Synopsis:
Cross blades with space knights in an epic roguelike where the futuristic and the medieval collide! Battle, loot and upgrade your way across the galaxy, defeating rival ships in gripping melee combat on a quest to save your kingdom from destruction.

Publisher: Prismatika, East2West Games
Reviewed on: PC (Intel i5-9400F @ 2.90 GHz, RTX 2060, 16 GB RAM)
Also available for: N/A

Developer: Spiritus Games
Creative Director, Game Design & Art: Milan Batowski
Code & Development: Zed Milner
Art Direction, Concept Art & World Design: Peter Meszlenyi

If spaceships wielding swords, axes and all manner of medieval weaponry isn’t a cool enough hook, let me reassure you: the medieval sci-fi stylings of Fabular live up to the concept. Even in its current Early Access state, Fabular is in good condition, with two modes underpinned by a deliberate, space-jousting combat system.

Set in a far-future kingdom with a distinctly medieval aesthetic, you play as a prince whose realm has had its sun stolen. With the king ailing, it falls to you to save the kingdom from the Void Lords. Armed with a horse-headed weapon that docks to your ship, you duel lieutenants, marauders and thieves, and parley with villagers, lords and barons. These non-combat scenes arrive as text-based encounters—well written and fun, though they begin to repeat after a few runs. Side quests pop up among them, often sending you to another node to return a lost item.

Overworld movement follows the room-to-room map structure common to roguelikes, but with a twist: you know your realm’s start and end, yet the path only reveals itself step by step. Each move on the map costs a resource; run dry and you’ll bleed hull health per step. Resources come from combat wins or can be bought from the alchemist and space-smith. Planning matters: the shortest path might be combat-heavy, while a longer route could net you cheap resources and upgrades. You do at least see the type of encounter before committing, which adds a satisfying layer of route-risk calculus.

Combat—the star of the show—is like a modernised Asteroids by way of a Soulslike: you joust through space, dodging, blocking and striking in windows of opportunity. Two ships are currently available: the Paladin (tankier, slower) and the Manticore (nimble, glass-cannon). I gravitated to the Manticore; manoeuvrability proved invaluable. Ranged attacks hit harder than melee but consume fuel earned only on kills, so they’re best for burst damage rather than a primary game plan. Each chassis starts with set melee/ranged kits that you can swap or augment via loot, allowing satisfying build expression.

Crucially, Fabular is fair. When you take a hit or lose a run, you usually understand why. That clarity fuels the “one more run” loop. Meta-progression is cleanly communicated too—what persists, what resets—and the upgrade options are consistently interesting.

A secondary Survival mode strips away narrative events for pure loot-and-joust action—great for practice or quick sessions. With three chapters, two ships and two modes at Early Access launch, there’s already enough here to recommend. The methodical combat shines, the surrounding systems support it smartly, and the striking visual identity sells the fairytale-in-space vibe. It’s absolutely a game I’ll dip back into throughout Early Access.

(Fabular: Once Upon a Spacetime code provided for review)