Sable is a coming-of-age tale of discovery through exploration across a strikingly rendered open world desert. Go on a deeply personal journey across an alien planet as the young Sable. Exploring ancient monuments, ruined architecture, and ships fallen from the cosmos, all while learning the history of its inhabitants and discovering her place in the world.
In the cut-throat world of game development there are only two outcomes for your creation; games that work, and games that won’t. Did you know that not all home runs are scored by swinging away with might? In fact, some of the best results are achieved by simply pulling back and exerting less energy. So when it comes to making a game that captivates, it might be more of a smart move to focus less on the big picture, and more the inspiration.
Sometimes it truly is about the journey and not the destination. That is displayed in beautiful fashion with Sable, an indie game that doesn’t require you to level up, defeat foes, or acquire flashy new items. Although, it should be noted that there are upgrades that can be made to your clothing and your trusty hover-bike, the only two key components that your character needs to explore the vast and infinite desert.
Three main parts make up your hover-bike which can be swapped around to customize the look and performance, and each new part is unlocked by helping fellow explorers, or some good old-fashioned treasure hunting. The full extent of these unlock-able parts will elude us until the game’s official release.
So what is the point of Sable? It cannot be an endless ride through the desert, exploring unnamed locations and solving small puzzles, so what is the goal?
It seems that issue is still something that’s being figured out by Shedworks– the two-man development team behind this artistic indie project – but for the most part, it seems as though Sable’s quest is centered around finding a mask.
Masks are featured heavily in Sable as a kind of metaphorical wink at us. As human beings, we create a hierachy of social status, and where we fit in becomes our defining quality. However, in Sable everyone wears masks as a way of showing their identity, and as such these masks can be swapped around to portray different personality traits, possibly altering the way other characters interact with the young female protagonist.
Shedworks
Sable will be able to try on a variety of masks, and swap them when she sees fit. The current plan is for each mask to affect how other people perceive Sable – if she helps a mechanic and is given a mechanic’s mask, for instance, other mechanics may ‘talk shop’ with her.
Currently, there is no playable demo available to the general public, and only a select few curators and testers have been given access to the work in progress, probably a smart move to avoid pressure from critics and the average armchair experts.
More is needed to make sure Sable doesn’t fall short, and I really hope the developer can figure out what that missing piece is. It would be a shame to see it fail because the concept and design are both equally stunning.
There’s something incredibly refreshing about an indie team that isn’t racing into the fray, clambering to get a foothold in an already saturated market. Instead, setting their sites on massive maps, with infinitely vast areas to explore. The main problem they could encounter is whether or not they fill that vast environment with enough entertainment and challenge.
Shedworks are taking a leap, and I for one will be there to watch what happens, with high hopes of seeing Sable completed and released this year.
