Fable Heroes

Fable Heroes is a light-hearted spin-off from the main series – instead of a sprawling RPG, it offers cooperative brawling for up to four players, in which characters from the world of Albion, including Heroes from previous installments, are turned into cute, blocky figurines resembling a building-block toy. Players progress together through linear arenas on a game board reminiscent of a board game, clearing waves of enemies and collecting gold, which they then use on the map to unlock costumes, weapons, and bonus playable characters, including villains from earlier series entries such as Jack of Blades.

The game was created by Lionhead Studios as a smaller supplementary title, released digitally on Xbox Live Arcade alongside the launch of Fable: The Journey, with which it shares its world and part of its humor, although it's a completely different type of game in terms of gameplay. Instead of the moral choices, dialogue, and open-world exploration typical of the series, the emphasis here is on fast action, collecting items, and competing among players for the highest score at the end of each arena. As the game progresses, shared bonuses that apply to all players at the screen also grow, keeping the brawling fast-paced even after several hours of play, and the game itself also functions as an informal competition over which member of the party collects the most gold and dice with special abilities by the end of the arena. Fable Heroes is thus more of a celebration of the series' characters and humor, a playful nod to previous installments, rather than a fully-fledged continuation of its gameplay concept. The visual style is also deliberately reminiscent of a children's toy or a board game played out on a carpet, a deliberate contrast to the darker, more mature tones the series offers elsewhere.

Why play it: Fable Heroes is suited for quick cooperative fun with a group on a single screen, not for solo, deep RPG experiences – you'll appreciate it mainly as a fan of the series who wants to see their favorite characters in a light-hearted, cartoonish form, and as an excuse for a couch evening with three friends and one extra controller on hand.