Sable

The broad-brush, impressionistic pastel world where a cloud of black specks floating in the distance is actually a flock of birds floating on a thermal, or where there you can climb literal mountains to harvest lightning crystals, is an achievement in itself. But what's more impressive is the fact that this game manages to be both evocative and meaningful without trying to convey anything other than the experience and history of the world it creates. Sable is one of those art pieces posing as games, where "fun" is a good word to describe the surface experience, but there is more than fun if you love exploring new places and delving into the deep lore of a place. If there is never a follow-up, be it a "Sable II" or something else in the same universe, that will be a shame, but we still have this. If you haven't played it and you do like open world exploration, jump on the hoverbike and go for a spin.

A game about exploration, relaxation, music and aesthetics.

So far Sable has proven itself to be a very chill, open world adventure game. I enjoy the art style and character design, and the level of customization for your character/bike add a nice touch. I also really like the focus on exploration, puzzles, and character interactions. All in all, 5 out of 5.

Sable is an incredibly serene experience from top to bottom. More interested in presenting you with a compelling sense of exploration and delightful character interaction rather than any kind of challenge. Exploring the alien world and uncovering more about its secrets will feed your sense of curiosity while still leaving you with plenty to ponder. And the sense of customization and dialogue options will make your playthrough feel unique without overwhelming you. The genuinely emotional coming of age story will leave you pausing towards the end asking what you truly found most meaningful. The climbing system and hover bike riding while simplistic, form a strong core for the game's main loop. Even if the open nature of the game might end up causing you to miss things that you'd have preferred to find sooner. It's not all sunshine and sand dunes however. The game suffers from a number of bugs, and while none of them game breaking, here are just some of the ones I encountered: -Frequent audio stuttering. -Frequent performance stuttering when riding my hoverbike. -Gaps between objects and terrain geometry. -My bike getting stuck inside a building after a quest. -Characters falling through the ground. -And finally the most annoying one, Sable disappearing off her bike while I was riding it, and reappearing in a different location while my camera and controls remained on the bike. Making me unable to see my compass markers and eventually forcing me to get off and remount the bike to get the terrain to load properly. None of these broke the game and even the final bug I mentioned was easily solved by just dismounting my bike which caused Sable to appear right next to it like nothing happened, but it's annoying when this game does so much to provide an immersive experience only to have it harmed by these issues. Overall though, the game overcomes it's janky elements to still remain steadfastly worth your time if you are looking for a laid-back adventure.

But man does it have a fair amount of bugs. This game is an experience and a half, and I genuinely think everyone should play it, but it's probably a good idea to wait a bit before playing it. The graphics are beautiful, the controls are responsive (though I would appreciate some more options for adjusting the controls) and the sound design is delightful. I beat it not too long ago, and I am fully wanting to go back and replay the whole thing again.