Sable review: captivating gameplay behind a beautiful mask

In a typical open world game, the environment is packed with content, filled with interesting side quests, and packed with breathtaking views, but there is still an overall singular objective. Whatever the quest, exploring the world and helping the locals often requires you to stray away from your main purpose. Sable is refreshing in that sense. This expedition allowed me to get lost in the little details, talk with various characters, enjoy the experience and admire the views.

My trek through the desert is a rite of passage called Slipping, during which I must leave my clan to roam the world collecting masks. I can go home when I feel like I’ve traveled enough and choose a mask to represent my adult identity. Though lacking in voice, Sable’s characters are not lacking in personality. As motherly Jadi urges me to take some time to appreciate the journey, her concern makes leaving the clan bittersweet.

When I leave, my first foray into a larger world is extraordinarily compelling. An immense, trackless landscape opens up before me as a Japanese breakfast celebration song plays. The moment cleverly reproduces the excitement and unease that Sable feels thanks to his newfound independence. Fortunately, the ingenious level design prevents players from wandering aimlessly by placing important locations in hard-to-miss places, and I’ll be ready to hunt for skins soon.

To collect most of the masks, you bring three badges to a mysterious mask-making entity. The missions that reward these tokens are usually short and, in some cases, simple quest missions. In searching for the Hercules Beetle Mask badges, for example, one task leads me to literally scare off insects; apparently, it is an excellent fertilizer. On a quest for the slightly higher Mask of the Guard, I received a badge for scaling the Bridge of the Betrayed, evocatively named, and meeting a character who was examining his own identity. While none of the missions are mechanically complex, I appreciate the narrative variety and how the missions inspire me to travel to the far corners of the map. As someone who is eagerly looking for secondary content in most games, Sable’s non-combat and exploration-focused gameplay is fantastic.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that my travels have taken me through absolutely stunning surroundings. The art is almost simple, but its vitality is amazing. Some may be baffled by the main character’s run, intentionally running at 12fps, while the rest of the world is aiming for 60fps. However, I appreciated this contrast because it accentuates the animation, like a painting that emphasizes its brush strokes. There is so much life in Sable’s images. The sand glows under the dawn and the stars shine when all the colors of the desert fade into the night. The landscape is littered with climbing structures, and these tantalizing locations often hide valuables, be it a unique piece of clothing, a useful collectible to increase stamina, or an unexpected interaction of characters. My curiosity was constantly rewarded.

Sable’s exploration remains fascinating thanks to its smooth, resistance-dependent climbing, allowing me to navigate simple environmental puzzles, like plugging in a power supply to open doors on a long-abandoned spaceship. The sliding stone artifact encloses Sable in a protective bubble that allows her to slowly float to the ground, protecting her from falling damage. This mechanic challenged me to scale great heights. Whether overcoming an obstacle or gliding in the breeze, the act of exploration was entertaining.

My favorite form of transportation is, without a doubt, the hovercraft. As I roamed the parched expanse of the game in the futuristic, customizable vehicle, I could almost feel the wind in my hair. Many settlements have vendors selling unique parts, which I could mix and match to make the bike my own. The scene where I worked with my clan’s machinist to assemble my speeder did an excellent job of revealing how culture respects technology on an almost spiritual level without overwhelming me with exposure. This introduction created a link between my bike and me, helping me to forgive the repeated times that the speeder did not respond to my call because the AI ​​could not get around various barriers. Most of the time, I fixed this problem by fast traveling to an already discovered nearby location, which would teleport both me and my machine to the same location. It’s a little awkward, but it’s never taken more than a few seconds away from the action.

Sable ends the same way it begins, at home with the family. The narrative reward isn’t really about your final choice, and that can negatively affect more goal-oriented players. However, I found the conclusion to be an appropriate ending to an exploration game filled with side quests. For those who love to explore, I can’t recommend Sable highly enough. Every element – beautiful graphics, compelling walkthrough, and player-directed storyline – works together to ensure that I simply get lost in the world.