XBOX
FABLE
An oversized Richard Ayoade reassures us that the developers know what makes Fable work, but we’d really like a closer look at the game in a player’s hands
Developer/publisher
Xbox Game Studios (Playground Games) Format PC, Xbox Series Release TBA
We recognise the inimitable tones of Richard Ayoade several seconds before his (impressive if slightly uncanny) digital likeness appears. Playground Games is presumably confident that plenty of viewers will, opening its trailer on a black screen before introducing us to Ayoade’s Dave, a ‘vegetable enthusiast’ addressing the camera as if taking part in a mockumentary. This is both an inspired piece of casting and the perfect choice for reintroducing a game after two years of silence: a beloved British comic actor whose presence is entirely in keeping with previous entries immediately suggests the series’ new custodians have understood the brief. If nothing else, it all but proves that – at least in terms of tone – Fable is in safe hands.