Love It Or Hate It, Fable Is The Spiritual Sibling Of This Controversial Open-World RPG

Fable has finally had proper gameplay unveiled via the Xbox Developer Direct 2026, and what was on display teases a startlingly immense experience with an emphasis on player freedom. This is sure to turn Albion into players’ open-world fantasy RPG sandbox, and it appears feasible that players could spend countless playthroughs simply manipulating their reputations as they maneuver around Bowerstone, speak with wholly unique NPCs, and make choices that alter the townsfolk’s perception of them.

Aside from its impressive features, however, there is an unlikely open-world action-RPG that it seems to bear a striking resemblance to: Hogwarts Legacy. It’s unknown whether Playground and Xbox’s Fable was inspired at all by Hogwarts Legacy, especially due to how controversial the latter has been, but Fable’s visuals, character models, NPC interactions, and HUD/UI design do all look remarkably similar to those of Hogwarts Legacy, making it something of a spiritual sibling to the unbelievably successful Harry Potter game.

Hogwarts Legacy & Fable Are Kindred Spirits

Looking at any individual frame from Fable’s recent gameplay showcase, it’s quite easy to see how someone could mistake this brand-new, upcoming Fable game with Avalanche and Warner Bros. Games’ Hogwarts Legacy. Indeed, Hogwarts Legacy has the same bright, natural lighting, comparable character model designs, similar environmental art, and a hearty helping of magic.

Fable’s Bowerstone also looks a lot like Hogwarts Legacy’s Hogsmeade, complete with shops to visit and NPCs who are going about their daily lives, and each game’s town boasts views of a towering castle in the distance. The extent to which players can converse with NPCs and enjoy dynamic, choice-based dialogue is nowhere near as great in Hogwarts Legacy, though the UI of text prompts and menuing looks alike in both games, too.

Omit the avatar character’s melee weapons and finisher animations, and players have what looks like Hogwarts Legacy’s spell-casting combat. Plus, players can even turn enemies into chickens, which emulates Hogwarts Legacy’s yellow, Control-based Transformation spell, let alone cast other offensive magic via face buttons on a gamepad.

Coupled with the fact that Fable features some of the same enemies from the looming fantasy genre, such as trolls, Fable and Hogwarts Legacy may not be as different as players initially think.

Fable Could Be An Amuse-Bouche For Hogwarts Legacy 2

Fable’s choice of art style is an interesting evolution from the original trilogy, particularly with Playground electing to adopt a more photorealistic high-fidelity in cinematics. Still, Fable’s whimsy and fantasy are baked into Albion with gorgeous, sweeping vistas, and, likely, we’ve only been privy to a tiny slice of what the open world’s set pieces, characters, and enemies will look like.

If nothing else, maybe Fable is a glimpse at what Hogwarts Legacy 2 will look like, without the copious marriages, kids, and property buying. For better or worse, a Hogwarts Legacy sequel seems like an inevitability following the first game’s incredible popularity, having sold more than a whopping 40 million units, and it’ll be neat to see if its gameplay features and graphics can compete with Fable.