Test de Sable: a poetic journey with Moebius sauce

Shedworks is a very small studio made up of two people. It is also a box at the origin of a great game: Sable, available today. Published by Raw Fury (Call of the Sea, Townscaper, Atomicrops…), the game intrigued the public from its first trailer, with its clear Moebius-style line graphics. The result: a fascinating open world.

Test de Sable: a poetic journey with Moebius sauce Read the conclusionSable

A well-balanced exploration
Original and stunning graphics
A worked and exciting universe
The joy of riding a hoverbike

Some annoying bugs
We would have liked to meet more people in the desert
No Spanish version yet

Test carried out on the PC version (via Steam) of the game using a key provided by the publisher. Sable has been available since September 23, 2021 on PC, Mac and Xbox Series (via Steam and Xbox Game Pass).

In a desert universe strewn with wrecks lives the young Sable. She is part of a tribe of nomads who have set up camp on a large rock in the middle of the dunes. But today, she is the only one packing her bags to discover other horizons: it is the day of her “slip”. Like all the other young people of her tribe before her, she must pick up her new mask, ride a hoverbike and set off to visit the world on her own. After a few tests and a ceremony, here we are aboard our floating motorcycle, heading for the exit of the canyon where our tribe has settled. The adventure begins: as we explore, from petrified forests to oases, passing by abandoned vessels and mysterious vestiges, we set off to discover the desert and the people who inhabit it.

No question of getting bogged down

By discovering the first videos showing impressive landscapes and unusual graphics, we could have expected a contemplative, almost mystical quest, like a Journey or an Abzu. A kind of stroll of only a few hours in the middle of the dunes, without dialogue and even, without other protagonists to meet. In fact, Sable is not that at all. Shedworks offers us a real exploration game in the open world with an inventory, quests, puzzles... and even an investigation! It's not necessarily what we expected, and that's good.

Shedworks has found the happy medium between contemplative and narrative: Sable doesn't bother with an overly intrusive HUD. Nothing comes to spoil the landscape during our walks in search of stranded ships, ruins or camps. Only the quest objective is displayed when the compass is activated. A wise choice, which really highlights the beauty of the graphics.

Said compass is also used to place our own markers on the map. This feature is particularly useful, because the notable places are indicated to us only very vaguely by the characters that we meet. A strangely shaped relief or a change of biome are then additional clues to locate our objectives. The concept is well thought out: the player is like Sable, lost in this immensity, but determined to accomplish his quests.

There is no doubt that the graphic style is THE point that initially caught the attention of Internet users. With its fine cell-shading and pastel colors, the game reminds us of Franco-Belgian comics during its clear line era, and in particular Moebius and Hergé. The costumes, vessels and bizarre vegetation meanwhile give the impression of walking straight into the world of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the founding film of Studio Ghibli. These are also references invoked by the friends of Shedworks during E3 in 2018. This graphic bias works… most of the time. Indeed, the colors vary a lot according to the sun which beats on the surfaces. Even if it's rare, it happens that we find ourselves in a setting where all the solid colors are the same color, which seriously complicates the gameplay. In addition to hurting the eyes.

It's a shame, because the rest of the time the idea is original and very aesthetic. We like to contemplate the landscapes imagined by the creators of the game, from the small apple green cactus to the almost cartoon cloud, passing by the gusts of wind represented by large white lines.

But there's no time to dawdle: many vestiges and buildings hide puzzles allowing you to progress in a quest or obtain rare items. These are not extremely difficult, but remain relatively clever. The decor becomes more than an aesthetic argument: this giant sundial is very pretty, but isn't it possible to activate something with it?

When you've been in the desert too long

Well, the dunes, the ruins, all that is fine, but are we having fun? The danger of an open world, especially if it is large, is that it is empty. The world of Sable is full of little surprises hidden here and there that make the trip always pleasant. A very flat horizon hides a gigantic well dug in the ground, a bridge decorated with giant statues appears in the middle of the natural stone pillars, an immense vessel which only asks to be explored takes shape at the bend of a path... For all tell you, the author of this test spent twelve hours there over a weekend without ever getting bored. Especially since everything is done to facilitate exploration. The hoverbike is easy and fun to drive and allows us to cut through the dunes at full speed, and a power acquired at the start of the game allows you to hover without even requiring stamina. Imagine then the happiness of climbing to a high point (like a mountain or a large building), to soar and explore the horizons in flight.

Nevertheless, if we come across many places to explore and a whole bunch of puzzles to solve, the universe of Sable still leaves a little taste of emptiness. And for good reason: outside the towns and camps, you don't meet many people. Yet nothing would prevent other nomads from exploring the desert, like us. Taking part in a hoverbike race in the middle of the dunes or lending a hand to a sandy caravan could however have been fun objectives. Despite this, Sable doesn't have the "empty open world" disease, and the game proves to be just right time-consuming.

Just unlocking the entire map will take about ten hours. Don't expect to rush to grab every piece of the map in a hurry, because there will always be something to grab your attention and distract you from your primary goal. Once the map is fully revealed, you'll still have a whole bunch of quests to complete. Not only are they numerous, but they are also varied. Will you choose to help all the mechanics to obtain the machinist's badge, to investigate to find out who sabotaged the electrical network of Eccria, or to go in search of all the abandoned ships?

JVFR

It's up to you, and it's completely connected to the character's story. Sable left his tribe to explore the world, without any real constraints, with the sole objective of finding his way. This narrative framework lends itself well to the very free exploration of the game. Let's talk about it, moreover, about the narration. The NPCs crossing our path are a bit talkative, but it's quite pleasant insofar as the dialogues are well written. The texts are as poetic as the landscapes, which brings coherence to the whole. On the other hand, the game does not offer a Spanish version when it is released, this being planned for sometime in 2021. Those who are not very comfortable with English will therefore have to wait for the VF, since the vocabulary used is quite sharp. For others, it's a pleasure to discover this world little by little, with its own codes and traditions.

JVFR

On the artistic side, the music is also a strong point of the game. Each biome has its own, and the passage from one soundtrack to another is sufficiently subtle. Some music creates unique atmospheres that make you want to spend more time in the areas concerned to listen to them at your leisure.

Sable, l'avis de JVFR

Sable is ultimately a beautiful experience. The decorations are worked and the atmosphere is poetic, from the landscapes to the texts through the themes. Surprises such as buildings with impressive architecture or mysteries to be solved are hidden everywhere and make our discovery of this fascinating world. If the map offers different biomes, the world itself remains a desert (given the title of the game, nothing surprising), and some may deplore a certain monotony in the landscapes. However, you can spend several hours in a row without seeing the time pass.

Offering an open-world game without bugs is complicated, and even more so for a small independent studio. Some problems are therefore to be deplored: the currency counter can get stuck, the hoverbike can disappear for no reason, quest objectives tend to uncheck themselves and a particular music (the least melodious unfortunately) starts to play. loops as soon as you enter the biomes that activate it. It's painful, but it doesn't block progress either since each bug disappears when you restart the software. And of course, a corrective patch will go live within weeks of the game's release.

Sable isn't without its flaws, but if you're looking for a poetic and quirky adventure, you might just get carried away. The objectives and the quests are sufficiently well brought so that we want to complete everything and discover everything. Be prepared: it is quite possible that you let yourself be sucked into Sable, to the point of not seeing the time pass. And that's also what makes a good game!

Sand

Can we offer a good open world when we are a small independent studio? Shedworks proves yes with Sable. Even if it is not free from flaws, the game takes us on board for hours of exploration and puzzles in an artistically very daring setting.