Video Game Fables review

A reoccurring narrative in role-playing games is the plucky hero who triumphs against ridiculous odds. That account summarizes Video Game Fables plot as well as production.

There’s been a growing number of solitary developers whose efforts rival the work of mid-sized teams. From the taut, first-person action of Bright Memory: Infinite, the roguelike firefights found in Astro Aqua Kitty, to the three-dimensional platforming in Pumpkin Jack, we’ve witnessed individuals tackle many of the dominant genres. With Video Game Fables, Matt Sharp (working as Momiji Studios) attempts the seemingly implausible: a role-playing game crafted by a single person. From a witty script to an engaging battle system, the results are astonishingly successful.

Video Game Fables’ obvious shortcoming is found in its visuals. Built with Unity, the title uses simple polygonal models for its cast and settings, so you’re not going to mistake this for the latest Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest. Characters resemble blocky, 8-bit sprites, with just a bit of width, recalling the 2009 PlayStation 3 title, 3D Dot Game Heroes. The difference here is a remarkably dynamic camera that skillfully frames the actions during cutscenes. Sometimes, it will zoom in for a close-up of an animated face. Other times, the perspective highlights a physical gag, such as a wafer-thin character turning sideways to squeeze through ineffective jail bars.

Satirical or Straightforward Storytelling?

Beyond a bit of physical breadth, there’s some expositional depth as well. Fables’ lead is a princess who refuses to follow the plotline’s kidnapping scenario. Nate is role-playing’s routine villager but with larger ambitions. We first meet him guiding a Skyrim-like carriage when he gets caught up in Princess Aru’s escape. Tator is the son of the game’s villain, a crown-wearing alligator. He might have some daddy issues. Yes, it’s a prototypical rag-tag ensemble, but personality quirks are habitually exploited for comic effect.

Video Game Fables’ script works in two ways. On one level, it delivers a whimsical adventure teeming with eccentricity. You’ll face offbeat bosses like an anthropomorphic yellow chair whose scream sounds like an 8-bit siren sound effect. NPCs are delightfully peculiar. A local innkeeper enjoys watching adventurers sleep just a little too much. Another character concocts spells with her cauldron but swears she’s not a witch. Everyone is peculiar, making Fables an enjoyable romp.

On another level, the game skewers role-playing cliches and delivers a succession of fourth-wall-shattering quips. Princess Aru’s indifference toward the game’s combat tutorial speaks to seasoned aficionados with no need for training. Riko, the game’s clock-faced save icon persistently asks if you’re wasting her *time*. Nate, who really wants to be a hero, utters gaming cliches, with affirmations about ‘the power of community and friendship solving problems’, while Aru complains about the banality of key collecting to open doors. Sure, the writing doesn’t always hit, but the frequency of puns, jokes, and satirical elements is commendable. Nearly every line of dialog attempts to inject some kind of humor into the proceedings.

Critical Theory

Pleasingly, the turn-based combat has its own merits. Here, criticals (called “crits”) don’t just intensify your damage output. Instead, they’re a resource that can be saved and subsequently used to augment your skills (think of these as spells). So instead of healing or assaulting a single unit, when a crit is consumed, an entire team is affected. The game’s eight different weapon types not only influence the frequency of crits but also modify turn order, allowing combat to be approached in different ways. And you’ll probably need to adjust your tactics, as battles are often influenced by elemental statuses.

But Crits aren’t the only element where flexibility is offered. XP is granted to the entire adventuring party. Instead of stratified level increases, you can opt to spend points to open additional skill slots or utilize better equipment. Mercifully, you can respec at any time. The hub town’s ambiguously witchy NPC allows for learning additional skills, and there’s some nuance here, with new abilities that offer different variations as well as stronger skills. Beyond gaining resources by defeating foes, there are also opportunities for mining and fishing across the large overworld maps. There’s a lot of flexibility in how you can tackle Fables.

Conclusion

As enjoyable as the game is, there are a few imperfections. Dungeons can contain some light platforming. While this offers some gameplay variety, there’s no way to adjust the game’s camera, so you’ll probably endure a bit of damage. Although the overworld map has teleporters, standard walking speeds feel sluggish. Occasionally, the game’s camera exhibits a peculiar angle, especially near environmental objects. But all of these are rather forgivable transgressions that barely blemish the fun. When it comes to stability, the game ran crash-free on both an older laptop and on the Steam Deck.

Video Game Fables might resemble an upscaled Nintendo 64 title with its pixelated aesthetic and environmental objects that suspiciously look like free assets. But that shouldn’t stop role-playing fans from giving this clever effort a try. With writing that’s gratifyingly smart and flexible gameplay systems capable of keeping players engrossed, Fables occasionally rivals the efforts crafted by larger development teams.

Video Game Fables was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.