Peter Molyneux’s Greatest Games – Populous, Fable, Black & White…

Peter Molyneux, the godfather of god games, launched his most recent game – Masters of Albion – this week. As well as being his latest game it will also be the last full game he will oversee. In a recent interview, he told the BBC he didn’t have the energy to create another title.

Molyneux is the founder and is still the creative director of 22cans, so we will continue to see his input in games, but his input won’t be as extensive.

The launch of Masters of Albion is the perfect time to look back at Molyneux’s games with a round-up of his greatest hits.

The Entrepreneur

While Populous was Molyneux’s first commercially successful game and the title that introduced him to the world, it wasn’t the first game he developed.

In 1984, Molyneux created a business simulator called The Entrepreneur. He was so convinced it would be a success that he widened his letterbox, using a hammer, to make room for all the incoming orders. The Entrepreneur went on to sell two copies – one of which, Molyneux suspects, was bought by his mother.

Although Molyneux created hundreds of copies of the game, I couldn’t find any known copies or emulated versions.

Molyneux has had a lot of controversy in his career. The lack of precise details about The Entrepreneur and what some describe as a convenient lack of copies of the game has led to speculation that the story might have been embellished.

The First God Game – Populous

The Entrepreneur’s failure led Molyneux to move away from the video game industry. He set up Tauros – a baked bean export company, but in 1987 returned to video gaming with the launch of Bullfrog Productions. 1989 saw the launch of Populous. Widely considered the first god game, Populous.

Populous ported to the Mega Drive in 1990, and that’s when I got my introduction to Peter Molyneux’s games.

You had no direct control over your followers, but you could take actions that affected the world. In turn, these actions would impact your own followers as well as those of the other tribe. The game saw 3 expansions and an ungodly number of maps and levels. Looking back, it was repetitive, but such was the nature of games in the 1980s.

You can still buy Populous. It costs less than a pound on the EA website. Populous II launched in 1991, followed by Populous: The Beginning and Populous DS in 2008. The Beginning shifted the series to 3D graphics and many players consider it the best game in the series.

The original Populous game sold over 4 million copies.

Theme Park And The Theme Series

In 1994, Bullfrog launched Theme Park. It wasn’t the first theme park simulation game, but it saw the genre take several leaps forward. Theme Park introduced staff management, ride research, and various other micromanagement features.

As well as direct sequels, Theme Park World and Theme Park Inc, Bullfrog also launched spiritual successors, Theme Hospital and Theme Aquarium, although the latter only appeared in Japan.

Dungeon Keeper

Dungeon Keeper was another designer game and launched in 1997. This time, players designed and built dungeons. It was their job to protect the dungeons and their inhabitants from heroes. It was another game to feature the now well-used hand of god.

Dungeon Keeper 2 launched in 1999, while the original game rereleased on GOG.com and Steam in 2011 and 2024, respectively. It has an 86.79% positive rating on Steam.  

Black & White Morality System

Black & White is a game I haven’t spent a lot of time with. Launched in 2001, it is another Molyneux game that puts us in the role of a god. It also brought a heavy morality system – decisions and actions taken by the player shaped the world around the player.

Looking back, I’m not sure why I didn’t play Black & White more. The game launched to considerable acclaim, with reviewers praising its beautiful design and gameplay depth, as well as its innovative AI.

The game featured in 2003’s Guiness World Records for “the most intelligent being in a game.” Black & White 2 launched in 2005 and while it did not fare quite as well as the original, it still garnered decent reviews.

The Epic Fable Series

The morality system runs through Molyneux’s designs and was especially pronounced in the Fable series of games. The first Fable launched in 2004.

Set in Albion, the game featured a dark, satirical comedy and a very binary morality system. Actions were either positive or negative; there was no grey area or middle ground.

I played a lot of Fable, but it was Fable 2 that really caught my attention.

The voice cast included Zoe Wannamaker, Stephen Fry, and Ron Glass. Its world was incredible, and as much as I thank Populous for introducing me to god games, Fable 2 is my favourite Molyneux title.

Playground Games is working on a reboot of the series. It is slated for launch this year, and while there will be an obvious vein of Molyneux running through it, he hasn’t been involved in the development at all.

It is set in Albion, however, and promises some of the same Pythonesque humour. While the original games used that binary morality system, Playground Games is said to be moving away from the good vs. evil system and adopting a more nuanced system.

Masters Of Albion In Early Access

It would be remiss to speak of Molyneux’s notable titles without including his last. Masters of Albion launched last week on Steam Early Access. Molyneux himself has described it as a return to his grassroots.

It takes place in a fictional land of Albion, although not the exact Albion created for Fable. Masters of Albion is a god game, uses the hand of god cursor, and has some elements of dark humour. It is also early access, and it plays like it.

At the moment, it feels more like a mobile game than a fully fleshed-out Molyneux title, but it does have some promising elements that hint at it becoming an excellent title in the future.