Fable is one of the most memorable RPGs ever created and its universe features a lot of beautifully designed elements, as well as some creepy and eerie ones.
At its heart, Fable is a coming-of-age story that mixes physicality with magic in a satisfying way. The character you get to play is just a boy whose family got either killed or abducted by bandits. Your goal is simple: become a powerful member of the Hero’s Guild and then save what remains of your family.
If you loved this title, you’ll be happy to learn that many other RPGs have superb characters and an even better storyline. In this guide, you’ll discover 12 games like Fable, covering a variety of subgenres and styles.
1. Morrowind
Morrowind is one of Bethesda’s greatest masterpieces. The game came out in 2002 and sold millions of copies. Its lore is still being dissected in YouTube videos and its music still has fans many years later.
In Morrowind, you wake up on a prison boat and learn that the prison is releasing you for mysterious reasons. Your exact race and identity aren’t known when you start playing. Instead, someone asks who you are and your answers determine everything about your character.
Morrowind’s story is absolutely brilliant and it incorporates deep philosophical themes. Your character is basically the reincarnation of a great figure who died many years ago and has returned to fulfill a set of prophecies.
Throughout the game, you are constantly being guided by very powerful beings and you receive a lot of epic quests. The gameplay is definitely visually outdated for today’s standards, but the world itself is still captivating in every way. In fact, many would argue that Morrowind’s world is more engaging than that of most modern RPGs.
You can play the game as a Nord, an Imperial, a Wood Elf, an Orc, an Argonian, and so on. There are 10 different options that you can choose between and all of them will give you a unique experience.
When it comes to skills and items, Morrowind is highly complex, allowing you to do everything you can imagine, from mixing potions to enchanting weapons. It’s a great pick for fans of games like Fable who want something immersive and quest-driven.
2. Oblivion
Oblivion came out in 2007, 5 years after Morrowind. Bethesda had introduced a lot of new features and improvements in their Elder Scrolls game engine after Morrowind’s success, and displayed all of them in Oblivion.
This game offers a well-written, well-designed world, and incredible gameplay.
In Oblivion, your main objective is to eliminate the threat posed by the Oblivion Gates, and to help the Blades in their political quest to restore a new Emperor. Just like the previous Elder Scrolls title, the game allows you to play in a variety of ways and does not force you into making predetermined choices.
There are multiple ways to complete every quest and there is a genuine feeling that the game wants to give you as much freedom as possible.
Whether you want to join the Dark Brotherhood and become an assassin, or take a simple and direct path to your destination, Oblivion lets you do whatever you want and experience its world as deeply as you desire. Some players simply try to complete the main quests while others explore the entire map and leave no stone unturned.
In Oblivion, there are 10 races and you can play with any one of them. Some races are physically stronger than the rest while others start with an intellect bonus. It’s a strong pick for Fable fans looking to experience more modern classic RPGs.
3. Skyrim
Skyrim is one of the best RPGs ever created. Its world is massive and the number of quests is close to 300, providing an immense amount of gameplay and replayability.
Skyrim’s great features are numerous and there’s hardly anything to criticize about this game. The soundtrack is easily one of the best in all of gaming, the quests are fun to solve, the skill system naturally motivates you to get stronger, the visuals are stunning, and the story is well-written.
If you love Nordic culture, Skyrim is the best game like Fable for you. This is a battle on many fronts. You need to deal with dragons, political adversaries, and much more. The main storyline takes you to an epic battle against a very powerful dragon, but there’s so much more to explore! It’s truly spectacular.
One of the great things about Skyrim is that in its world, you’re a being of terrifying power. Dragons don’t fear anything, except you. You’re the final boss.
Because it’s an Elder Scrolls game and the Skyrim region is connected to the other regions from this world, the races that you can play with are the ones you encounter in other ES titles:
- High Elf
- Argonian
- Bosmer
- Breton
- Dunmer
- Imperial
- Khajiit
- Nord
- Orsimer
- Redguard
The first time you play the game, you should definitely pick the Nord race and then specialize in whatever you want along the way. The skill system is highly diverse and you can be primarily a thief, a warrior, or a mage.
4. Might and Magic VIII
Might and Magic VIII dates back to the year 2000 and is a beautifully made RPG that you should definitely try. In it, you’ll get to do a lot of things that are both fun and quite rare, despite the huge number of RPGs that exist in the world today.
For example, MM8 was one of the first games that introduced the concept of identifying monsters, not just items.
Another cool thing that you will get to do in this game is to fight dragons and have some of them join your party. Then, after you have a dragon in your party, you’ll be able to actually fly around the map and fight enemies from the air. You can also promote one of your mages and turn him into a Lich, by solving a few quests.
Might and Magic VIII is played using the party mode. Instead of wandering around on your own, like in the Elder Scrolls Series, you get to explore the world as a group of 5. In that sense, this RPG is similar to Baldur’s Gate, Tyranny, and other great titles.
What people generally love about Might and Magic VIII is the feeling of being rewarded with levels and new spells. And the cool thing is that you don’t instantly level up. Instead, you need to train and actually pay a lot of gold to various NPCs. So after you’ve done a lot of fighting, finding the right town and leveling up feels amazing.
This is an ideal game for dedicated fans of games like Fable who want a challenging yet completely immersive experience.
5. Diablo 2 Resurrected
Diablo 2 is one of the best-known RPGs in the world and its remake, Diablo 2 Resurrected, simply takes the original and brings it up to modern standards, at least visually. If you love the depth of games like Fable, you’re sure to love this title too.
The game is famous for its loot system, its cinematics, its atmosphere, and its memorable characters. The music is so good that sometimes, you’ll just want to stay in town and listen to the in-game soundtrack for a while.
In Diablo 2 Resurrected, you get to pick one of the 7 available heroes and then rid the world of evil. You can be a Sorceress, a Paladin, a Barbarian, a Necromancer, an Amazon, an Assassin, or a Druid. Every class is completely unique and even has a lot of exclusive items and sets, made just for it.
There are 5 acts in total and every one of them feels different. And because it’s an action RPG, Diablo 2 Resurrected is full of monsters and bosses that you will fight against.
The game thrives and is highly replayable thanks in part to its item system. In Diablo 2, the items you find have different levels of quality and rarity, and you can search for entire collections that give you huge bonuses when worn. It’s one of the best loot games on PS5, hands down.
Some items require you to be level 10, while others can’t be utilized until you’re level 80. You can also craft items of your own using various recipes and powerful components. Players usually enjoy searching for such components and then creating a powerful sword or helmet that gives them a lot of different stats and abilities.
6. Dungeon Siege 2
Dungeon Siege 2 came out in 2005 and offers a unique blend of ARPG and CRPG elements. The game feels a lot like Diablo 2 but it uses the party system. You can find some really powerful items and fight against memorable bosses, and also explore the world with a team.
In Dungeon Siege 2, you get to pick one character class but you’ll be soon joined by 3 other members. The combination you’ll use is very important and if you choose poorly, you may not be able to beat the game.
Ideally, you should aim for a mix of durability, range, damage, and magic. You can build one tanky character, one glass cannon, and two characters that are in between. Some people like to play with one tank in front and three high-powered mages at the back, while others prefer having two tanks.
Dungeon Siege 2 was designed to be replayed at least twice. The second and third time, the content stays the same but the level of difficulty is much higher. However, the loot you will get is proportionally stronger.
Dungeon Siege 2 isn’t a particularly story-driven game, but the combat is exceptional. You won’t encounter that many memorable characters but the action itself is addictive and will keep you glued to your screen for hours.
7. Torchlight
Torchlight is a game made by the same people who worked on the first two games of the Diablo series. As a result, it has the same amazing atmosphere and it’s built around the same ideas: great dungeons, great bosses, an addictive loot system, and captivating heroes.
In Torchlight, smashing things feels fun. The sounds created by the interaction between your character and the world are highly addictive and impactful.The music is also brilliant in this game, so if you enjoy playing RPGs with great soundtracks, you simply cannot miss Torchlight.
One of the cool things about this title is its dungeon system. You often get access to unique maps to hidden dungeons that offer great rewards and the thought of fighting your way through them is very appealing.
Somehow, Runic Games has infused its game’s dungeons with such a magical atmosphere that you don’t feel like they’re an obstacle in your path but rather, one of the most enjoyable parts of the game.
In some games, the action and the player’s decisions follow the main quest. But in Torchlight, you fight monsters for the sake of fighting monsters and finding great treasures. If it also had a more compelling story, this RPG would have been fabulous.
Regardless, fans of games like Fable are sure to find a lot to love about Torchlight. It’s worth picking this game up and checking it out.
8. Path of Exile
This is one of the best free-to-play RPGs around. The game came out in 2013 and has been played by millions. Its system is unique, despite borrowing a lot of familiar elements from other successful RPGs.
What distinguishes Path of Exile is its unique blend of skill customization, bosses, and places to explore. There are 7 character classes that you can choose from and each of them is beautifully designed.
In PoE, the story is not a huge part of the game. Instead, the action moves along due to the player’s sheer desire to explore, fight bosses, and find powerful items. Path of Exile consistently surprises players with new content and brilliant RPG concepts.
There’s a considerable difficulty spike in this game. In PoE, it’s really hard to become so overpowered that even the strongest enemies can no longer do anything to you. This makes your battle for finding powerful items engaging and highly rewarding.
The skill system in Path of Exile is intelligent and built around gems. Instead of having standard skills, you imbue your equipment with the gems you want to use, and these gems either give you new skills or enhance some of the skills you have. The more you use your gems, the more powerful they become.
9. Throne of Darkness
This is another RPG created by the same people who participated in the development of the first few Diablo games and its design characteristics reflect that.
Unfortunately, the game’s production was a little bit rushed, which had a negative impact on the characters’ skills. There’s not enough differentiation between the classes. But other than that, the game is amazing and very fun to play.
You get a team of 7 samurai and can play with any 4 of them at any given time. If you want to switch one with a reserve, you can do so on the fly. While they’re not being used, these samurai slowly heal their wounds and get ready to fight again.
What’s great about the playstyle, apart from this unique method of utilizing your characters, is the item crafting system. As you kill monsters, you get items of higher or lower quality and you can transform these items into components. Then, you can utilize the components you’ve gathered to craft much more powerful gear.
It’s always highly rewarding to find a high-quality shard or a golden sphere that you can then insert into a helmet or a katana. The bonuses you get from the components you find are highly impactful, but to get those components you need to fight all sorts of powerful enemies.
One thing about Throne of Darkness is that the game often leads you to a crossroads and then lets you choose your own path. This makes it possible to fight powerful enemies early on.
10. Divinity: Original Sin
This is a CRPG that focuses primarily on its characters and its story, but it also happens to have a revolutionary combat style that blends elements of the environment with the spells being used.
In Divinity: Original Sin, you play as a party of 4 and get to customize it based on your preferences. This means that you can create powerful combinations and defeat any foe in an intelligent way, by making optimal use of everyone’s abilities.
For example, if you mix water spells with lightning spells, you can stun your enemies with ease. But you could also mix physical damage with weakening spells that cause an opponent to take more damage. The possibilities are numerous and it’s up to you to decide what tools you want to have at your disposal.
Divinity Original Sin is an RPG that turns into a MOBA when you fight. However, it’s a turn-based MOBA, which means that you can carefully calculate all of your actions. Fans of games like Fable who want to experience a new combat style will find a lot of enjoyment here.
The player’s desire to make progress is driven not just by the addictive battles but also by the story and the growth that you experience by defeating enemies and solving quests.
One of the weaker aspects of Divinity Original Sin is the game’s item system. Arguably, the developers could have done a better job when it comes to making it fun to discover powerful swords, staffs, and armor.
11. Dark Souls
Dark Souls was a groundbreaking RPG that revolutionized the genre and gave birth to an entire subgenre called soulslike. Its mixture of dark atmosphere, open world, and ridiculously strong bosses is both addictive and challenging, making the game a must-play for hardcore RPG fans.
Like all good RPGs, Dark Souls gives you the possibility to create a complex character with many different skills and attributes. In particular, the damage reduction in this game is both complex and highly important, because without it you will die very quickly.
One thing that you will need to be successful when playing Dark Souls is the ability to fight well. If you have any experience with indie games or arcade games, it will serve you well when tackling this title, because bosses are both fast and vicious in their attacks.
You will need to parry, dodge successive attacks, and find the right time for a counterattack. Dark Souls is not your typical ARPG game, in the sense that it doesn’t allow you to fight the bosses head-on. Almost all of them are much stronger than you and to win the battle, you will need to play smart.
The AI in Dark Souls is well-implemented, but it still has weaknesses that you can exploit. The key is to initially focus on dodging attacks and identifying each monster’s movement patterns. As soon as you know how they act, you’ll be able to hit them at the right time and take no damage in return.
If you’re a fan of games like Fable for their theming and aesthetic but want something more challenging and moody, Dark Souls will be the perfect game for you.
12. Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a hugely popular fantasy RPG. Coming out in 2022, the game was made by the same company that created the Dark Souls series, FromSoftware. If you love RPGs like Fable that’ll push you to your limits, you simply cannot miss this one.
Elden Ring has a beautiful story and an open world that will make you want to explore every little corner. The bosses are very hard to beat and you may struggle for hours to find the winning strategy against each of them.
In most cases, however, you can learn what works from Elden Ring guides, and then defeat Alecto and other tough bosses more easily.
The game rewards your progression in the typical RPG way: levels, items, etc. But there’s something about Elden Ring’s story, dialogue, and world that simply makes you want to learn everything there is to know about it, regardless of what else you might find along the way.
