Fans were disappointed that the new Fable game did not make an appearance at E3 2021, though the game is confirmed to be in development at Playground Games. Little is known about the new Fable beyond its existence. Rumors and leaks have suggested that it will be a fully open-world title, but the only official look that fans have gotten is its official teaser trailer.
The trailer did not show any gameplay, but it did give fans some information on the new Fable. The trailer does have a comedic tone, which aligns well with the series' historically light-hearted character. The trailer also features a fairy and a medieval sword before panning up to reveal a fantasy castle in the distance. While it may seem obvious, the cinematic trailer seems to imply that Fable will return to the series' earlier setting that was more similar to a traditional fantasy world. Fable 2 introduced early firearms while Fable 3 took the world of Albion to the industrial revolution, but Fable's cinematic trailer looked as though it will return to the days of bows and swords. However, it is unclear if Fable will be a direct sequel to Fable 3 or if it will be a reboot for the franchise.
Why Fable Needs to Find a Balance Between New and Old
Regardless of whether Fable is a reboot or a sequel, its success will likely require the game to strike a balance between the new and the old. It has been over a decade, and an entire console generation, since Fable 3 was released so fans will be eager to see a Fable game that brings back the aspects of the series that they know and love. Of course, there was a new Fable game in the works years ago known as Fable Legends, but many fans were not happy with it as it was too different from the rest of the series. While fans were waiting for another fantasy RPG, Fable Legends was a PvPvE asymmetrical dungeon crawler. Fable will have to make sure that it stays true enough to its roots; otherwise, Fable fans will likely be similarly disappointing for fans of the series.
However, player expectations have changed significantly from when Fable 3 released. If Fable wants to attract new players to the series, which it surely does, it will also have to make sure it looks modern enough to be worth their time to check out. Even Fable fans will want it to feel like a jump into the future for the series as nobody will want to buy a brand new game that feels like it should have released over a decade ago. To do this, Fable will definitely have to find a balance of updating the game's older systems, like the iconic Fable morality system, while introducing some new elements to bring it into the modern era.
What Familiar Elements Fable Should Bring Back
One element of the series' legacy that Fable will have to bring back is its world. Fable may be going open world, but it will have to make sure to keep the character of the world that Fable fans expect. The world of Albion has a very unique flavor to it, with a lot of British humor and wacky characters for players to run into. Few other RPGs feature quests that see players hunting down sentient garden gnomes and Fable will have to keep that tone and character or it will completely stop feeling like Fable. Fable will also have to bring back the series' interactivity. Buying properties, building relationships, and the player having a large impact on Albion will be very important for Fable fans to connect with the newest game.
Of course, Fable should also bring back the high level of customizability that the series is known for. In previous titles, players have been able to fully customize their heroes in a variety of ways including their clothing, hair, gender, tattoos, and even their height and weight. Fable will have to keep the same level of personalization or even increase it otherwise it just won't feel like it is part of the series at all. With Fable using the powerful ForzaTech engine, it will be interesting to see how much the customization translates or if there will be even more options for players to take choose from.
What New Elements Fable Should Add
One of the biggest new features that Fable should look at incorporating is a complete overhaul of the series' morality system. Morality plays a massive role in Fable games, and it has evolved quite a lot over the course of three games. Fable should look at deepening the morality system and making it feel much more modern and reactive to the player's actions. A system similar to the Warner Brothers' Nemesis System, something that has in-game characters/villain react to choices, would be a great way to do this while also making the player feel as though they have a greater impact on Albion. Having an evil character lead to more good heroes rising up to fight them or a good character leading to more powerful and crazier evil characters would add a lot to Fable's replayability while making every person's save also unique and more personal.
Another opportunity that Fable could take advantage of is upgrading the game's combat system. Every hero should still be able to wield melee weapons, ranged weapons, and magic, but Fable would benefit greatly from increasing the depth of all the options available to the player. Weapons that all feel vastly different from one another would help players be able to better flesh out their own unique playstyle while also adding some much-needed depth to the series' combat encounters.
Fable should also invest heavily into the game's magic system so that it has a breadth of options for players to choose from to use magic in aggressive and non-aggressive ways. Fable should also bring back the co-op that fans of the series love, but it could do a lot to improve on past iterations as well. Allowing players to make vastly different builds would allow multiplayer to be more rewarding while allowing online players to leave a bigger footprint on other players' worlds would be great for players doing an entire co-op run of the game.
It is disappointing for fans that Fable did not make an appearance at this year's E3, but hopefully, fans will receive some official news soon. There are a lot of questions surrounding the mysterious new revival of the series and it is under tremendous pressure to bring Fable back in a big way for modern audiences. The team at Playground Games is immensely talented, however, and definitely has the ability to deliver something great for fans and new players alike.
Fable is in development.