Fable is shaping up to be an absolute belter of a role-playing game. From deep systems like reputation affecting everything you do and stylish combat to funny talking pigs, what I’ve seen so far suggests a splendid fantasy role-playing game (RPG) that will be absolutely worth the wait.
Seeing a sliver of the game set in only one town, Playground Games showed what it’s like to carve my own path in the world, what impacts I can have on the locale and the people there, and how it can all affect me as the player.
From what I’ve seen, it’s basically a life sim, town builder, economy sim, RPG — and pig-fate-decider sim — all in one.
Systems on systems on systems
The main thrust of what I saw at the Xbox event around Summer Game Fest 2026 was how deep and rich some of the games’ systems were in how you interact with places and folk, and how your actions have consequences.
This allows you to play your own way, impacting the way people live and also carving your own lifestyle that doesn’t rely on a binary good-bad system, making things more interesting.
In the gameplay I saw behind closed doors, there was a talking pig whose fate we could decide, for example. But this wasn’t a one-and-done affair, as whatever you chose has consequences: save him, and the butcher is out of pocket, so you’ll need to cover his costs if you can — or get a job to earn the coin, and so on. And each of these steps, whichever route you take, will impact how you’re perceived by everyone involved: some will think you’re virtuous, some will be annoyed, and so on.
This leads to you garnering an array of reputation qualities for both the overall area and its inhabitants. And it can get very detailed and complex — in a good way — given every single fully-fledged non-player character (NPC) will have their own perspective. So while you may follow a path that gets you in with some local businesses that then give you better rates, for example, other shop owners may have totally differing opinions and make your life difficult later on.
Given how deep and rich the systems and reputation mechanics are, it feels like that same depth is needed in other areas like combat
Thankfully, the reputation is entirely local, though, so if you go berserk in one town, they won’t immediately be on the phone to the next area over. But even if they did, you can still turn things around and change people’s perceptions, but it will take a lot of work to win them back…
But, perhaps weirdly, this excellent chain of reactions, reputation characteristics, and events can abruptly stop. For example, in the midst of wooing a potential partner and going through the systems you require, including becoming a homeowner, you can just press a button to own a house. Or if you need money to buy gifts in the same relationship system and process, you can simply walk into any blacksmith and earn money at the press of a button.
This juxtaposition was the only thing that really raised my eyebrows, as it felt jarring: one moment you’re deep in a hilarious system rabbithole, the next you’re holding one button to solve or part-solve a problem. I’m very keen to see more of that and the impact it may or may not have on the experience on a larger, less isolated scale.
But could the sword be mightier than the pen?
Speaking of seeing more on a larger scale, the same goes for combat; what I’ve seen whetted the appetite, but I only saw a flash.
It was wonderfully slick, swift, fantastical, and elegant — and exciting — for sure, but over far too quickly. I’d love to see more of the options available to players in terms of builds, classes, and skills, and how to team them with weapon choices and magic, and more. It was all over far too quickly in my preview.
Plus, given how deep and rich the systems and reputation mechanics are, it feels like that same depth is needed in other areas like combat, in order to ensure a cohesive experience and feel.
Still, however, the fact remains that Fable was absolutely one of the very best things I saw at all the games events going on in June, and it’s set to be an absolute blast to experience all its systems — even if I only got a glimpse of them.
I can’t wait to dive in and explore all the shenanigans you can get yourself into when the game launches on February 23, 2027, on Xbox Series X and Series S, PS5, and PC.
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rob.dwiar@futurenet.com (Rob Dwiar)
