Rougelike deckbuilders aren’t exactly a rarity, but The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike, due out in November, is far from typical for the genre–in this game, you’ll be able to build your own manga fight scenes.
The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike is an adaptation of sorts of Katsuhisa Minami’s The Fable series, which follows a hitman known as “The Fable” as he tries to lie low and live a normal life for a year. That, predictably, doesn’t go exactly as planned.
Given the popularity of Sega’s Like A Dragon series (formerly known as Yakuza in the West), a franchise also focused on a former Japanese mobster who gets pulled back into a life of crime, The Fable does seem ripe for a video game adaptation.
However, this is far from a straight adaptation. Featuring actual panels from the manga, the game instead uses The Fable’s striking action panels like a deck of cards. To battle, players place an assortment of manga panels, each with properties like attack, defense, and move, into a certain order before watching a battle unfold according to the panels played.
There will be three characters, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, that players can use to create scenes. Series protagonist Akira is a highly skilled hitman capable of dealing damage up close and from a distance with firearms. His sister Yoko can surprise enemies with ambushes, while the hitman Suzuki specializes in traps and debuffs. Over time, players can upgrade their manga deck to make certain panels even more powerful.
Those looking for a challenge can take on the game’s Puzzle Mode featuring one-page battle challenges, or play through scenes from the original manga reimagined as minigames.
“Not only will fans of the series enjoy it, but even those unfamiliar with the series can feel the same tension and ingenuity of battles that the manga delivers,” developer Mono said in a press release.
Publisher Kodansha, which is also publishing The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike, began releasing English volumes of The Fable in 2024. The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike launches on PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch on November 5.
