Sometimes the most exciting thing that can happen for a game series is coming back from the brink. Franchises can't generally last forever, but some are beloved enough that they can bounce back after a hiatus. One of those franchises is Fable. It's been a long time since there was a new entry in the franchise, but finally there's a new one on the way. It looks like it'll be reinventing itself some, as so many games that return from a hiatus do. Based on the announcement trailer, it looks like Fable will be leaning back into the fantasy at the core of the series and away from the industrial era that later games entered.
However, Fable could easily go much further in reinventing itself. Fairies and mysterious swords in the woods indicate a fairly standard fantasy angle that Fable might be wise to deviate from, but there's a specific piece of media that the series might be wise to turn to again: Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow was an inspiration to the original developer. Maybe this is the time for Fable to dive more deeply into that Gothic piece of inspiration. If it does that, Playground Games might have a piece of Victorian media on its hands that can rival contemporary titans like Bloodborne.
A New Kind of Fantasy
Bloodborne got a lot of attention for delivering a striking action RPG experience in an equally striking setting. It delivered Dark Souls-esque gameplay in a Gothic Victorian setting. Not a lot of games in the genre afford players an opportunity to explore a setting inspired by late nineteenth century England. Fantasy is frequently coupled with medieval imagery, much like the original Fable was. However, both Fable and Bloodborne put supernatural themes in a setting that isn't quite modern but isn't quite old history either. It's a fascinating blend of society on the cutting edge of social and technological development with fantastical forces.
Returning to this type of fantasy would be a great way to make the Fable reboot stand out right now. A sequel to Bloodborne probably isn't coming out anytime soon, so Fable could corner the market on Victorian fantasy games for the time being. There's still plenty of room for that in this game. Even though the trailer indicated standard fantasy, it also didn't show fans anything about what populated parts of Albion are like right now. For all players know, Playground Games could already be planning a Victorian society that's going to collide with magic.
Gothic Possibilities
There's tons of other things that Fable could take inspiration from if it takes on some Gothic inspiration. The nineteenth century was an incredibly vibrant literary period that birthed cultural touchstones like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the poems and prose of Edgar Allan Poe. These authors and their many peers wrote works contemplating the supernatural that could strongly inform a game like Fable. Branching out from the Sleepy Hollow legend that helped the original Fable games would give the developers lots of interesting ideas to work with.
Hopefully, Playground Games is interested in doing something bold like this. The new Fable game looks very much like it'll be a reboot of the series. When that happens, developers' instincts often encourage them to return to the series roots. It would be wise to let Fable move forward instead, yet also work with its initial inspirations.
Fable is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S.