14 DAY TRIAL // There are never enough workers around when you need them. So I empty out one of my farms, even if the pumpkin harvest is coming in, to make sure that there are enough people cutting down wood and manning the sawmill to ensure a decent supply of planks.
I need them and stone to get my messenger tower and my theater up. One of them will give me a way to deal with other rulers on the continent while the other improves the quality of life for the many homesteads around.
I also need to keep the coal maker busy, another wood consumer, because winter is quickly approaching. My villagers don’t seem to die from the cold but their quality of life will suffer and I really do not want that. I might also ask them to put up a few more homesteads to have the capacity to house newcomers.
Fabledom was developed by Greena Games and is published by Dear Villagers and Doyoyo Games. I played the Early Access version of it on Steam. The game is built around classic city building and management ideas.
The intro sequence tells of kings and queens that send their children out to a new continent, giving them the starting resources needed to put down roots and develop their own political entities. There are others engaged in the same effort, with players able to interact with them diplomatically and romantically.
But that comes later. First, four villagers need to use the strength of their arms and a small pile of resources to set up the first village. It’s a standard city-building approach. Get a few homes up, find a source of water, and make sure they have food and then materials to build further.
Some buildings are purely functional while others affect the quality of life around them. And as villagers develop new needs, it takes careful planning to create a thriving town. More space can be acquired by paying for it, opening up access to extra resources and areas to expand to.
Once messengers are running across the new continent, the player can contact other characters, each running their own realm. Running with the fable theme, romance seems a big mechanic, allowing for two rulers to court each other and join forces.
Fabledom will also feature conflict, with champions and militias both employed to fight back against aggressive neighbors and hold back giants and other fantasy creatures.
I like the core ideas but the game really needs to innovate when it comes to character interaction. The fantasy setting gives it a lot of space for weird events and I hope the developers take advantage of that.
Fabledom is, as the name suggests, inspired by a fantasy take on Medieval life. It’s colorful and gives off a chill vibe. Pumpkins are bigger than villagers’ heads and houses do not seem big enough to house three people. But the world is intriguin and the game makes available all the info required to turn a village into a smooth-running resource machine. The soundtrack is equally idyllic.
Conclusion
The city-building part of the experience is solid if a little too indebted to the classical approach. I look forward to seeing how the realm interaction works and whether it is possible to peacefully deal with other rulers. Fabledom has all the elements it needs to attract fans of classic city building titles and also seems to introduce enough new ideas to keep them interested.
A preview key was provided by the publisher.
