Fable Anniversary vs The Bard's Tale
Fable Anniversary is an action-RPG open-world game from Lionhead Studios (2014) while The Bard's Tale is an action-RPG RPG game from Interplay Entertainment (1985).
What each one is
Steam files Fable Anniversary under Action-RPG and Open-World. In contrast, it files The Bard's Tale under Action-RPG and RPG.
FOR EVERY CHOICE, A CONSEQUENCE.Fully re-mastered with HD visuals and audio, Fable Anniversary is a stunning rendition of the original game that will delight faithful fans and new players alike! The all new Heroic difficulty setting will test the mettle of even the most hardcore Fable fan.
You are the Bard, a selfish rogue weary of pointless sub-quests and rat-infested cellars. Now includes original classic games The Bard’s Tale 1, 2 & 3!
At a glance
| Fable Anniversary | The Bard's Tale | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.4/10 | 6.2/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (86%, 16,542) | Mostly Positive (75%, 1,453) |
| Critic aggregate | No aggregate | 70/100 |
| Price | $10.49 | $19.99 |
| Install size | 10 GB | — |
| Steam Deck | verified | playable |
| Released | 2014 | 1985 |
| Developer | Lionhead Studios | Interplay Entertainment |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Fable Anniversary vs The Bard's Tale, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Fable AnniversaryAction-RPG open-world gameThe Bard's TaleAction-RPG RPG gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Fable AnniversaryRPG, Open World, FantasyThe Bard's TaleRPG, Adventure, ComedyThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Fable Anniversary ✓Score 7.4 · 86% on SteamThe Bard's TaleScore 6.2 · 75% on Steam · 70 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Fable Anniversary16,542 reviews · 3 add-ons · 10 GBThe Bard's Tale1,453 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Fable Anniversary ✓$10.49The Bard's Tale$19.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Fable Anniversary ✓VerifiedThe Bard's TalePlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Fable Anniversary takes 3 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFable Anniversary and The Bard's Tale on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Nintendo
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Fable Anniversary (GamingPickz Score 7.4)
- The cheaper right now: Fable Anniversary ($10.49)
- Better on a Steam Deck: Fable Anniversary (verified)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Fable Anniversary (16,542 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
RPGFantasyAdventureSingleplayerClassicAction RPGActionComedy
Where they differ
Open WorldChoices MatterRemakeAtmosphericThird PersonStory Rich
Parody Hack and SlashIsometric
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Fable Anniversary is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. The Bard's Tale is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Fable Anniversary | The Bard's Tale | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | Radeon X1800/ Nvidia GeForce 7600GT | — |
| Minimum CPU | Intel 2GHz Core2 Duo / AMD Athlon 64 x2 2.4GHz | — |
| Minimum RAM | 3 GB | — |
| Install size | 10 GB | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Fable Anniversary · The Bard's Tale.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Fable Anniversary and 1 for The Bard's Tale. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
If you like one, also try
Common questions
How different are Fable Anniversary and The Bard's Tale in scope?
Fable Anniversary has drawn 16,542 Steam reviews, ships 3 add-ons and installs in 10 GB. The Bard's Tale has drawn 1,453 Steam reviews.
Is Fable Anniversary or The Bard's Tale better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Fable Anniversary rates higher (7.4 to 6.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Fable Anniversary or The Bard's Tale?
Fable Anniversary is cheaper right now at $10.49, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.