Fabledom is a new fairytale city-builder game developed by Grenaa Games. Currently, there isn’t a confirmed release date for the game other than the first quarter of 2023. However, I’ve been playing the demo which is available for download during the Steam Next Fest.
Build a New Kingdom
In Fabledom, you are a prince or princess sent to explore the land and build a new kingdom. The game is set in a strange world where fairytales become a reality, and you will witness the growth of your village. In addition, you will follow your citizens’ lives and watch the rise and fall of your relationships with the neighbouring kingdoms.
In the short demo I played, the story is told in rhyme like in old fairy tale storybooks, which I liked as I enjoy a good rhyme. Once you get past the opening story, you start to build on a patch of land with only a labourer’s hut and a few NPCs or, as they are called in the game, Fablings.
Complete the Objectives
Simple objectives to complete keep you on track with what to build; once you complete the objectives, you earn gold. You start by building a few paths, as Fablings will use them to get from one building to another.
After that, you will need every resource available to expand your thriving kingdom. So you begin by building a homestead. Then you construct a Lumbercamp, a Stonecamp, and a Coal maker to keep your Fablings warm in winter. A nice touch is that the homesteads are customisable. Each homestead has a few tiles in the garden that can be customised to increase the occupant’s happiness.
Attract Fablings
Soon you will be building more and more homesteads to attract more Fablings. They show up randomly and ask if they can join your kingdom if you have enough housing.
As you progress and reach milestones, that opens up more buildings to construct. Another goal of the game is to keep your fablings happy. So as the princess or prince of the kingdom, you also get to manage employment. You assign jobs manually and change the workforce according to the kingdom’s needs.
Once your settlement is up and running, you build a messenger office and send messengers to trade with other realms, or you may even fall in love with a Prince or Princess from another realm.
Trade and Romance
The demo is short, and you only have two choices: a Prince or a Princess at the start of the game. However, the full version of the game will offer more gender choices.
Furthermore, choosing a partner from another realm will influence your rewards for courting them, including a robust bonus for falling in love. For instance, in the demo, choosing a princess from another realm will double your crop yields. The addition of romance will shape how you play and enjoy the game. It also adds a unique strategy mechanic to the gameplay.
You can enjoy the growth of your kingdom and trade and use diplomacy to ally or challenge your neighbours by building an army.
Cute Fairytale
Fabledom is presented in a colourful and cute fairytale world. It will be filled with giants, witches, pigs with wings and many hidden secrets. It’s shaping up to be a game to keep an eye on, and it is certainly a game I will want to play when it is released later in the year.
You can find Fabledom’s Steam page here if you want to wishlist it.