the new Hero be somehow related to the Hero of Oakvale? Or instead, would the Hero be a completely new hero from a new continent? Either choice makes for interesting relationships between the Hero and the previous supporting characters.
3What About Gameplay?
Unfortunately, the teaser didn’t reveal much about the gameplay of theFablereboot. However, fans might be split when it comes to expectations. For example, it’s likely for Playground Games to adapt the simpler combat approach of the previous titles. This factor means using simple button mechanics for attacks, leaving room for awesome finishers, and using simple keys for spells.
However, Playground Games might also take this up a notch and add more complicated action RPG elements to spice up gameplay. For instance, the newFablegame can have aGhost of Tsushimalimited UI approach to fully unleash the Unreal Engine’scinematic gameplaypotential. Likewise, they can opt for challenging gameplay a laDark Souls.
2What About Morality?
Fans ofFablelove the franchise for its unique approach to character morality. Unlike othernarrative-driven gamesthat only change outcomes of stories based on choices,Fableactively shows players the consequences of their actions. All of the games in the franchise contains a built-in Morality system, clearly changing the main character’s appearance to fit the context of their acitons.
As such, characters who do good appear more angelic while characters who do bad appear more demonic. InFablereboot, seeing this feature return can be quite a welcome sight. After all, other narrative-intensive RPGs don’t put this much focus on elaborating the moral side of player choice.
1What About Cross-Platform Compatibility?
Cross-platform compatibilityappeals to a lot of gamers nowadays, especially since this option allows them to play with their friends even with other consoles. Fans ofFablemight be thinking about the same thing with the reboot. After all, with the now-discontinuedFable Fortuneproviding cross-platform play between the PC and Xbox One, it makes sense to wonder whether the reboot will have such an option.
What fans do know is that the reboot will be arriving in both the Xbox Series X as well as the PC. Interestingly, there aren’t any news of an Xbox One launch (yet, anyway). However, considering the modern focus on multiplayer experience, cross-platform or cross-play might be a feature to look out for.
