After a year of exclusivity on Xbox and PC, Sable has finally made its way to PS5. As always, the key question is whether it was worth the wait. The answer is yes, but only if you are willing to ignore technical issues.
On a desert planet called Miden, when children reach adulthood, they must complete a rite of passage called Gliding. This is a journey of self-discovery where young people travel alone, meet new people and complete quests to discover their true selves.
After a short introductory quest in which the game’s protagonist, Sable, builds his own hoverbike and bids farewell to his family, you are free to explore the world. Realizing you can explore the place feels pretty liberating.
Along the way, you’ll come across well-written and engaging NPCs. NPCs will take you on quests, but it’s entirely up to you to help them. There are simple quests like collecting bugs and metal, but there are more fun activities like investigating who stole the town’s power supply or dressing up as a vigilante to rescue a child. No matter what task you adopt, it will never feel tedious. It’s worth making an excuse to see more of Midden’s gorgeous scenery.
You’ll be spending a lot of time on your hoverbike, so it’s great to see Sable making good use of the DualSense controller. Accelerate with the roar of the hoverbike engine and the slight resistance of the R2 trigger for added immersion.
Also, sometimes you’ll want to get off your bike and climb to the top of any tall outcrop you come across. Most surfaces can be climbed, but their stamina bar limits how long they can last. The mechanics of moving around are simple, but they fit well with the relaxed atmosphere of the world.
Sadly, some of the joy of exploration is marred by frequently choppy framerates, especially when wandering through crowded areas. You may run into bugs such as hoverbikes disappearing. Reloading the game seems to fix a lot of issues, but over time these little issues start to become frustrating. As such, it’s a shame because exploring the strange and mysterious lands of Sable is an absolute delight.
