Sable review

Recommended

by MrSpanky

I'd been following this game since it'd be revealed, and I have to say the final product is pretty much everything I'd hoped it'd be. Gameplay wise, the game is essentially a smaller scale BOTW without combat, which may turn some people off it, but I don't think this game would have benefited from enemy encounters at all. Most of the puzzles in the game are roughly on the same level as botw's as well, where they aren't all that difficult but not completely braindead the first few times you do them. That last point adds to my feeling that the game benefits from its smaller indie game scope, perhaps in a larger, 40+ hour game I would have grown bored simply wandering without enemies, and the puzzles would have just become busywork instead of fun, but in Sable's 20ish hour runtime I never felt like what I was doing was tedious or uninteresting.

The more focused scope also lends itself to the game's story, which is far more personal in nature. Unlike most other open world games, you're not setting out to change the world, you're simply a child on a coming of age journey, but that perspective makes the world you're setting out to see for the first time even more enticing. There's no overarching threat you're avoiding by simply meandering about, basically any side content has its justification as your character Sable trying to find her place in the world, and the relaxed tone of the story matches the gameplay quite well. This is something I normally wouldn't bring up in regards to a game, but the way the actual dialogue and prose of the game is very interesting, feeling almost like you're reading a book (in an entirely good way). Dialogue doesn't just give you what the characters are saying, but lots of Sable's own perspective, describing another character's expressions, the environment, and her own thoughts in a way that is genuinely endearing. While the story's not a tearjerker, I found the end of the journey to be quite touching in a way that was almost like saying goodbye.

The only notable downside of the game that I can think of is that it can be buggy at times, more than average for a game, though thankfully I didn't experience anything gamebreaking. During my time playing this game it served as a way for me to unwind after the day, with the gameplay being engaging but not stressful. The ost is also incredible as well, and along with the game's unique visuals the experience as a whole is unlike anything else (which is unfornuate, because I desperately want more games like this now). If you enjoy open world exploration and don't mind games with a more laid back pace, I'd highly recommend this one.