![]() While the open-ended Oblivion struggled to make a battle with like 20 soldiers seem like an epic fantasy moment, Fable and its sequels achieved so much more with their focus on better writing. The first and second games are almost textbook examples of fantasy plot hooks, as both begin with your child characters having their simple lives ruined, leading to them taking up the life of an adventurer destined to avenge the evil inflicted on them.įrom there, the storylines developed in wildly unexpected directions, with quests and setpiece moments that would be far more memorable than those of any other RPG at the time. Not as open-ended RPGs, but as linear, story-driven hack & slash games with RPG leanings.Įver since the first Fable on the Xbox (and later The Lost Chapters on PC), the games have been excellent at taking basic fantasy storylines and subverting your expectations of them. However, while no Fable game would ever become the super-dynamic, open-world masterpiece experience we’d be promised, I do feel that each of the games was still pretty dang good. And, as the cycle repeated game after game, it became a frustrating routine that soured people’s opinions of these games. These were lies, whether they were born from a genuine overestimation of what the studio could accomplish or simply made to prop up sales before word got out. Every game in the series has been overhyped by its developers, who promised amazing features and untold levels of freedom, for what always turned out to be semi-restrictive games, to the point of being outright linear in places. In fact, my only other mention of the Fable series on this website is me bemoaning how his recent controversies have made it hard to look back on this lovable series nostalgically.Ĭriticism of Fable‘s marketing is also entirely valid. ![]() Though I’ve been known to enjoy the man’s games, I concur that Molyneux is a liar, whose actions have turned actively harmful as he began venturing into the world of crowdfunded indie games. That is not me rushing to the defense of Peter Molyneux, I should clarify. Graphic by Jim Stephanie Sterling & Destructoid Justified as these frustrations are, it’s a shame that a landmark fantasy franchise is forever stained by them. ![]() The “Molyneux Cycle”, as I’ve heard it being called before, casts a shadow over this action-RPG franchise, and to this day there are gamers out there who’ll launch into a tirade whenever the series comes up. Any mention, review, or article on the Fable series will inevitably take time away from the actual critique to comment on the series’ legacy of broken promises.
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