The developers of Fable are confident that they have stuck the landing when it comes to the ending of the upcoming RPG.
The Fable series is home to some fairly beloved games when people get past the perhaps overhyped pre-release comments about everything you can do in them, with Fable 2 generally being the favorite of many. However, Fable 2 simultaneously has one of the worst endings ever put to a game. Spoiler alert: the final boss confrontation against Lucien, who you have been chasing the entire game, boils down to you playing a music box, shooting him once, and him falling off his pedestal dead – or with someone else shooting him if you let him talk too long. It’s comedic for sure, but given all the horrible stuff your protagonist went through at his hands, it’s a bit too anti-climactic.
Thankfully, Playground Games co-founder and Fable (2027) game director Ralph Fulton seems to be assuring an ending that bad won’t be repeated. Speaking to The Guardian, Fulton explains that the main quest won’t feel quite as urgent, to push players into messing around in the world, and to allow more meaningful player choice. He adds that the finale is the only time a player will be locked into the story, and promises that “most importantly, we stick the landing.
“It’s easy to look at industry metrics saying 100% of people start a game and only 25% finish, and decide not to invest heavily in the finale,” Fulton explains, adding: “We relentlessly pursued quality here.”
What that ending is remains to be seen when the game releases next February, but Fulton teases that “in great Fable fashion, it culminates in a choice that really challenges you to think about who you are, with a real personal cost to weigh against the outcome.”