At Gamescom, Microsoft finally revealed what Lionhead Studios was working on for the Xbox One. Surprise – it’s a new entry in the Fable franchise.
This morning, Microsoft announced that Fable Legends would be the next game coming in its fabled RPG series. The game is a four player co-op action RPG where players team up to “embark on quests, slay monsters and discover new weapons, armor and treasures.” In short, it’s a Fable game.
Lionhead has crafted Fable Legends around the idea of co-op adventuring so players can never truly play by themselves. Those who choose to forsake playing with others will team up with AI companions to take on the world of Albion. Those who only just have one friend can form a team made up of human and AI companions. Microsoft says the multiplayer is seamless so players can drop in and drop out as they please without interrupting the game.
Interestingly enough, Fable Legends also allows a player to take on the role of a villain. In this mode, the player will control monsters and send them off against the hero players. It’s like Dungeon Keeper, but the heroes are controlled by your friends.
On a final note, Lionhead has integrated SmarGlass into Fable Legends to give players additional information. Using a tablet, heroes can track game progress, gain additional quest details and more. Villains, on the other hand, can use SmartGlass to control their minions as they try to take out the heroes.
It almost seems like we can’t go a year without a new Fable game, and the fatigue was already setting in around the time Fable 3 came out. That being said, Fable Legends has definitely piqued my interest as it presents a radical new direction for the series that’s more about having fun with friends than middling moral consequences.
Here’s the debut trailer for Fable Legends. There’s no gameplay present, but the CG aesthetics are looking very nice: