Fable was the game that made me fall in love with gaming. I have told anyone that would listen, and lucky for me, my position here at CGM and my constant need to shout about Fable from the rooftops got me a spot in a live demo for the new Fable reboot coming from Playground Games at the XBOX Games Showcase during Summer Game Fest. The demo was hands-off for journalists and creators, but it was played live by Associate Game Director Craig Littler and narrated by Associate Game Director William Kennedy.
I will be honest, hearing “hands-off” gave me reason for concern, and sure enough, shortly after I received confirmation of the appointment, the decision to delay Fable until February 2027 was revealed. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. However, now that I have seen the game live and in-person, I can safely say I am so, so happy with the direction Fable is heading. I am perfectly fine letting it cook a little longer if it means Playground will give us the game we have all been waiting for, and I think they are pretty damn close already.
The second I heard someone call us “Hero,” I knew we were in the right place.
The section we saw was a curated tour around Silverbrook, a small town in Albion. Here, we were able to focus on something Playground is calling the “Living Population.” They explained in detail how players can interact with over 1,000 hand-crafted NPCs in the game, whether through relationships, jobs, as their landlord, or even as their enemy. The system is far more robust than in the previous games, which could be a blessing for some and a detriment for others.
“Fable was the game that made me fall in love with gaming.”
Whenever you speak to an NPC, a large amount of information will pop up on the right side of the UI (and above their head as you approach them). Their name and a brief statement about the kind of person they are will appear, and this is your first hint of what they might appreciate. An example they gave in their blog was “Bob the Bartender, a kind-hearted commoner,” and it is safe to assume he wouldn’t love shrewd actions or anything particularly evil.
From there, a box with information about how they feel about you will appear. Something like “likes you because” or “dislikes you because” or even “Indifferent because” with some details about why. In our example, we hadn’t been to Silverbrook before, so the shift Stablehand was indifferent since we hadn’t done anything yet. Trying to get the complete stranger to follow us had him think we were a bit weird, too.
In past Fable titles, it was pretty easy to jack your relationship up with people by just making them laugh or passing gas, but in Playground’s Fable, it is a bit more complicated. Good and evil aren’t so black and white this time around. While one person may hate you because you’re shrewd, someone else might be kind of into it. It’s all about the Living Experience, and people aren’t all the same. As you play through, things like +Virtuous or +Killer or +Kind pop up as you earn reputation, and you can check and see what a town as a whole thinks of you. You can have reputation for charming and a killer, all based on what you do.
More has changed in Fable, more so evolved, like becoming an entrepreneur and dating. In the session, we found a woman who fancied us, but in this day and age, there is more to consider than just liking. What about standards? Goals? Even if someone likes you, you still need to meet certain criteria before they will date you.
Our example was an ambitious woman who liked us, but needed a bit more. She wanted someone who was an entrepreneur, owned a home in town, and dressed in fancy clothes. Without meeting those criteria, she wouldn’t consider us, so we had a mission. It also varies for each person; some may be simple to impress, others could be more challenging.
Finding a business to buy requires gold, which you can earn by taking jobs throughout the world; we saw blacksmithing, which has evolved as well. After purchasing the town pub, we found out that it only had one of two available employee slots filled, and we needed to find someone to fill it. The challenge is that, though some businesses might already have employees, if you want to fill a slot, you have to find the employee yourself, and only people who like you will work for you.
“Everything in this new Fable is coded much like the last three games, including the Britishness of it all, but Playground has taken it all a step further.”
When purchasing a house, if people are living there, you can become the landlord, evict them, or pay them to leave and move in yourself. The tailor hated us after we spent all that money and earned the “Rich” reputation, so she jacked her prices up 80%, but once we had our fancy clothes we could finally take our lady on a day; we even gave her some flowers to make it extra special. The date did result in a short, but sweet, cutscene, which was very Fable-like.
Everything in this new Fable is coded much like the last three games, including the Britishness of it all, but Playground has taken it all a step further. I likened the steps of dating, owning a business, or owning a home to a simulation, which only deepens the world of Fable. For some, I think it might be too intricate.
Thankfully, according to William Kennedy, you could choose not to dive too deep into those simulation mechanics if you aren’t interested in work, dating or having a family, etc. You could just play the story for the story, if it suits you. There is room for an RPG-Sim-like life, but also just a fun action-adventure if you want.
“I think something that’s really great about Fable Games in history and now is that they have both of those things as complementing. When we have an action-adventure…so if that’s the kind of player you are and you just want to engage with that, that’s totally cool. And we also have a really complex, interconnected set of systems that allow you to play and tinker with those thousand NPCs however you like, so it’s up to you which kind of player you are if you want to do one, or either or both. We hope you enjoyed the game however you want to play.”
You can date every adult NPC, but what reputation one person fancies, another might hate, so it is great for replayability too. Craig Littler touched on this during our session: “Yes, you could get into a relationship with anybody, but not at the same time, because you can’t be all things to all people at the same time. One person might want you to be kind, another might want you to be a murderer. You know, that’s just how it goes.”
We also got a look at some more combat in Fable, and it is exactly what I hoped it would be. It looks like they kept so much of the original combat style, including the red, blue and green orbs. The character could chain and swap between them freely, and it looks fluid and smooth. It just felt like combat got a facelift.
The colours are vibrant, and the magic animations are a bit flashier, almost feeling like a toned-down version of a JRPG. Though we don’t know what skills are available, I saw force pushes and pulls, some fire, and what I think was some shock, and I can’t freaking wait.
“This IS Playground’s Fable, and I am so excited to see more of this world.”
As they walked around the world, I was thrilled with the stunning detail in every corner of the world. Shelves were full, fruit was shiny, flowers were bright and abundant. There are over 1000 individually created NPCs voiced by over 100 actors. The world has more than 120 shops, and a map that is so beautiful and detailed, showing things like terrain, points of interest and more.
This preview was not the one I was expecting, but it is one I am really glad they have chosen to show off. We know very little about the story, just things like Hayley Atwell as Isabel, the villain, Richard Ayoade playing Dave the Giant and a bit more that they have released about some characters and cast members on XBOX Wire. Oh…and just that teeny tiny Jack of Blades reveal.
Any story-related questions otherwise were left to “We are focusing on “building an extraordinary life.” Frankly, I don’t want to know. I want to take the week of February 23rd off work and dive into the world of Albion, the same way I skipped my family Christmas because I was “sick” when my big brother bought me my first XBOX and the original Fable.
The final line in the preview was “I’m not simply good or evil, I’m so much more than that.” This IS Playground’s Fable, and I am so excited to see more of this world. February can’t come soon enough. But if it gets delayed again, I may not survive.
Fable from Playground Games is available for pre-order now. It will be coming to the world on February 23, 2027 for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX Game Pass, XBOX PC, Steam and PlayStation 5. The original three Fable titles are available to play now on XBOX Game Pass, too.
