Fable

i like when games take a common kinda cliche narrative and look at it in an unusual way, like looking at what comes after it or using the pov of what would usually be a side character. not a deconstruction/subversion necessarily (though i guess this kind of is that too) but just another angle.

this game is kinda about a heroic fantasy quest, but it ends at the beginning of the game, and the main pov character is the chosen ones childhood friend who has been pining for him for many years. now the hero ronan has returned to his village. the mc kel and his sister letta both love ronan and this causes tension between them, and on top of that ronan has changed since he came back. then there are some twists and turns that i won't spoil, but it kept things interesting and the ending was satisfying to me.

i wasn't always sure what was going on in this game but i think that's probably my fault. i also wasn't sure if the choices mattered or not. but i liked the characters a lot and wanted all of them to be happy and was very motivated to keep reading to find out of that would be possible.

I like Penthesileia by the same author, so I was looking forward to this.

This is an intense love triangle (actually more like a incomplete love tetrahedron) in a fantasy story. You, a man, have heard about the return of your childhood crush who was called to be 'the hero'. But he and your sister also had a relationship, and it's hard to have your crush so close and see what's going on and not be part of it.

Later on, someone else is thrown into the mix, a fourth option that provides intense love but comes with immense, pretty awful baggage.

The fantasy story provides the framing and is essential to the nature of the fourth character, but all other aspects of this story could work in almost any setting. It's about essential aspects of human nature: love, obsession, hope, despair, jealousy.

There are some options that felt significant, but I only played once so I don't know if they have an effect on the overall story (it's okay if not, they were good for roleplaying).

The game had some strong profanity, which I muted with a filter. It is a queer love story and has drama but does not (I think?) contain homophobia. Someone else who has played can feel free to correct me, but I had the impression that the relationships were dangerous and felt illicit but not because of homophobia, but because someone else had loved them first. Still, all gay relationships are treated as secret so it's hard to say (I'm only including this part because I know some people have a preference in how the world setting treats gay relationships).

I like this author's writing style in general and look forward to future games.