Fable: The Journey

Overview

Fable: The Journey is a 2012 on-rails action role-playing game and the fifth game in the Fable series, developed by Lionhead Studios and published by Microsoft Studios for Xbox 360 as a Kinect title. It was announced at E3 2011 and is a standalone game, separate from the main series. It is the first Fable built on Unreal Engine 3 and the last game Lionhead made before its closure in 2016.

It is played from a first-person view, and you use your hands in front of the Kinect sensor to cast spells, from electric bolts to magic shards. Defeated enemies give experience that you spend on health and spells. Much of the game is spent on a cart pulled by your horse, Seren. You hold the reins to steer her along a path, and you also brush and pet her and care for her when she is hurt. Playing Fable Heroes levels up your character in The Journey and unlocks items.

The story takes place in Albion 50 years after Fable III. You play Gabriel, a young Dweller who falls behind his tribe on the way to their summer camp and is cut off by a storm from the Spire. A detour leads him to the blind seer Theresa, who is under attack from the Devourer, a lieutenant of the Corrupter. Gabriel gets magic gauntlets that will not come off, and agrees to help Theresa collect three Willstones hidden in Enlightened temples across Albion.

Reviews were mixed. Metacritic gave an aggregate of 61 out of 100. Giant Bomb praised the characters, humour and emotional depth, while Destructoid was the harshest, saying the limits of Kinect make the game boring when it works and tear-inducing when it does not.

Screenshots

Game details

Genres

Action role-playing, On-rails

Developer

Lionhead Studios

Publisher

Microsoft Studios

Series

Fable

Engine

Unreal Engine 3

Composers

Russell Shaw

Designers

Mike West, Charlton Edwards

Writers

Martin Korda

Producers

Jemma Harris, Andy Barton, Phil Merricks, Craig Oman

Directors

Gary Carr

Modes

Single player

Yes

Local multiplayer

No

Online multiplayer

No

Release dates

Achievements

Achievements50 (1,000G)

Total

50

Gamerscore

1000

• Pest Control Ten stingers in five seconds. How long for the other 600,000? 10G 21.43% of players
• Hobbe Juggler You juggled a hobbe. A career in the circus awaits. A pretty odd circus, admittedly. 10G 17.02% of players
• Boom-erang You killed a hobbe with his own bomb. 'Tis the sport to have the enginer hoist with his own petar. 10G 26.5% of players
• The Whites of Their Eyes You got cosy with a balverine. You must have nerves of steel: and no working olfactory system. 10G 38.88% of players
• Return of the Black Knight You dismantled a hollow man. It's just a (rotting) flesh-wound! 10G 20.92% of players
• Trollololol You emerged unscathed from a troll fight. Problem? 20G 14.59% of players
• B-B-Q Roast chicken is the best smell in the world. Unless you're a chicken. 10G 19.52% of players
• Great Balls of Fire You killed three enemies with one Fireball. Goodness gracious. 10G 23.88% of players
• Shardly a Problem You cast Shards with utmost precision. For your next trick, spear an apple off Seren's head. 10G 11.82% of players
• Five Billion Candle Power You burned the Corruption from three creatures with one spell. Time to break out the factor 40. 10G 13.72% of players
• Mind Your Manas You dished out a veritable smorgasbord of spell power. Delicious. 20G 21.21% of players
• Toasty Burning through the sky at 200 degrees. That's why they call him Mr. Pushed-in-the-Lava. 10G 23.45% of players
• Bam! There it is! You killed ten creatures with explosive barrels. 20G 42.18% of players
• Flail You killed 500 enemies. The Grim Reaper loves round numbers. 20G 28.45% of players
• Epic Flail 1,000 kills! That's a lot of killing. You should have a lie down. And a shower. 40G 21.11% of players
• Fore! You killed three enemies with thrown objects. Down in front! 10G 25.52% of players
• Reflectology You killed 15 enemies with their own attacks. Reflect on your progress, and feel proud. 20G 30.86% of players
• Fear of Flying You killed 20 enemies in midair. Flying's fine - it's landing that hurts. Also, the magic spells. 30G 16.73% of players
• Hard Shoulder You dealt with a travelling enemy by making it crash and die. Ben Hur would be proud. 10G 27.25% of players
• Roadkill You ran down an enemy with your cart. Consider investing in a plough. 10G 62.57% of players
• Cartmageddon A good driver keeps their hands on the reins at all times, apart from when they're killing things. 20G 25.85% of players
• Pimp My Cart Yo Gabe, we heard you like Heroes so we hung a Hero from your cart so you can Hero while you Hero. 5G 20.92% of players
• Wheeee! You thrust your arms in the air during the minecart ride. Souvenir photo available in the gift shop. 5G 10.16% of players
• I Used to Be an Adventurer Then I took an arrow to the horse. She's all better now, though. 10G 24.48% of players
• Happy Camper You tried your hand at all camp activities. Way to go, cowboy. 20G 55.92% of players
• Why the Long Face? You healed ten wounds on Seren. If she walked into a bar and bruised herself, you'd heal that too. 10G 40.03% of players
• Long Sustained Attacks You fully upgraded one of your spells. You'll be able to bring down anything now. 30G 27.03% of players
• Sparrow You purchased five upgrades. Your Journey has begun. 10G 37.67% of players
• Chicken Chaser You purchased ten upgrades. Your powers are beginning to soar. Soar like a chicken. 20G 24.96% of players
• Hero You purchased 15 upgrades. Truly, you are a Hero. 30G 20.65% of players
• For Every Chest, a Consequence You opened 15 chests. Now on to the greater mystery: Whose stuff have you been stealing? 30G 24.92% of players
• Test Your Medal You earned your first Medal in Arcade Mode. 10G 17.28% of players
• Heavy Medal You earned a Bronze Medal in every Arcade Mode challenge. 20G 5.37% of players
• Pedal to the Medal You earned a Silver Medal in every Arcade Mode challenge. 40G 4.98% of players
• Medal Gear Solid You earned a Gold Medal in every Arcade Mode challenge. 60G 3.42% of players
• No Claims Bonus You completed The Last Stand without taking any damage. 20G 9.1% of players
• Off the Chain You achieved a kill chain of 40 during Arcade Mode. 20G 15.19% of players
• If I Only Had a Brain You whiled away the hours, conferring with the flowers. And exploding scarecrows' heads. 30G 4.86% of players
• The Open Road Your story has begun, but where will the road lead you? 20G 99.83% of players
• Saved by the Sun You escaped the Devourer... for now. 20G 86.64% of players
• In the Palm of Your Hand The power of the gauntlets is now yours, but so is their burden. 20G 73.64% of players
• Footloose You rescued Fergus from a spot of Hobbe bother. Your reward? Singing and beans. 20G 42.92% of players
• Shoo! You made it to the barn and saw off the White Balverine (with a little help from your friends). 20G 38.97% of players
• Off the Menu The Devourer has been defeated, and Fergus is at rest. There's no turning back now, Hero. 20G 29.35% of players
• Going Underground You made it out of Bladebarrow. Most don't. 20G 24.99% of players
• Alas, Poor Nodsy! You laid to rest the spirits of a platoon of morons. They're another dimension's problem now. 20G 22.97% of players
• A Job for Life You destroyed a man's livelihood and smashed something up while you were at it. You're a true Hero. 10G 22.87% of players
• Mind over Matter The Temptress is no more. Or was it all just a dream? 20G 21.86% of players
• The Long Road Home You finally caught up with Katlan. It's you who's needed at the front of the convoy now. 20G 21.26% of players
• Don't Stop Believing You have completed your Journey. The Spire is no more, and a new dawn awaits Albion. 100G 20.51% of players

DLC

No add-on content is listed. Microsoft stopped selling Xbox 360 games on 29 July 2024.

Playable today

Playable offline todayYes

Single-player only, with no online features.

Online

Plays offlineYes

It is a single player game and needs a Kinect sensor. The Xbox 360 Store closed on 29 July 2024.

Reception

Aggregates

Outlet	Platform	Score	Scale
Metacritic	Xbox 360	61	100

Critics

Outlet	Score	Scale
IGN	7.2	10
GameSpot	8	10
Game Informer	5	10
Destructoid	3.5	10
Electronic Gaming Monthly	9	10
G4	2.5	5
GamesRadar	2.5	5
Giant Bomb	3	5
Hardcore Gamer	4	5
Official Xbox Magazine	6.5	10
The Escapist	2	5

Staff and cast

Staff

Role	Name
Director	Gary Carr
Producer	Jemma Harris
Producer	Andy Barton
Producer	Phil Merricks
Producer	Craig Oman
Designer	Mike West
Designer	Charlton Edwards
Writer	Martin Korda
Composer	Russell Shaw
Programmer	Tim Swann
Programmer	Marcus Lynn
Programmer	Ben Brooks
Artist	Paul McLaughlin
Artist	Tak Saito
Artist	Andrew Lindsay
Artist	Jamie Galipeau

Notes for collectors

• It needs a Kinect sensor to play.
• It is the last game Lionhead Studios made before the studio closed in 2016.
• The Xbox 360 list has 50 achievements worth 1,000 gamerscore.
• Playing the arcade game Fable Heroes levels up your character in this game.
• Reviews split sharply, with scores ranging from 2 out of 5 to 9 out of 10.

Credits

Region

US

Time to beat

about 8.7 hours