Off the Shelf Media

Sable gained popularity from the moment of its release, winning at least several major gaming awards. For many, however, it seemed to slip under the radar. When I came across it, the title did not initially pull me in for whatever reason. 2021 was, after all, a somewhat major year for the gaming industry, and this instant cult classic wouldn’t rear its head for me until a few years later at a discounted price. 

I was nothing short of impressed. The praise this game received was well deserved, while not flawless, it is the kind of title I would suggest to anyone entering the hobby or who has been a longtime gamer and is feeling worn down by the monotony of the usual FPS titles.

Gameplay: 2

This game features zero combat elements. Not even the slightest hint of any. No health bar because there is no damage to be incurred. Instead, the focus is on exploration. While you will not find satisfaction in hunting down a foe in this title, you will be wrapped up in platforming and puzzle solving that manages to remain unique in each new bend.

If you are familiar with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or really any title of the franchise, you will feel a strange sense of familiarity. They certainly are diverse enough from each other to feel different, but you will have a leg up, which might bring down your total playtime. 

It offers fluid controls for exploring unique landscapes, which makes almost every point of interest feel entirely unique, if not solely from the fact that most are unrelated, but even the ones that are similar are discovered across several different biomes. Each with different puzzles and platforms stand in the way to conquer them. 

The other half of your time will be spent traversing the map on a hoverbike. The fully customizable bike starts your journey into the game as you are tasked with repairing it before departing on your rite-of-passage. Over the course of the game, you can find alternate parts and designs for your bike to make it match your playstyle. Challenges as well as shops offer different parts and make exploration all the more enjoyable in terms of style and gameplay. 

It stays succinct by offering the game a sense of ultimate freedom with zero expectations. All the beauty of the gameplay is discovered in testing your abilities and matched visually with the world of Midden. 

If you have had a chance to read my review of Breath of the Wild, this might be an unspoken reason I felt the game lacked the merit of the dazzling reviews it received: This entirely unique world does not have an unfair comparison because it is entirely unique. 

Story: 2

The backdrop for Sable’s adventure is perfectly attuned for absolute freedom. You are following a custom of your village to go on a pilgrimage and return with your desired mask. The mask serves the purpose of identifying what your trade will be in life, and what decision you make is valued as locking in your pursuit of mastery beyond the villagers that you have called family. The weight of the decision instantly feels heavy, surrounded by the peripheral understanding that you will be faced with nothing but yourself to mark your success. You could find a single mask and return, or, as I feel most players do, reach out and collect many, if not all of them. 

In your pursuit, you discover the wreckage and anomalies of a distant past. The word post-apocalyptic comes to mind so often with much of what you see across the desert. Yet, it does not feel entirely accurate. The different stories in side missions you choose to pursue reveal narratives that can feel familiar and reveal a vibrant existence, while also offering sci-fi storylines that express unfortunate twists of fate, where the believed supremacy of human knowledge found pitfalls in the unpredictable nature of the universe. And, of course, hubris. 

Atmosphere: 2

Sable is an excellent example of mastery in form. The game has a unique frame rate set to your character that makes her movement feel like flipping pages of a book quickly to show an animation. This slight design highlights the importance and knowing that the development team undertook when creating the game.

Take, for example, the screenshots above that each depict the same scene but with different settings. In the menu for Sable, you can customize the line weight, which outlines all the objects on screen, and saturation is more common to see in other video settings, but here it feels more intended to be played with, as there are not many other options. 

Even with limited options, the ones given to you take the control a step further. For me, it drove the point of the journey, that is, the game’s main story, was truly in your control. Combined with a total lack of knowledge about the world you are in, it sets the stage perfectly to make every discovery naturally invited by curiosity. 

Value: 2

At the time of release, it would have been entirely worth it to drop the full price for the title. While I still think the price is fair for how close it came in hours played per dollar spent, it has gotten better with time. It is frequently on sale and will soon be or is currently the free title offered on the Epic Store for those on PC willing to open the application. 

The only complaint I would offer is the possibility of the full price value accurately reflecting its value three years later. For me, it served as a catalyst for my interest in the casual indie open-world titles. Since then, I have noticed the genre is flooded with similar titles, most offer a unique twist that makes them distinct titles. For this reason, Sable might feel antiquated, especially if it is being leveraged at full price. I have not redacted a point in the review because the game is still incredible and frequently on sale. If you have not yet been exposed to the genre, I could not recommend it more, though veterans might not feel as satisfied. 

Duration: 1

The game is too damn short. While I initially played it, the world felt massive, but while recording for our YouTube channel, I was able to ride around the entire loop of the map in under thirty minutes. This alone does not make the game bad, but I also managed to platinum the game in roughly 18 hours. 

The interest in discovering new locations as you enter a different biome kept me hooked and mentally made the map feel larger as I explored. I would not be surprised if players more familiar with this type of game managed to achieve the same platinum status in under 12 hours.

Total Score: 9/10

If the main complaint for a game under critical review is “I wish it were longer,” then you have a solid title. I also enjoy that it does not seem the title will have a sequel. That is exactly how it should be with this game: it helps preserve its unique identity. 

The game is also about this journey in the character’s life, completing it presumes she has decided on her mask and thus her fate. A direct sequel would feel insincere, and narratively remove the mystery that makes the game so intriguing. 

It is a funny feeling having done a review for Sable and Breath of the Wild. To my own surprise, Sable came out well ahead, even with far less game to compare. The titles are frequently spoken in relation to one another because of their platforming and puzzle-solving mechanics. It adds another feather into the cap of indie developers when, in my opinion, they seem to have a better understanding what what they want their game to be as a final product. 

Let me know what you think about the review. Is Chants of Sennaar a game that should be on our review radar? Do you think the Switch 2 is going to allow Nintendo to revitalize their family-friendly titles? Be sure to let us know your thoughts!