Buried like a cursed treasure at the bottom of this week's episode of the official Xbox Podcast was news about Playground Games' long-awaited Fable. I call it "treasure" because it included a rare glimpse at gameplay, but "cursed" because it came with the dreaded caveat that accompanies many development updates: a delay. Once planned to launch this year, Fable is now set for a 2026 release.

Delays, while frustrating, are not necessarily harbingers of doom. In Fable's case, this extra time could be a sign of a richly detailed world that needs more time to bloom. But that extra year of waiting can be put to good use: there's no better time to play the Fable games. Specifically, I'd urge you to try Fable 2, the series' highpoint, and (re)discover just what a strange and unique RPG Lionhead Studios' 2008 classic is.

By today's role-playing game standards, Fable 2 is truly unusual. But even compared to its 2008 contemporaries, such as Fallout 3 and BioWare’s early 3D games, it stands out with its singular vision. While Fable 2 features a fairly traditional campaign structure, its RPG systems are far simpler than those in Oblivion and Neverwinter Nights, making it incredibly approachable for newcomers to the genre. Just six main skills govern your health pool, strength, and speed, with a single damage stat for weapons and no complex stats for armor or accessories. Combat, while prevalent, is more about swashbuckling fun, enhanced by creative spellcasting like the amusing Chaos spell that makes enemies dance and scrub floors. Even death is lenient, with only a minor XP penalty for losing all hitpoints.

In essence, Fable 2 is the perfect RPG for those new to the genre. Back in 2008, when Oblivion's vast open world could feel overwhelming, Fable 2's Albion offered a more manageable set of small, easy-to-navigate maps. With your faithful canine companion, you can explore beyond the beaten path to discover secrets like buried treasure and puzzle-posing Demon Doors. This lends Albion a sense of scale and opportunity, despite its more linear pathways. While Albion's geography may not match the vastness of BioWare's Infinity Engine games or Bethesda's Morrowind, it excels in creating a bustling, lived-in world. Viewed through the lens of a game like The Sims, Albion becomes a remarkable simulation of society.

Albion operates like a strange organic clockwork organism. Every morning, its people wake and begin their routines. Town criers announce shop openings and the late-night hours. Each citizen has an interior life, influenced by their societal roles and personal preferences. Using a library of gestures, you can interact with non-hostile NPCs, delighting, insulting, impressing, or even seducing them. A well-executed fart might have pub patrons howling into their beers, while pointing and laughing at children sends them fleeing. These interactions make Albion's world feel truly alive and reactive.

While your character is a Hero destined for grand adventures, Fable 2 shines when you fully engage with its society. You can purchase nearly every building, work at minigames like woodcutting and blacksmithing, become a landlord, or make a home and start a family. The individual components might feel artificial, but together they create a genuine sense of life. Few RPGs have followed in Fable's footsteps in this regard, but Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 comes close with its responsive world and NPC interactions.

For Playground Games' new Fable to stay true to its origins, it should draw inspiration from Red Dead Redemption 2 rather than the current trend of tabletop-inspired RPGs. There are other elements Playground must maintain, such as Fable's British humor, satire of the class system, and beloved voice actors. But perhaps most crucial is Lionhead's approach to good and evil.

Peter Molyneux, the founder of Lionhead Studios, has always been fascinated with the dichotomy of good and evil. This was evident from the studio's first project, Black & White, and continued through the Fable series. Unlike the nuanced choices in The Witcher or BioWare's games, Fable 2 offers starkly binary options—either angelic or demonic, with no grey areas. This comedic approach to morality shines in quests where you can choose to either clear pests from a warehouse or destroy all stock, or torment a ghost's former lover or marry her. Fable thrives on these extremes, allowing you to be the most heroic hero or the most heinous villain, with quests branching to offer rich, creative pathways. This focus on the extremes, rather than the middle ground, makes Fable 2's moral choices feel impactful and satisfying.

It's unclear if Playground Games will capture this essence of Fable. The recent development update included just 50 seconds of pre-alpha gameplay footage, which didn't fully showcase an authentic Fable experience, except for the traditional chicken kick. However, the footage hinted at a more detailed world with an open world feel and a dense, lively city reminiscent of Fable 2's societal simulation. I'm eager to engage with this new Albion, from playful interactions to whirlwind romances.

But that's a year away. In the meantime, revisiting Fable 2 will remind you why it's so beloved and why it's crucial for Playground Games to retain its unique elements. We don't need Fable to become a clone of The Witcher or Baldur's Gate; we need it to remain true to its roots, farts and all.