Sable Reviews
Sable cannot be recommended at launch and requires numerous updates to help it run well on this system. Any potential Sable's lore and art design had is ruined by graphical issues.
Sable has good bones, and beautiful skin, but everything in between is broken and half formed. A few patches in, this game could easily become a cult classic. However, the issues in dialogue and quest design aren't likely to be patched away. Hopefully we'll see this concept tackled again, without all the bumps in the road launching it wildly off course.
Though Sable may have a fantastic art style and a large open world, with a variety of environments, its lack of a strong narrative and underwhelming gameplay fail to impress. The game may seem intriguing at first, but ultimately, it will leave players disappointed.
A stunning visual style can't hide the fact that Sable is not only uninterested in guiding its players but it doesn't really care about entertaining them either.
There’s nothing wrong with a game about doing simple things, and enjoying a relaxing journey in between, but in Sable, we could never relax.
While the game attracts you well musically and visually to provide a relaxing structure, numerous technical problems, along with the inappropriate design of some riddles and missions, have made it impossible for the user to communicate with Sable as it should.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Sable is a game about self-discovery that unfortunately, doesn't live up to its potential.
Take away the technical issues, and Sable is a pretty good game. It's not great, because some fundamental design issues do hold it back, but it would still be worth checking out. As it stands, however, the game is a mess technically speaking, with frame rate drops, pop ins, crashes, hard locks, and long loading times. If there is a good game in here, it's really hard to get to, and it might be best to wait till after some of the technical issues have been ironed out.
As designed, Sable is a freeform journey across gorgeous landscapes in pursuit self-discovery. Agency is at a premium and the player can go as far as their initiative can take them. As executed on an Xbox One, Sable is a devastating technical calamity unfit for basic service. It was a cruelty to observe the heights Sable was capable of reaching and yet not be able to experience them for myself.
And because the atmosphere encompasses so much of Sable’s appeal, the technical issues can be absolutely ruinous. When the bike disappears into the ground, when the menus break, or when Sable passes straight through an object that she should be able to land on, the illusion collapses and we’re left not with a vivid sense of place, but with a video game where the mechanics are all a bit of a chore. With its restrained approach toward collectibles and its rudimentary traversal, Sable attempts to depict exploration for the sake of exploration, but in doing so it only clarifies that such a concept is not necessarily as enticing as it sounds.
Sable will find an audience that truly adores its free-form exploration, stylistic visuals, engaging writing and chill soundtrack, but for me, these redeeming qualities were lost in a sandy sea of emptiness and repetition in its core mechanics. Its messages certainly resonated with me but its gameplay lacked the variety to truly keep me hooked for lengthier sessions. If you’re looking for a chill experience and can overlook any performance issues that aren’t quite resolved by the time you pick it up, then Sable will deliver. I just can’t help shake the feeling of missed potential here.
If Sable manages without difficulty to suck us into his universe quick to explore and meet thanks to a striking artistic direction and a soaring soundtrack of very high flight, the technical part beats so much of the wing that the caravan sometimes stalls to cross a simple bute. Quick to the most surprising collision bugs, Sable nevertheless offers a dreamlike and sensory adventure that invites you to take your time, to better let yourself be lulled by its charming but sometimes frustrating universe.
Review in French | Read full review
Sable is an open-world game with a bold, atypical and successful art direction. In its best moments, Sable is a small bubble of relaxation that makes room for exploration. Unfortunately, these moments of grace are constantly marred by a cheap technical part and a too archaic structure that spoils the initial promise of the game.
Review in French | Read full review
There's no doubt in my mind that Sable is a game that will work best when experienced as a personal, non-thorough Gliding that comes to a natural end long before any rot has a chance to set in. But with so many incentives (both in and around the game) for trawling every sandy inch of the world in search of worms, badges, and whatever else, the mixed messages Sable sends are probably going to lead to a lot of people playing in a way that actually works to the game's detriment.
When everything clicks, Sable is a great game. Once you've got your head around a quest, especially a longer one with a few moving parts, you can get lost in the world climbing buildings, finding secrets, unlocking puzzles, and gathering knick-knacks. Unfortunately, the game leaves you to your own devices far too often, and doesn't present an interesting enough world for you to want to get lost in it. I'd say at least I could enjoy flying around in it, but after my hovercraft conked out, I didn't even have that. It cares too much about how it wants to make you feel and not enough about how it's going to get you there.
Sable's plethora of technical faults compels me to warn everyone about its current state on PS5, but I still sincerely hope you'll embark on The Gliding someday.
Sable is a third-person exploration game about riding a hoverbike through a huge desert and looking for adventure. It gives you plenty of room for relaxing rides, and there are enough activities floating around to keep you busy.
Sable has an intriguing concept and a unique creative direction, but the plethora of technical shortcomings make it more painful than enjoyable.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
In his most inspired moments, Sable can remember Link's climbs, Sam Porter Bridges' deliveries and Wander's wandering on Agro. There are many suggestions that the Shedworks team has managed to incorporate into its ambitious project, which on more than one occasion will only leave the player breathless. Unfortunately, however, the obvious flaws of Sable eliminate the possibility of presenting all these ideas in a coherent and engaging adventure from beginning to end.
Review in Italian | Read full review
When it comes to sound design and visual style, Sable blew me away. I couldn’t help but smile and prepare to get lost in a beautiful world. Unfortunately, that feeling doesn’t take long to fade away. There’s definitely enough to keep you engaged and interested, but I just yearned to get more out of this game, especially as it has compelling elements within the groundwork.