It's hard not to feel a sour taste in my mouth after finishing this game. There are parts of Sable I absolutely adored, and that I think are a shining example of what games as a medium are capable of, but there were also so many unignorable problems that almost ruined my experience. I'll start with the good. There's a moment at the end of the opening area where a big gate opens and the open world finally becomes accessible. It's legitimately one of favorite moments in this whole backlog journey I've gone on so far. When the gate opens, the song "Glider" starts playing and you can finally explore the rest of the world. It's an absolutely perfect moment; It's this beautiful merging of my two favorite aspects of the game, those being the wonderful soundtrack by Japanese Breakfast and the fantastic graphic-novel-esque visuals. Both are on full display here, and the moment set me up to think I was going to love the game. The game's characters aren't anything to write home about, but they have enough personality to be memorable. I really like the lore of Sable, and think its world building around gliders and all the different types of masks and their corresponding roles is a really cool way of communicating the central themes of the game. The climbing mechanics were basically just like they are in most Breath of the Wild type games, with the standard stamina system that replenishes when walking or standing still on the ground. Although it wasn't the most in-depth mechanic, the climbing system is enough for what Sable is trying to do. I really appreciate that Sable's developers resisted the urge to add combat or health based mechanics into the game. By not having those mechanics, Sable's exploration feels much more relaxed and calm. The world feels less dangerous, which lends the game a nice cozy feeling when exploring. Unfortunately, all of these good parts are surrounded by a sea of technical problems. I experienced constant visual and audio stuttering, janky menus, buggy animations, visually distracting texture pop in, and even a softlock at the very end of the game. The stuttering is a particular problem because it's worse when driving the glider around. This isn't just a nitpick: the constant stuttering during the glider sections of the game fundamentally shifts the tone of these portions from a relaxing exploration of a beautiful world to a frustrating and often disorienting experience. Sable is a game I absolutely wanted to love but left only mildly enjoying it. For that, I think it's a bit of a disappointment. (7/10)

It's hard not to feel a sour taste in my mouth after finishing this game. There are parts of Sable I absolutely adored, and that I think are a shining example of what games as a medium are capable of, but there were also so many unignorable problems that almost ruined my experience. I'll start with the good. There's a moment at the end of the opening area where a big gate opens and the open world finally becomes accessible. It's legitimately one of favorite moments in this whole backlog journey I've gone on so far. When the gate opens, the song "Glider" starts playing and you can finally explore the rest of the world. It's an absolutely perfect moment; It's this beautiful merging of my two favorite aspects of the game, those being the wonderful soundtrack by Japanese Breakfast and the fantastic graphic-novel-esque visuals. Both are on full display here, and the moment set me up to think I was going to love the game. The game's characters aren't anything to write home about, but they have enough personality to be memorable. I really like the lore of Sable, and think its world building around gliders and all the different types of masks and their corresponding roles is a really cool way of communicating the central themes of the game. The climbing mechanics were basically just like they are in most Breath of the Wild type games, with the standard stamina system that replenishes when walking or standing still on the ground. Although it wasn't the most in-depth mechanic, the climbing system is enough for what Sable is trying to do. I really appreciate that Sable's developers resisted the urge to add combat or health based mechanics into the game. By not having those mechanics, Sable's exploration feels much more relaxed and calm. The world feels less dangerous, which lends the game a nice cozy feeling when exploring. Unfortunately, all of these good parts are surrounded by a sea of technical problems. I experienced constant visual and audio stuttering, janky menus, buggy animations, visually distracting texture pop in, and even a softlock at the very end of the game. The stuttering is a particular problem because it's worse when driving the glider around. This isn't just a nitpick: the constant stuttering during the glider sections of the game fundamentally shifts the tone of these portions from a relaxing exploration of a beautiful world to a frustrating and often disorienting experience. Sable is a game I absolutely wanted to love but left only mildly enjoying it. For that, I think it's a bit of a disappointment. (7/10)