This could be one of the only good games to come out of the Xbox Showcase…if it comes out at all. Fable has finally gotten another trailer and it looks sensational, though the lack of actual gameplay and release dates makes me question if it’s ever going to come out.
The most magical element of this game is probably going to be its release date.
After three years of near total silence and just a single minute of cinematic footage, the highly anticipated and awaited reboot of Fable finally got another trailer at the 2023 Xbox showcase…which just ended up being 2 minutes of cinematic footage and no concrete release date. And, as one would probably expect, I’m not super certain this game is going to be on our screen much before 2025…if it even come out at all.
Do you know how I said there was no concrete release date? Yeah, there’s actually no release date given at all in the 2-minute trailer as even though the cinematics, graphics, voice acting, and setting creativity looked sensational, we’re still left in the dark about when this game is coming out.
But, as every Fable fan will tell you, being left in the dark about release dates for this series is pretty much the norm at this point.
It has now been 13 years since Fable III, which was the last release of the original series, came out on the Xbox 360 (yeah it’s that old) and the release of this latest trailer, yet the franchise hasn’t undergone much change, marketing, or development in said span.
Obviously, we know that the new game is going to be a reboot of the franchise and seems to be set during the Age of Heroes (as the Richard Ayoade giant said in the trailer) of the lore, but is that before Fable 1’s timeline (aka: Medieval Europe), Fable 2 and Fable 3’s (aka: Enlightenment Europe), or after these game’s?
I think its before given the emphasis on magic, fairytales, and the two trailer’s Medieval setting, but I can’t be sure. Moreover, I’m not even sure what type of game Fable is supposed to be.
(Microsoft-Fable-Xbox Showcase Trailer)
I’m assuming its going to be like the original three Fable game with the players being set in a open-world, RPG setting with the option to customize character appearance and classes, explore different sides of a story/quest, form relationships with NPCs, leveling your strength, skill, and will trees, etc., but that wasn’t even remotely talked about in the last two trailers.
In truth, the only thing Xbox and Playground Games have shown so far is their ability to make fantastic cinematics as the graphics, voice acting, character, creature, and setting design, etc. (aka: everything I said above) looked superb.
“Interviewing” Richard Ayoade’s Dave really was a funny way to present the broad story, setting, and PC role (and our disproportionally high cheekbones) of the Fable franchise, while also distinguishing itself from the traditional folklore, fairytales, princess stories, etc. we all know.
But, it was just a broad overview with very little insight into the concrete setting, how gameplay will go, and what the open-world (if it still is an open-world franchise) will be laid out.
Given how it’s taken Xbox and Playground Games three years to release two cinematics, I wouldn’t expect an actually gameplay reveal trailer until 2025 or when the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk comes down, crushes that little shit Jack, and takes back his magic hen.
Whichever one comes first.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Microsoft) (Fable-Xbox Showcase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEQRwpMYPaw)
In Text Image 1: (Microsoft) (Fable-Xbox Showcase: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEQRwpMYPaw)
