If new rumors are to be believed, the long-awaited next entry in the beloved Xbox RPG series might bring some surprising twists. In an episode of The Xbox Two Podcast, Jez Corden, a well-regarded source in the gaming community, revealed some juicy details about the Fable 4 leak. After reportedly seeing alpha development footage of the game, he revealed intriguing insights into the project.
First up, Corden mentioned that Fable 4 might draw inspiration from The Witcher 3, especially in terms of combat mechanics. He believes developer Playground Games has taken in talents from various respected studios. Some of them could be combat designers of Geralt’s game as the ‘pirouettes and dodging’ feel seamless and familiar.
However, Fable 4 also mixes in some original combat elements, such as switching to a bow and arrow mid-fight. Or using magic spells to levitate enemies and slam them into the ground. “It looks [expletive] fantastic,” said the WindowsCentral executive editor. “You can tell this game has CDProjekt RED DNA.”
Corden then hints at a more mature tone for Fable 4 in the leak, especially visually. One of the parry moves leads into an ‘execution’ where the player stabs a sword through an opponent’s chest. Still, Playground Games isn’t shying away from the whimsical comedy of the original games. The footage is said to showcase a ‘giant chicken’ boss and a segment where the characters bait a werewolf with a ‘full English breakfast.’
Another exciting tidbit? The possibility of multiple main protagonists. While details are scarce, Corden has been repeatedly told during interviews that the game will offer a male and female playable character. The female character is the one we have seen in various trailers but the studio hasn’t revealed how the male choice looks. Whether this means a full-on choice between the two, if there’s a dynamic character-switching, or if they just work as presets remains unclear for now.
Corden was also impressed by the build’s level of polish, especially considering it’s still in the alpha state. “It looks super polished, it looks super good,” he noted, which bodes well for fans wary of development hiccups. “If it was an early gameplay, then like, probably looks even better now.”
The details can be listened to in episode 340 of the podcast, at the 1 hour 37 minutes mark. While these details are unconfirmed, Jez Corden’s track record lends credibility to the speculation. If Playground Games can blend Fable‘s quirky charm with The Witcher‘s immersive mechanics and a darker tone, we could be looking at a bold new direction for the franchise. Until an official reveal, though, take this with a grain of salt– or maybe a sprinkle of fairy dust.
