Sable

 PC
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 102 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 56 out of 102
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 102
  3. Negative: 25 out of 102

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  1. cociv28082
    Sep 29, 2021
    5
    5/10 is about as generous as I can bring myself to be. Setting aside SIGNIFICANT performance issues (that I doubt will ever be fully addressed), Sable just doesn't have much to do or show. It's got some nice tunes by Japanese Breakfast, but that's an established musical artist with full albums we can hear without having to play a not-fun game at the same time. Sable just doesn't do much of5/10 is about as generous as I can bring myself to be. Setting aside SIGNIFICANT performance issues (that I doubt will ever be fully addressed), Sable just doesn't have much to do or show. It's got some nice tunes by Japanese Breakfast, but that's an established musical artist with full albums we can hear without having to play a not-fun game at the same time. Sable just doesn't do much of anything to earn the player's time and interest. It starts out EXTREMELY slow and boring. It stays extremely slow and boring. The most basic gameplay elements (riding the sandbike, climbing structures, exploring) are so janky you would think that they're tangential features in a much bigger game. But these are the cornerstones and building blocks of Sable's gameplay. The game just doesn't hold together.… Expand
  2. Cyber_Angel
    Dec 14, 2021
    7
    Emotional exploratory adventure that leaves you wondering what could have been and what decisions have you made in your life. Serene, but frustrating with abundant bugs that frequently mar the experience.
  3. 3t3rnal
    Jan 31, 2022
    7
    I really, so desperately, want to love this game unconditionally, but I can't. Where the journey through the game is captivating, it is too often interrupted by both technical and gameplay issues. In fact, even giving it a 7 is objectively way too good of a rating, because I am enamored with this world - perhaps I see in it things that the devs did not actually intend and those things areI really, so desperately, want to love this game unconditionally, but I can't. Where the journey through the game is captivating, it is too often interrupted by both technical and gameplay issues. In fact, even giving it a 7 is objectively way too good of a rating, because I am enamored with this world - perhaps I see in it things that the devs did not actually intend and those things are just my imagination running wild, but I don't care.

    So few games really get my imagination running like this one, and so where objectively I would probably not rate it higher than 5 or even 4, I simply have to bump it up a few notches. This is my subjective experience and view of the game.

    The world is amazing. I love every bit of it. Often, I will just climb up an look around and daydream about it - its past, its present and its future. There some tidbits of lore strewn about, but most of the world is just there, open to exploration and interpretation. Some could perhaps call it lazy, and say that the devs did not bother setting up an in depth base for the game, but I think it really goes well with the setting.

    I love just running around, exploring what the game has to offer, at my pace. There is no urgence, no combat, no imminent bodily threat, and call me a casual or whatever, but I love that there is nothing to worry about, in the now, and in the immediate future. The game is, story wise, about a rite of passage, of exploring what life has to offer before settling into the more structured and restricted adulthood, and while there are quests and such, the world, past the tutorial section, isn't gated. There's signs and there's a map, but nothing is stopping you from just picking a direction, and just going forward to see what you find. Sometimes you may find nothing, other times you will find an ancient building, or a nest of a rare animal, or just a huge rock formation which you can climb and look around the world with the pretty good draw distance. It's a great game to play after work, after hours of my fairly stressful job, I can just explore and perhaps be a bit nostalgic when I get across some situation and location that reminds me of something I experienced when I was younger.

    That being said, there is a lot of ugly under the pretty surface. The game crashes, freezes and stutters. A lot.

    There is no quicksave, and navigating to manual save takes "ages". Reloading a save resets some environmental puzzles, even if at the point of the save, you did part of it. It's either marked as done, or not done, I guess. Considering there is only one save slot per run, this could get you locked up in, or out of, certain locations. That's bad, very bad. There's checkpoints, but they are placed in some pretty weird places, and there is no timed autosave, meaning you will have to manually save every couple minutes to avoid losing progress.

    Another thing - while I could forgive some controls jank, it is to a point where it is hard to judge some longer jumps, because the controls, the snapping onto surfaces / ledges, etc. is so inconsistent I often find myself saving just before making a longer jump or a jump that may require some precision. Vehicle controls and physics are even worse, to a point where traversal in rougher terrain can be at times downright frustrating as your hoverbike glitches and jumps around and buries halfway into the terrain only to snap out of it. This also impacts your speed, and it reduces your progress from a sedate, but consistent pace down to a slow, painful, glitchy crawl.

    The graphics are cartoonish, but have a very distinct style and I love how the game looks. But, it's plagued by glitches - floating objects, misaligned textures, disappearing objects when looking from some angles, glitched light and shadows, sometimes the camera does weird crap and jumps around or shifts to a different angle rapidly, which can be a bit disorienting - and so on.

    The sound design is very good, for the most part, and the ambience and the gorgeous music often intertwine in a way that just blows my mind and makes me absolutely content at the same time. On the other hand, there are some ambient sounds that have a very annoying cadence of very sharp sounds that are so bad that I just want to turn off sound when in a location where they play, and there's also a couple of very loud ambient sounds that play kinda randomly, with no real reason I could find, and they are very distracting, especially when you are just enjoying some quiet spot or exploring somewhere, and this screechy loud roar plays out of nowhere, for no discernible reason. Furthermore, there are some spots on the map - quite a few of them being near some important locations, or in those locations, where the sound starts tearing really badly.

    I saw mentions of wokeness in the game here and there, and yeah, I caught a couple glimpses and one (pretty hilarious) stereotype in the game, unfortunately.    … Expand
  4. Xerenis
    Dec 4, 2021
    7
    The visuals are interesting , and although there is no combat the world got me immersed for around 20 hours BUT the performance is atrocious (in some regions worse than others ) .
  5. CodaHensley
    Dec 2, 2022
    5
    I had a really fun time exploring the world of Sable, and actually find the lore genuinely unique, but two words ruin everything this game does. Performance Issues. This games framerate is so unbearable it genuinely made me sick.
  6. Dubeau
    Oct 8, 2021
    6
    Sable is a game that is lovely. The story is maybe the biggest problem here. It's not told in a very engaging way. And since you have a vast empty country to explore, you got to have a more focus story to keep you motivated. Instead, it is told in an eclectic way. The graphics are superb and different from the usual cell shading. And the transition between day and night is fun. But thereSable is a game that is lovely. The story is maybe the biggest problem here. It's not told in a very engaging way. And since you have a vast empty country to explore, you got to have a more focus story to keep you motivated. Instead, it is told in an eclectic way. The graphics are superb and different from the usual cell shading. And the transition between day and night is fun. But there is a lot of clipping and camera problems, performance issues when there is too much vegetation. Some bug are found when you try to climb. Some other controls works well however, like gliding, floating and jumping. The music was ok. The sounds were unique. I give it 65% because there is a nice game behind it all. But I got really bored after 3 zones and didn't see the points of collecting items for a story I had almost forgot.… Expand
  7. peanuts
    Dec 23, 2022
    5
    It's a somewhat interesting game graphics-wise however there are no real protagonists, no enemies, and no survival mechanics such as eat/drink/sleep that make the game challenging. Beyond the intro missions the rest of the game felt artificial. The bike mechanics need work as it gets too wobbly and flips over way too easily.
  8. Leo_Manzano
    Jul 28, 2022
    6
    Working.............................................................................................................
  9. spencerplewe
    Feb 14, 2022
    7
    Respectfully borrowing off the open-air style of Breath of the Wild but trimming off the combat, health, and accurate physics, exploration is the only name of the game here, as there is an impressively expansive world of characters and secrets to find, but with so many bugs, this is a fettered, but potentially relaxing experience.
  10. phuchaitt3
    Jan 13, 2022
    5
    Too much running around. The graphic is great but the game fails to make me hooked in the beginning.
  11. Fvnfvnfvn
    Mar 1, 2022
    7
    While not the most polished experience out there Sable is an excellent first release title for Shedworks which combines the calming puzzle solving of BOTW, with the collect-a-thon elements of games like Banjo-Kazooie and Pikmin. While not everyone's cup of tea this game is a much neededd reprieve from the grinding release of shooters and ultra violent slurry of games constantly beingWhile not the most polished experience out there Sable is an excellent first release title for Shedworks which combines the calming puzzle solving of BOTW, with the collect-a-thon elements of games like Banjo-Kazooie and Pikmin. While not everyone's cup of tea this game is a much neededd reprieve from the grinding release of shooters and ultra violent slurry of games constantly being plopped out.

    Story - In Sable you play as a young girl names well... Sable. She is a member of a tribe of nomads on a strange desert planet where all people where sacred masks to cover their faces. This is what sable is tasked with collecting as she is sent out into the world on a pilgrimage. A journey all children, turned adults, must go through. From there you explore various quests and story arch's of the game, each with their own charm, while also learning about the world why it is the way it is.

    Gameplay - Much like BOTW, sable is a game about choosing you own path. While you are directed towards objectives through the games HUD you don't necessarily have to do any of them. In fact to beat the game all you have to do is collect one mask and return home. This however is not what makes the game engaging. The true draw of Sable is its exploration and the discovery there in. If you were like me and chose to climb, hop, jump and experiment to scale mountain or open locked doors in BOTW then Sable is for you! While there is no combat system, the climbing and hovering mechanics as well as the outfits and upgrade for your glider are what drive you to continue onward into the story.

    While Sable is definitely not a mixed bag when it comes to gameplay, its by no mean robs the game of its enjoyment. Even though it had a slightly rocky release, the devs have worked hard to updated and patch many of the bugs and glitches which have been reported. Which is more then you can say for some AAA studios. I highly recommend this game for anyone looking to enjoy a peaceful afternoon gliding around the desert uncovering secret and solving problems!

    PS: I really wanted to give it a 7.5, but Metacritic just doesn't work that way :(. Also the sound track is amazing!

    Gameplay: 7
    Story: 8.5
    Enjoyment: 7.5    … Expand
  12. Gameboii
    Sep 17, 2022
    7
    Visuals are very beautiful, but unfortunately I wasn’t particularly inspired by it.

Awards & Rankings

72
#72 Most Discussed PC Game of 2021
5
#5 Most Shared PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 48 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 48
  3. Negative: 0 out of 48
  1. IGN Italia
    Nov 29, 2022
    70
    Sable is a difficult game to rate: if you think only of the quality of the work from an aesthetic and narrative point of view, the number at the bottom of the review should skyrocket. Exploration is everything here: the game really comes into its own when you take the liberty of setting your own course. Unfortunately, analyzing the work of Shedworks as a whole, one cannot help but notice how the technical limits weigh on a gameplay that is not particularly inspired, even going so far as to undermine the user's involvement during the game session.
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  2. CD-Action
    Jan 19, 2022
    75
    Sable never rushes you. You take in the setting and simply enjoy the essence of the game – the journey entwined with a tale about maturing and change. If you don’t like to hurry at breakneck speed and prefer to look under every rock, there’s a chance Shedworks’ game will charm you. You’ll just need to turn a blind eye to some technical flaws, get on your flying motorbike and set off towards the horizon. [12/2021, p.54]
  3. Worth Playing
    Dec 16, 2021
    89
    Between the bold and ever-contrasting color palette, the ambient music by indie rock band Japanese Breakfast, and the pure joy of climbing cliffs, ruins and dunes to your heart's content, Sable offers an immersive dive into the lives and traditions of its small, nomadic world. Beyond its artistic merits, the game is supremely fun to play. It's a title that adventure gamers and art lovers alike will happily explore for hours on end, and despite the occasional bug, it's a very well-made game. Sable is well worth adding to any adventure gamer's library, and I eagerly await Shedworks' next big title.
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