Playground Games’ devs were so confident in Fable, they made me play the Gamescom demo twice
Playground Games granted exclusive hands-on access to its highly anticipated Fable remake at Gamescom, marking the first time anyone outside the studio has played the fantasy RPG. The behind-closed-doors demo lasted approximately one hour and featured a dungeon sequence populated with undead enemies, positioned partway through the game’s campaign.
In a demonstration of developer confidence, associate game director Will Kennedy informed the player they would complete the same section twice using two distinctly different character loadouts. This unconventional approach suggests Playground Games wanted to showcase the game’s mechanical variety and build confidence in its gameplay systems by allowing extended hands-on experience within a single session.
The developers’ willingness to have a single journalist replay the identical content suggests they felt the core gameplay loop and systems were compelling enough to warrant repeated engagement without concern about repetition dampening enthusiasm. The decision to provide different loadouts for each playthrough indicates the studio’s focus on demonstrating character build diversity and playstyle flexibility—key elements expected in a modern RPG revival.