Language: EN | RU
Moon Studios head Thomas Mahler has criticized the combat in the Gamescom 2026 demo of the new Fable, saying that several basic elements of the system do not work.
“You really have to wonder how something like this even gets shown to the public...? There's a whole myriad of combat system basics that aren't at work here. Even if this is supposed to be a boss, you never ever resort to enemies not having any hit reacts at all,” he wrote on social media.
Mahler was commenting on the part of the gameplay video where the Hero fights a large mercenary on the shore of Bowerstone Bay. He offered to have a quick call with the developers at Playground Games to “point you in the right direction.”
Mahler later clarified in the replies that he had not intended to take a dig at the Fable developers and had genuinely been offering to help.
“I've been doing this a lot with other developers — it wasn't meant as a dig at all, but more as a 'Hey, if you folks need some quick tips on how to make this feel better, I can help out!' kinda thing,” he added.
Moon Studios is an Austrian studio known for No Rest for the Wicked, Ori and the Will of the Wisps and Ori and the Blind Forest. Mahler founded it in 2010 together with Gennadiy Korol. Before that, he worked at Blizzard Entertainment.
The day before, Gamescom 2026 featured 18 minutes of gameplay, both with and without developer commentary. The footage shows a story quest set in Bowerstone. The Hero arrives in the city after an incident in her home village of Briar Hill, meets Humphry, the head of the Heroes’ Guild, and tries to help him out of debt, including by fighting local bandits.
Journalists were also able to play another demo focused on the combat system. In a different quest, the Hero and Humphry descend into a mine and fight Hollow Folk and ghosts.
Fable will be released on February 23, 2027, although players who purchase the Premium Edition or Collector's Edition will be able to start five days earlier, on February 18.
What do you think?
More Fable news — on our Telegram channel and in our chat