Sable

johnny_ultimate · 21-09-2021 12:05pm #1

Out this week on PC and Xbox, and launching on GamePass.

I'd always been struck by this game's incredible, distinctive artstyle... but the game shot up my list of must plays after trying the demo. It looks and sounds truly immense in action, quite unlike anything else in gaming (albeit with a bit of Team Ico here, Journey there, and a fair bit of Moebius everywhere!). It also played extremely well in the demo, with a relaxed, mysterious and zero combat (huzzah!) style of exploration that's very much my jam. Cruelly, the demo stops just after you hop on your first personal glider so hopefully the rest of the game lives up to it! The Japanese Breakfast soundtrack sounds pitch-perfect for the material.

Fingers crossed it's well-received, as so far it has looked like a fresh and captivating spin on open-world design.

Yell0 Man · 21-09-2021 12:21pm

Agreed, didnt try the demo but cant wait to sit down and explore such a unique world. Gamepass has been incredible of late.

22-09-2021 12:12pm

Yeah really looking forward to this. I think we were discussing it in another thread earlier in the summer when the demo came out and it had some frame rate issues when I was playing it which were quickly patched. So if they could get that sorted for the demo in short order I have high hopes this will be a smooth launch for it.

johnny_ultimate · 23-09-2021 8:14am

Reviews came out overnight.

Some very, very positive:

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/sable-review/

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2021-09-23-sable-review-sparseness-and-beauty

Some more middling:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/sable-review

https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/23/sable-game-review-breath-of-the-desert-15302503/

Bugs seem to be the main cause of complaints, with Eurogamer noting Xbox seems to be particularly affected on that front.

23-09-2021 11:40am

So much for my high hopes of it being a bug free release. Might hold off a while on this.

23-09-2021 10:08pm

I put an hour or so into it on Xbox. I had to quit out and reload to fix various things like quest descriptions staying on screen, not being able to zoom in on the map, characters I needed to talk to not being where they were meant to be as in outside of the starting area that I hadn't progressed enough to be able to get to.

The traversal on the bike isn't as smooth as it needs to be , I get there are upgrades to it but it doesn't feel right from the start. I had no issues floating and climbing that some reviews mentioned and frame rates seemed ok to me.

Aesthetically I think they could have done without the day night cycle, unless that matters later which I doubt . The game looks sublime during the day but not so much when the palette gets washed out at night.

johnny_ultimate · 26-09-2021 5:18pm

Finally got a chance to do some of the post prologue stuff and I love it. Really feels like a game with exploration at its heart - maybe the first game I’ve played that has taken all the right lessons from Breath of the Wild and run with them. Such a joy seeing something on the horizon, pointing your bike that direction, and seeing with the world has to offer. And it looks better in motion than any other game I’ve played this year - sorry fancy next gen exclusives!

The one caveat is that performance is indeed shaky. It was a bit stuttery in the first area at 60 FPS, but you can get some severe drops once you get out into the open world. Menus are also buggy, and it sometimes feels like the sound balance is off. That said, it does frequently sound immense - especially when the designers tone down the ambient sound in favour of the score. The first time you leave the starting area is particularly gorgeous.

Mr Crispy · 26-09-2021 9:25pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117942344#Comment_117942344

What kind of system are you playing on, johnny?

johnny_ultimate · 26-09-2021 11:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117943360#Comment_117943360

RTX 2060 Super, but it’s probably my old CPU (i5-4670) that’s particularly struggling. But performance issues seem to be pretty across the board going by reviews and forum posts.

Mr Crispy · 26-09-2021 11:57pm

Shame. I might leave it a few weeks and hope a patch or two will sort it out.

27-09-2021 12:13am

This content has been removed.

27-09-2021 5:59pm

Once you get to grips with the first area outside the prologue you really don't have to bother exploring and discovering much, you can tell from the map you buy in each area where the places you need to go are or from the quests you are given. Not necessarily a bad thing as it does cut down on aimless wandering but there are a few things you'll need to discover on your own. To be honest I do like a lets see whats over here ramble about in a game but there are very few occasions in this game that will pay off unless of course you opt not to buy a map.

They were kind with the collectibles in that you don't need to get them all and there are few if any outside of the main areas of exploration you go to on quests.

It's actually possible to end the game after only a couple of hours if you wanted, but I stuck it out doing the other optional stuff and I'm glad I did, I really liked the crashed ships and the little puzzle and story they had.

As Johnny mention the frame rates dive when the world gets busy, theres a lot of pop in too. Also in most areas if you are too close to a surface and rotate the camera you get to see whats on the other side or inside Sable, really annoying when using stairs or trying to see how far from the top of a climb you are or in a more confined space.

I thought there would be a lot more to it in terms of what you would get to do in the world and quests and stuff but sadly it's the same handful of stuff to do in each area more or less with a few more unique and longer quests.