To prove themselves worthy of making a new Fable, Playground Games had to get the fundamentals right first. Basically: Can I be a landlord? Can I marry as many NPCs as I want? And can I go on killing sprees across the land for no reason?

Playground clearly knows this is what fans are after, because the recent 30-minute gameplay demo ticked all of those boxes, and then some. Throughout the demo, we saw the player form relationships with the townsfolk of Silverbrook, with many already having an opinion on them based on their past actions, just like the originals. But it’s a little more expanded here, with some NPCs only giving you the time of day if you’re a business owner - or rejecting you for the same reason, if they don’t like posh twats. I can respect that last bit.

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So far, it looks like Playground hasn’t just brought back all of these iconic Fable-isms, but has significantly revamped them. Every social sim element is just that little more interactive, whether it’s running a pub or working as a blacksmith.

But for all the advancements, romance feels like it’s been left behind. Sure, you can flirt, date, and marry randos as much as you like, but will there be companions? Can we hook up with them? Are there any quests that involve getting hitched? Past Fable games slowly started to take romance seriously, so the reboot should, too.

Who Wants A Random Villager When You Can Have Lady Grey?

Okay, “seriously” might be doing some heavy lifting here, but my point stands; where are the romances with actual story characters?

In the first Fable, we had Lady Grey, the villainous Mayor of Bowerstone. If we covered up her crimes and competed against others for her hand, we could marry her. She was unique from all of the other marriage candidates in that she had an actual story and a place in the lore. To many, she is the only choice for the Hero of Oakvale - even if you have to be pretty evil to get with her.

Fable 2 then had… well… Lady Grey, again. Yeah, they didn’t really have anything comparable, aside from a side quest where you help someone Frankenstein Lady Grey back to life. Once she’s back, you can steal her for yourself and leave the weird fella who’s obsessed with her heartbroken. So, you had to be a prick again, but you could bag yourself a unique NPC for a wife.

Then, Fable 3 actually took it all a bit more earnestly. At the start of the game, you already have a love interest - Elise if you’re a guy, Elliot if you’re a girl. Your first major moral decision of the game is whether or not you’ll sacrifice them to save some strangers. If you keep your love interest alive, you’re separated for what appears to be several in-game months before you run into them again and have the option to pick up where you left off.

This little subplot might not hold a candle to modern video game romances, but back in 2010, it was incredibly charming. Childhood sweethearts torn apart by a civil war, only to be drawn back together despite all odds? One of them is voiced by Nicholas Hoult? I’ll take that over a harem of generic NPCs any day.

That goes for so much of Fable. It might be best remembered for all the shenanigans we got up to, but its strength came from when it took itself seriously. I like kicking chickens as much as the next Fable fan, but I also liked seeing my hero reunite with their lover in a chance encounter in the sewers of Bowerstone Industrial and trying to patch things up in the middle of a rebellion. I hope storybeats like that aren’t forgotten as Playground polishes all of Fable’s systems - I want to see its heart.

Note: And more importantly, I want to get with Isabel.

Fable Like Follow Followed RPG Adventure Action Systems Released February 23, 2027 ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence Developer(s) Playground Games Publisher(s) Xbox Game Studios Engine unreal engine 4, forza tech 15 Images Close
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Genre(s) RPG, Adventure, Action Powered by Expand Collapse