Xbox recently unveiled Playground Games’ Fable reboot at the Xbox Games Showcase, revealing a fun and quirky take on the classic franchise. Although the trailer was well received, some observers criticized the lack of gameplay.
Peter Molyneux, who helped design the original Fable and more recently dabbled in NFTs, agrees.
“Like you, I wanted to see more gameplay, but I loved the scene where the hero throws the fireball. I loved the feeling of impact. I thought this was really promising. So yes, my expectations are high,” Molyneux told GameReactor. in a recent interview.
He went on to praise IT Crowd’s Richard Ayoade as a “perfect choice” for the game and “very fable-y to get him hooked on vegetables”.
The original Fable was an early Xbox hit thanks to Molyneux’s big promise of an ever-evolving world. A game where players can plant acorns and watch them grow into giant oak trees. Molyneux left Lionhead in 2012 and the studio closed in 2016.
Recalling his own work on the original Fable, Molyneux says the Playground Games trailer captures:
“You know, the thing you have to remember about Fable is that when we were first designing Fable, we sat down and said, ‘Fable is going to be fun because of what the players do. I think I agree, there’s a lot of jokes that aren’t funny.’ There weren’t really any jokes, but it was funny because it made players react absurdly, and there’s that ridiculous energy in the trailer.” Molyneux said.
Fable was originally announced in 2020 as a “new beginning” for the series, and fell silent shortly thereafter. Little else is known about its world or gameplay.
Peter Molyneux talks about his next fight
Meanwhile, Molyneux shed light on a new game his studio 22cans is developing for PC and consoles. While he promised he wouldn’t call it “the greatest game in the world,” he hinted that it would feature “mechanics never seen before.”
“I think we’ve come across mechanics that we haven’t seen in games before. I think we’re ultimately leveraging these mechanics in worlds and environments that people are familiar with. And , because it’s this familiar thing, “The environment is fresh. A lot of this sounds mystical because I try to avoid telling you exactly what it is. But it’s allegory – Black and White – “Dungeon Keeper,” said Molyneux.
“We pretty much decided to make this a title for PC and consoles instead of mobile devices. I decided on it as the title, the main platform mainly because it needs power.”
Molyneux appears to be referring to a separate game from Legacy, his blockchain-powered project that sells land to players by the millions. Legacy is still in early access.
Molyneux has been frequently criticized for making big promises in games that never materialized, and the 22cans’ record so far has been disappointing. It remains to be seen if his next project will be able to restore his reputation as a true innovator.
As for Fable, we don’t have a release date yet.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s Director of News and co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Any tips? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
