Check out the Fabledom Preview for Steam Early Access:
Developed by Grenaa Games and published by Dear Villagers and Doyoyo Games, Fabledom is a city-building game that combines romance, diplomacy, and strategy. Still, in Early Access, developers are creating a game with the promise of fairytale romance, with just a touch of inter-kingdom espionage. Players will trade, feud, and forge partnerships to build their kingdom from three peasants with a wagon into a thriving nation.
Story
As of right now, Fabledom has no significant narrative. Developers are still creating that.
But there are tantalizing hints of a larger lore. There are ruins dotted throughout the kingdoms that can be explored with a Hero. There are also wise old trees and a witch who likes to occasionally curse the kingdom with hunger.
It seems like there will be significant investment in the romance plotlines of the game. Players will eventually be allowed to send messages and spies to neighboring kingdoms, and developing good relations with one kingdom might damage relations with another.
As far as I can tell, there is no plot involving the citizens of each kingdom. Watching the different characters work and interact is super adorable, but it does not look like developers are investing in any storylines for the common man.
Gameplay
Developers are stressing the idea that Fabledom is a causal, more laid-back city-builder. And I have to say, they are achieving that!
Many of the game’s features are not yet available, but the game’s learning curve is more like walking over a grassy knoll than attempting to scale Mt. Everest. Which I am totally okay with! I absolutely adore city builders and sims. I’m also used to having to restart several times in order to figure out the mechanics of balancing population with supplies, and I usually leave a trail of tiny dead NPCs in my wake. So far in Fabledom, I haven’t had to start a new playthrough because the game seems very forgiving. For example, despite having lost several dozen citizens to starvation and illness because I had not built a hospital, I could still maintain enough population to keep my kingdom running because new citizens happily arrived about every 10 minutes in-game. And because there is no plot for the citizens, I didn’t have the same gut-wrenching guilt I usually do when I mismanage my town and lose members of my community
As of right now, many of the promised gameplay features are not available, so I spent my time building up my tiny town. Because of the more relaxed atmosphere, I found myself spending more time planning out my city than I normally do. Usually, I just try to gather as many supplies as possible and hunker down for winter, but in Fabledom, I felt free to consider whether to put a flower box of pink flowers or purple flowers next to the town inn or whether to line my roads with cypress trees.
Currently, Fabledom offers a Story Mode and a Creative Mode, with the main difference being that in Story Mode, players have objectives to meet, such as baking bread before thirty days passes, whereas in Creative Mode, players can just focus on building. I enjoyed playing in Creative Mode because it gave me the opportunity to really test the limits of what the game can achieve, and it made me really excited about the game’s potential.
Conclusion
So far, Fabledom is a charming and accessible city-building game set in a world of fairy tales. The game offers an intuitive and engaging gameplay experience that’s easy to pick up. However, it is important to note that the game is still in early access and lacks a lot of content. Right now, players can expect about 2-3 hours of gameplay and exploration before hitting the limits of the game’s capabilities.
Despite this, the developers are actively working on improving the game and are releasing updates, which bodes well for its eventual release. I will definitely be checking in on this game as it progresses through Early Access. It is super cute, soothing, and just like a good fairy tale, it is brimming with potential.
Check out Fabledom currently on Steam Early Access, and help developers test out new features as they get it ready for release!
Related: Reviews by Michelle Jones
I'm a completionist gamer who just needs to find that one last object and clear that final dungeon. I love all video games, from open world sandboxes on a console to a mindless match three on my phone. In addition to gaming and writing, I am a graduate student working on a thesis about the ancient Icelandic Sagas. Feel free to ask me anything about Vikings.
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