Sable (video game)

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Sable
Sable cover art.jpg
Developer(s)Shedworks
Publisher(s)Raw Fury
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseSeptember 23, 2021 (September 23, 2021)
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Sable is an open world exploration video game developed by Shedworks and published by Raw Fury. It was released on September 23, 2021, for Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One platforms.[1]

Gameplay[]

Sable is an open world exploration video game in which the player, as the young girl Sable, searches for a fitting rite-of-passage mask such that she can return to her nomadic clan. The game has no combat or set storyline. It emphasizes simple puzzle-solving and discovery, traversing sand dunes and ruins.[2]

Parts of the game are customizable, including Sable's hoverbike and clothing.[2]

Development[]

Daniel Fineberg and Gregorios Kythreotis began development on Sable in 2017, working in a shed belonging to the latter's parents.[3] The two-person indie development team is known as Shedworks. Writer Meg Jayanth also contributed to the game, while musician Japanese Breakfast provided the game's soundtrack.[2]

The game's concept came from the planet Jakku on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[4] Its art style was inspired by the sci-fi works of Jean Giraud, aka Mœbius. The game was also inspired by Zelda game Breath of the Wild.[5] Each of the game's environments are hand-crafted.[2]

The game premiered at the 2018 PC Gaming Show. Originally scheduled for 2019, the game was twice delayed for a 2021 release.[2] Its release is supported by Raw Fury and Microsoft.[3] The game will be showcased at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, where it will compete for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award.[6]

Reception[]

Game[]

Sable received "generally favorable" to "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Jonathan Peltz, writing for Wired, praised the game as "[...] gorgeous and endlessly GIF-able".[18] Alice Bell of Rock Paper Shotgun, credited the game for looking "[...] fabulous in the flesh" and managing to meet the aesthetic expectations set by trailers and teased content.[19] However, she faulted the game for a number of small irritations, including clunky driving mechanics and difficult navigation, comparing these to the annoyances caused by grains of sand in reality.[19] Inverse's Tomas Franzese praised the game for its relaxing qualities.[20] The Washington Post liked the game's approach to the post-game, saying that it adopted "one of the most easygoing approaches to an endgame I’ve come across in an open-world game".[21]

PC Gamer's Natalie Clayton enjoyed the various points of interest placed throughout the world, describing it as "enigmatic" and "memorable". GameSpot praised the writing of the title, especially praising how it helped normalize characters, "The writing is a strong point, too, namely because it's relatively understated. These characters are just regular people going about their lives, and this is reflected in their personable dialogue". Game Informer liked the side content of the game, noting how it created "narrative variety" and made use of unexplored parts of the map. The Guardian felt the open-ended nature of Sable's world and narrative helped set it apart from other open world games, saying that, "There are whispered points of interest, but there is no wearying to-do list, and as such your journey and destination are uniquely, wonderfully personal".[22]

Awards and accolades[]

Sable was nominated for the Best Debut Indie Game award at The Game Awards 2021.[23]

Potential adaptation[]

In October 2021, Raw Fury announced that they had entered in a first-look deal with dj2 Entertainment to develop adaptations of games including Sable, Night Call, and Mosaic for film and television.[24]

Soundtrack[]

Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Japanese Breakfast
ReleasedSeptember 24, 2021
GenreAmbient pop[25]
Length1:35:52
Label
Japanese Breakfast chronology
Jubilee
(2021) 		Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack)
(2021)
Singles from Sable
  1. "Glider"
    Released: August 27, 2021
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[26]
Pitchfork7.5/10[25]

Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack) is a soundtrack album by American indie rock band Japanese Breakfast for the 2021 video game Sable. It was released digitally by Sony Masterworks and Dead Oceans on September 24, 2021, with CD copies released on October 29, 2021, and vinyls set for release on April 1, 2022.[27][28] The album was preceded by the single "Glider" on August 27, 2021.[29]

Michelle Zauner, the band's lead singer and songwriter, was contacted by Fineberg directly to compose the soundtrack, as he was aware of her enjoyment of video games.[30] Zauner began writing the score with concept art and some written descriptions of places in the game for inspiration and guidance.[30] The game's developers sought someone who had not previously composed a video game soundtrack in the hopes of avoiding stylistic conventions associated with scoring games.[30] Zauner has referred to the song "Better the Mask", written for the game, as her personal "favorite song [she has] ever written as an artist.".[31]

Composition[]

The soundtrack of Sable consists mainly of ambient pop songs with "new age-inspired instrumentals that nicely conjure the environmental landscapes and moods of the game play".[26] It combines synthesizers, guitars, and both digital and analogue percussion to craft "textured and deeply enveloping soundscapes".[26] "Glider" and "Better the Mask" are two traditional indie pop tunes, with the later inspired by 1970's singer-songwriter music.[26] The score is mainly location-based with different tracks differentiating the in-game cycle of night and day.[25]

Critical reception[]

Matt Collar of AllMusic said that the album "evoke[s] the poignant lyricism of a Hayao Miyazaki anime soundtrack" and praised Zauner's "ability to translate wide-eyed filmic emotions into pop magic."[26] Pitchfork writer Zhenzhen Yu called the score "Not so much an album as the nerve system of a narrative" and said that it would be "best experienced alongside the physical act of in-game exploration."[25]

Track listing[]

Sable track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Main Menu"1:04
2."Glider"2:51
3."Better the Mask"3:30
4."The Ewer (Day)"4:05
5."The Ewer (Night)"3:23
6."Eccria (Day)"3:13
7."Eccria (Night)"3:36
8."Campfires"1:06
9."Exploration (Ships)"3:32
10."Exploration (Ruins)"4:10
11."Exploration (Nature)"4:12
12."Beetle's Nest"3:28
13."Glow Worm Cave"2:51
14."Pyraustas Ruin"4:14
15."Badlands (Night)"3:44
16."Hakoa (Day)"2:40
17."Hakoa (Night)"4:40
18."Sansee (Day)"2:58
19."Sansee (Night)"2:57
20."Redsee (Day)"3:49
21."The Wash (Day)"3:03
22."Chum Lair"1:35
23."Beetle Detour"3:25
24."Machinist's Theme"3:01
25."Cartographer's Theme"1:44
26."Mark Caster's Theme"1:19
27."Mischievous Children"0:58
28."Ibexxi Camp (Day)"1:56
29."Ibexxi Camp (Night)"2:30
30."Burnt Oak Station (Day)"3:12
31."Burnt Oak Station (Night)"3:43
32."Abandoned Grounds"3:20
Total length:1:35:52

References[]

  1. ^ Valentine, Rebekah (June 10, 2021). "Sable: Beautiful Gliding Adventure Finally Launches in September - Summer of Gaming". IGN. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Horti, Samuel (July 18, 2019). "Sable: Everything we know so far". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Kent, Emma (May 28, 2019). "Gorgeous sci-fi indie Sable will now release next year". Eurogamer. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  4. ^ Avard, Alex (November 16, 2018). "'What if Rey never left Jakku?' - How indie darling Sable is inspired by Star Wars: The Force Awakens". GamesRadar. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  5. ^ Peltz, Jonathan (September 22, 2021). "On 'Sable': "You'll See Other Quests in the Game That Are a Bit Silly"". Wired. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  6. ^ Beresford, Trilby (May 6, 2021). "Tribeca Festival Unveils Games Lineup Including Annapurna Interactive's 'Twelve Minutes'". The Hollywood Reporter. MRC. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  7. ^ "Sable for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Sable for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
  9. ^ "Sable for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  10. ^ Khan, Zubi (September 22, 2021). "Sable (PC) Review". Computer Games Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Grodt, Jill (September 22, 2021). "Sable Review – Captivating Gameplay Behind A Beautiful Mask". Game Informer. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  12. ^ "Sable review: "Downright beautiful in its execution and storytelling" | Aces high". GamesRadar. September 22, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  13. ^ Northup, Travis (September 22, 2021). "Sable Review". IGN. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  14. ^ Clayton, Natalie (September 22, 2021). "Sable review". PC Gamer. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  15. ^ Harris, Ian (September 22, 2021). "Sable review – equal parts Zelda, Moebius, and itself". PCGamesN. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  16. ^ Erskine, Donovan (September 22, 2021). "Sable review: The journey beyond". Shacknews. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  17. ^ Wise, Josh (September 22, 2021). "Sable review". www.videogamer.com. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  18. ^ Peltz, Jonathan (September 22, 2021). "On 'Sable': "You'll See Other Quests in the Game That Are a Bit Silly"". Wired. Retrieved September 22, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Bell, Alice (September 22, 2021). "Sable review: a beautiful adventure beset by troubling bugs". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  20. ^ Franzese, Tomas (September 28, 2021). "'Sable' is the most relaxing game since 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons'". Inverse. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  21. ^ "Review | 'Sable': An art game for people who like adventure games, and vice versa". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  22. ^ "Sable review – go build yourself a future, girl". the Guardian. November 6, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  23. ^ Ankers, Adele (November 16, 2021). "The Game Awards Nominations Announced". ign.com. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  24. ^ Otterson, Joe (October 11, 2021). "Raw Fury Sets First-Look Deal With dj2 Entertainment for Film, Television Projects (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved October 11, 2021.
  25. ^ a b c d Yu, Zhenzhen (September 23, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast: Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack)". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  26. ^ a b c d e Collar, Matt. "Sable – Japanese Breakfast". AllMusic. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  27. ^ "Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack) CD". Rough Trade US. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  28. ^ "Sable (Original Video Game Soundtrack) LP". Rough Trade US. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  29. ^ Minsker, Evan (August 27, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Details New Sable Soundtrack, Releases "Glider": Listen". Pitchfork.
  30. ^ a b c Gordon, Lewis. "Japanese Breakfast on Writing the 'Sable' Soundtrack". Wired. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  31. ^ Frank, Allegra (September 26, 2021). "Japanese Breakfast Thinks This Is the Best Song She's Ever Written". Slate Magazine. Retrieved October 14, 2021.

Further reading[]

External links[]

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