With recent talks of a new Fable soon to be released, we thought it a great time to create this list in order to find the best Fable game.
At a time when Microsoft’s Xbox was in dire need of gamers adopting the new console, the company wished to expand on the success of Halo and looked to the action role-playing genre.
Legendary game designer Peter Molyneux (creator of Populous and Dungeon Keeper) was roped in and introduced us to Fable.
Related Read: 15 Fantasy Action Games Like Fable
Set in the rich, medieval world of Albion, players could choose to be either good or bad with their character developing accordingly. This was quite new at the time and was a major contributor to setting the game apart from everything else that was out.
5. Fable Fortune
| Developer | Flaming Fowl Studios, Mediatonic |
| Release Date | 22 February 2018 |
| Platforms | PC, Xbox One |
While this list might not contain Fable: The Lost Chapters, Fable II Pub Games, Fable Coin Golf, Fable Heroes and Fable Anniversary we thought it apt to introduce the last Fable game created.
Fable Fortune does not follow the traditional gameplay fans have come to expect and instead ventures into the realm of digital collectable card gaming set in the game’s universe.
The game does start you off on a quest and you are given the choice to be either good or bad. This helped to ease fans and newcomers alike, into the game. There is also room for co-op play that comes in handy when facing boss characters.
That being said, this is not an action role-playing game and certainly not the game fans were expecting. Like filler episodes in your favorite anime series, you’d either find this interesting or a complete waste of time.
Hopefully this was just the break required for the developers to bring us that sequel we’ve all been waiting for.
4. Fable III
| Developer | Lionhead Studios |
| Release Date | 26 October 2010 |
| Platforms | PC, Xbox 360 |
The story focuses on the player taking on the role of the king’s brother in staging a coup and overthrowing the King of Albion. Alliances must be formed to ensure the success of the revolution and choice plays an important part here as in previous games.
Once the player is crowned king, a greater evil appears and as the new King of Albion it is up to you to defeat it.
The game boasts a stellar cast of voice actors including Naomie Harris, Ben Kingsley, Simon Pegg and Michael Fassbender. Good and bad still form a major part of the game and this is neatly relegated with the morality system in place.
You have three main attacks: melee, ranged and magic with enemy encounters happening quite frequently. There is also this sense of responsibility at play, when you’re not in the castle overseeing your lands, bad things can happen in your absence.
Fable III is off to a slow start and doesn’t add anything of significance to the series or the genre for that matter.
The game does suffer from a few technical issues that are hard to ignore and exploring the world of Albion does get a bit distracting with certain repetitive gameplay elements. After such a long wait, most fans expected a bit more.
3. Fable: The Journey
| Developer | Lionhead Studios |
| Release Date | 9 October 2012 |
| Platforms | Xbox 360 |
Developed with the Unreal Engine 3, Fable: The Journey was a marvel to behold. Another feature that set it apart from the rest of the series, is that it only came out as a Kinect title.
Meaning now more than ever, fans of the series had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the world of Albion like never before. The game also featured cross-game interaction with Fable Heroes.
Casting spells using hand gestures, riding your horse and even caring for it was a really fun experience. The story is also deep and pulls you in before you know it.
The rapport you build with certain characters deepens the overall experience, as you really start to care for the characters living in this game world.
When compared to previous Fable games, there have been some who criticized the main story as being too generic. Using the Kinect is also not the ideal way to experience the game and the novelty soon wears off. One has to wonder whether this was just a marketing plan to sell more Kinect units.
2. Fable
| Developer | Big Blue Box Studios |
| Release Date | 14 September 2004 |
| Platforms | PC, Xbox, Xbox 360, Mac |
Originally titled Project Ego the game’s opening title theme was written by well-known Hollywood composer, Danny Elfman and was scheduled to launch on the Dreamcast before Sega’s console got discontinued.
Fable would go on to introduce players to the rich world of Albion and change the way action role-playing games are perceived. For instance, the ability to purchase a house or getting married would be a recurring theme from here on out.
The defining feature of the game is to develop your character by either making good or bad choices. These choices would have a profound affect on how other characters interact with you and even change the physical appearance of your in-game character.
Combat is a pleasure; the game is open-ended enough for the player to define their own adventure and the story has stood the test of time.
The game was criticized for being too short despite the healthy amount of side quests available. Peter Molyneux, the game’s creator was also faulted for overpromising and under delivering.
At some point he promised that the hero would be able to father children, which is of course absent from the game. Fortunately, this would be a feature added in the sequel.
1. Fable II
| Developer | Lionhead Studios |
| Release Date | 21 October 2008 |
| Platforms | Xbox 360 |
The player experiences the world of Albion 500 years after the events of the first game and has a choice to play as either a male or female. Man’s best friend also plays a crucial role and is your constant companion throughout the game, reaching a level where it can be trained to help you progress through the game.
Fable II has gone on to become one of the best-selling RPG titles on the Xbox 360 and went on to win numerous awards in the process.
The bread crumb trail in the sequel was a handy feature as most games of this type can get quite convoluted with the player not knowing where to go to next. It could also be turned off which ensured that it never interfered with the gameplay.
The ability to skip interactive cut scenes is also a welcome addition and one could always return if there was something one missed. The game played and looked better than its predecessor.
A few players did report some technical issues encountered while playing the game such as freezing and progression bugs.
The moral dilemma of marrying, filing for divorce, having unprotected sex that yielded kids may also be too much for some to handle, but nothing is overtly displayed.
Fable II improved on the original in a way that few games in the genre do and is our top pick for the best Fable game.