One Narrative Choice Could Make or Break the Protagonist
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The next Fable game is slated for a 2026 release, which is exciting for obvious reasons, but it’s still shrouded in an air of mystery. Playground Games did release a short video of pre-alpha Fable gameplay earlier this year, which followed a handful of cinematic trailers, but countless core elements of the game have yet to be illuminated, leaving fans to wonder what exactly this reboot will feel like to play.
Gameplay is sure to see the biggest punch-up from previous entries: action-RPGs have changed dramatically in the years since Fable 3, after all, and one can expect the Fable reboot to incorporate modern design tendencies in its combat and open-world design, for example. But storytelling and general tone are different matters entirely, since these are arguably the most unique elements of the broader Fable series; Playground Games will likely want to retain the franchise’s flair and style in Fable. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, from a strong sense of humor to an appropriately absurd cast of side characters, but one key aspect of the player-character’s design is crucial to this goal as well.
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Fable May Be Tempted to Reprise an Old Feature, But It Would Be Wise Not To
Although one feature may be nostalgic for long-time Fable fans, Playground Game’s reboot would be wise to leave some systems in the past.
Fable Will Have to Make a Decision About the Protagonist’s Voice
Fable Has Historically Featured Silent Protagonists
In the first two Fable games, the player-character doesn’t speak a word: they are quintessential RPG heroes in this respect. Lionhead pivoted away from this genre convention in Fable 3 to mixed results: Fable 3‘s main character speaks occasionally, typically getting more lines of dialogue during important story missions, and this detracts from the game’s charm a bit. No longer are players filling the shoes of a blank slate who can be steered in any direction they please, but a dashing prince or princess, whose baked-in personality is communicated by their manner of speaking.
The problems with Fable 3‘s spoken protagonist mirror games like Fallout 4, where the role-playing experience is muddied by elements like line delivery and intonation.
In many ways, the Fable games are parodies of traditional high-fantasy stories. Their heroes are absurdly powerful, and if the player decides to play as a villain, they are hilariously, cartoonishly evil. These extremes are hard to land when the player-character can talk, since someone’s voice necessarily says quite a bit about their personality, disposition, mood, et cetera. As it stands, it’s somewhat unclear whether the Fable reboot will feature a fully voiced protagonist, and this decision could be a line in the sand for the game.
The Pros and Cons of Fable Featuring a Voiced Protagonist
The Fable protagonist shown in the game’s promotional footage thus far does have a voice, as seen in the 2024 Xbox Games Showcase trailer: she closes out the trailer by telling Humphrey that “she” has returned. However, it’s not clear whether this was just for the trailer or if this hero will be chatting throughout the entire game.
Assuming that the latter is the case, then Fable could fall prey to the same foibles as Fable 3, forcing some semblance of a predetermined personality onto the player.
Then again, a voiced protagonist can be more relatable than a silent one at times, and it helps avoid awkward in-game exchanges wherein all the NPCs are speaking but not the player-character. Perhaps the worst thing that Playground Games could do in this regard would be to try and have it both ways: Fable 3‘s voiced protagonist only speaks occasionally, which is jarring and immersion-breaking.
A voiced protagonist could work, in theory, but only if the rest of the game’s writing is devised with this element in mind. If the story calls for a more realistic, true-to-life character, then perhaps voice acting is the way to go; if the game is trying to be as absurd and outlandish as its predecessors, then Playground Games may want to think twice.
