Don't like the office? So you're going to have a bad time with Fable

Fable would be nothing without its sense of humor. While the original game was a bit more of a straight-laced fantasy affair with a lovely helping of English flair, subsequent games all tried to be British as hell in their characters, locations, humor, and more. It will also see many UK comedy veterans and cult figures star as key characters.

So, when it was announced that Playground Games, of Forza Horizon fame, was bringing the dormant series back to life, we all expected it to be tongue-in-cheek fun. A lovingly crafted adventure where you can start as a chicken chaser and end up as the legendary hero of Bowerstone.

That's all there is, but there are a few other additions that I'm not sure about at the time of writing. Remember the Office-esque skits featured in its trailers? Expect those too in the full game.

Fable is striving to be the funnest game in the series

The player is ready to attack a nearby hob in Fable.

Like Matt King (Peep Show) and Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd), these segments of the story involve characters talking directly to the camera and/or the player in a mocking manner that seems like they know they're video game characters. They talk about Albion as a distinct fantasy place and their role within its borders, while also hyping the role you play as the next big hero.

King portrays Humphrey, the self-proclaimed 'greatest hero in Albion's history' who can play the role of a drunken aristocrat in the full game. He's keenly aware that there haven't been true heroes in a very long time, and he hates the upstart for destroying or potentially even surpassing his legacy.

In the Xbox Game Showcase 2024 trailer – the first to show a glimpse of the reboot's actual gameplay, he reintroduces us to new and returning systems before player characters team up to face off against an old rival. Who that is, and what role they will play in the upcoming story, remains to be revealed.

My money is on it potentially being Theresa from the original trilogy, but Playground has already made it clear that it won't be a continuation of those games.

A year ago, Ayoade starred as a farmer/scientist who discovered a way to grow giant vegetables, and wants to find a way to monetize it for his own benefit. However, we soon learn that during this experiment he accidentally turns himself into a giant and the player will need to decide his fate as part of the initial quest. Keep him alive, and an unstoppable monster will roam the land. Kill him and his corpse will end up as a permanent bit of scenery that rots away as the story progresses.

These are not only key figures in the game's story, but also individuals designed to provide comedic metacommentary embodied in this new vision of Albion. Does this mean that everyone in the world is self-aware or that only certain people are dictated by the game as being that important?

Surprise, Fable is actually a video game mockumentary

The player is ready to do battle with a giant cockatrice in Fable.

I have to imagine that many other big British names are set to appear as well, and will star in their own joke-esque sequences that advance the story and inform their characters. I'm excited to see them, and I'm sure they'll be very funny, but when so much of your humor is based on the fact that Albion isn't a real place, I can't help but feel a little disappointed.

The fable has always been funny, but it's never afraid to treat its origin story with appropriate seriousness when the situation calls for it. I hope the reboot doesn't dump any of this in the service of millennial comedian humor.

Speaking on Xbox Wire, here's what Ralph Fulton, founder and general manager of Playground Games, had to say about Fable's use of humor and technology:

“We were inspired by the incredibly rich variety of British comedies of the last 20 years, such as Peep Show, The IT Crowd and many others,” Fulton revealed. “We started with The Office, which again started off as quintessentially British, but travels really, really well.

“It's not just that IP, but a lot of the techniques and devices that it's popular with, you know. It's a really basic, weird style of comedy that really appeals to us. And the artists that are in a lot of these shows — and actually some of our games — are known around the world.”

I'm all for experimenting with this kind of approach in an open world genre where things have proven increasingly stale, but I'm still not convinced that interrupting the action to give the main characters moments of forced humor is even a worthwhile addition. I'm not big on Ayoade, which may have something to do with me being on the fence, but I like the cast of Fable to follow something original rather than the current (or, judging by the names so far, slightly former) UK comedy scene. Please prove me wrong, but I hope it doesn't get old too quickly.