izigame.me

Sable is very much about the journey and not the destination. I loved this game, it's a very good debut, the environments are unique and beautiful, it's atmospheric, there's some interesting lore, and overall it's a good way to play a game and chill and just have some time to yourself. The climbing and bike physics worked pretty well, though figuring out exactly how high I could climb with the stamina I had could be difficult.
Issues? Glitches, for sure. I didn't experience anything game-breaking that I remember, but every now and then I would have to restart the game because the bike stopped coming when I whistled for it. Or Sable would disappear off the bike, which was remedied by just getting off and back onto the bike. I'm also not super sure on this one, but I was able to detect chums through vibrations of my controller when I got close to them before I got the chum mask.
The world feels a bit empty. It's quite large, even on the fastest bike(which I didn't like the looks of, so I pretty much never had the "fastest" bike.) There are a few NPCs that have actual dialogue, but most NPCs just have small repeating snippets, if they talk at all. I know a lot of the game is about exploration, but I found myself looking up where objectives and items were, and I'm pretty sure there are sections of the map where I never went at all. As a bit of completionist, I wanted to 100% everything but a lot of the achievements are completed before acquiring ALL of something, like the clothing or bike options. I think I ended up not buying all the clothing or bike parts. I did collect all of the chums, mostly because I loved them, they were cute, and I liked the challenge of figuring out how to climb to/access them.
The bike customization idea was unique, in that the different parts had specific uses and stats based on the usage. Like how some bikes are slow but have good handling, because the bike's in-world use is for hauling heavy items. I think what could have worked a little better, for me, is maybe be able to disconnect stats from appearance, so I could have a bike that had the stats and looks I wanted, but I understand that's more challenging to program.
Clothing options felt a little limited as well.
A big complaint of mine regards the quest "Heartbreak In The City" which takes place in Eccria. You have to determine who stole the power core by talking to the three suspects and then other people around the city. You also talk with the guard who gave you the quest to examine the evidence and make the accusation. When you choose, the game does not confirm if this was the right choice. Spoilers for what happens when you accuse each suspect: If you choose the Machinist, which the devs confirmed later is the actual culprit, then the machine shop in Eccria closes(people have found that if your bike is in his shop when he's arrested, the game can glitch about your bike being in there. If you choose the Merchant, nothing happens, as the guard is too afraid to confront her. If you accuse Garay, the guard is weirdly happy with this and you can no longer talk to Garay.
The fishing and bug catching were a bit tedious to me. I did them anyways. I didn't know until I was like 3/4 through the game that you could sell them and plants, but make sure you don't sell all of the ones you need for the quests lol.
So there's no particular order you are encouraged to take, nor are there hints about, through the different regions, which can be frustrating if you don't have the stamina upgrades needed to complete that area's challenges. I also ended up finding my favorite region last, the Sodic Waste. This area has an interesting NPC, a poet, and the atmosphere and music were really fantastic, but it is also the most empty of them with the least amount of Points of Interest and collectibles.
I found the story of the ruins in the world and masks very interesting, though the rest of the world building felt lacking. There's a history as to how their world came to be, but not really how it functions now? Scrappers, lightning crystal collectors, cartographers, herders, machinists, are around and established, but how does it all work? How do these parts make up the whole?
Lastly, the ending. I was pretty underwhelmed by it. Again, I know this game was about exploration, but the whole point of the exploration was to figure out what Sable wants to do for (pretty much) the rest of her life. You can choose what you, the player, would want or you can choose what you think Sable would want. And Sable, the character, as opinions! Has a personality and character and a specific worldview. I ended up picking the Ewer mask, because that seemed(to me) like what she wanted to do the most. Though I loved the Shadow mask the most! When you're picking, she gives an opinion on how she views that future, and some masks she views favorably, some she's unsure, and a couple she seemed pretty negative on. Once you pick the mask, the ending feels...anti-climactic. Honestly, there's no true indicator of when to finish the game, as soon as you have enough masks, you can pick one and end it, which could be pretty early on, I have 40 something hours into this game because I wanted to get all the masks and achievements.
I know this review might have seemed pretty negative, but I really did enjoy the game for what it was. It was very chill, there was no combat, no goals other than to explore and gather masks, I liked customizing, the varied characters, the vibrant and interesting world, the puzzles and challenges. I do recommend this game, you might need a guide like I did, but I genuinely think it works well and is a good game.