Sable

Sable had the potential to be an amazing game. In the end, I feel it's just good. The art style is wonderful which makes the entire game eye candy. The soundtrack is very fitting for the game and if you like Japanese Breakfast this game is worth checking out for that reason alone. There are some pretty fun tasks with decent variety and it's an overall cozy experience, something that I really felt I needed. I think it's genuinely amazing how the games quests surround itself in finding out what you enjoy playing, there's a beauty to the narrative/gameplay combo here. There are some wonderful secrets hidden in the environment and particularly the worm and the whole sarin quest line stand out. The writing is really solid as a whole beyond that too, making those last two moments I spoiled great as well.

That being said, there's some issues plaguing what is a 5 in an alternate dimension. If you know anything about this game (as of Jan 22), you'd know this game is beyond buggy. Between terrible frame rates (on powerful gaming rigs too), audio glitches, crashing, physics engine glitches which makes climbing a pain, your bike not showing up, and more ruins some of these moments. Bugs can occasionally be something you can look over since there's gameplay to enjoy, but in a relaxing game like this it in infuriating.

Climbing in this game is something I'm mixed about. Obviously there is a clear influence from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [ゼルダの伝説 ブレス オブ ザ ワイルド] in many aspects of this game and tragically Sable does only a handful of things better. Climbing is the worst offender as it should be extremely polished given the lack of combat, but it is glitchy, simple, and doesn't feel nearly as good. Puzzles feel the same way. There are some great climbing moments such as the badlands and every climber badge challenge but I feel they really should have worked on this more.

For a game with a lot of collectibles, everything feels relatively fair which is an insane accomplishment. Even chum eggs, this game's version of Korok seeds is very easy to get to 100 only needing to actively look for them for maybe your last hour of gameplay. That being said, I do wish there was some level of challenge in this game. Gliding while cool makes platforming a non-existent challenge (although occasionally one of the better puzzles) and there was not a moment in the game where I struggled with a puzzle.

If you like those moments of awe in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild [ゼルダの伝説 ブレス オブ ザ ワイルド] more then anything else I think you'll enjoy this game. I'd wait a bit more for it to be patched, but it's a cozy experience.

Edit: One thing I missed out on in my original review is really how little there is to do in this game and how there's a beauty in that. In the world of Ubisoft collect every boring collectible design, Sable asks you to make your own meaning excluding a tacked on vehicle customization/currency system. It's not just those surreal moments, but climbing something out of the sake of interest rather then if you think there will be a collectible.

Edit 2: As of May 31st 2022 the game has finally gotten its first performance patch, while I won't be playing this game for a long time, this will likely increase my review score to a 4 when I do replay it.

The official description of the game was wrong, SABLE's world has no richness to it, everything, from the dunes to the structures, is big, empty, boring and uninspired. Quick example of that is the biggest structure of the game: a giant crashed vessel containing nothing besides three rooms filled with collectibles.
Quite unfortunate for an exploration game to have nothing interesting to see and explore.
The full movement system is equally boring, with no variation in gameplay throughout the whole campaign.
Quests and puzzles are simplistic: I didn't need to think once to finish them.
The story and dialogues are equally uninteresting. No character or greater theme stuck out to me.
Never have I felt being on some initiatic journey, nor on a greater mission, nor anything really.

Only things remarkable about the game are the art style and the bugs. The latter came in multiple forms, from an inaccessible marker that lasted the whole playthrough, to a big explosion sound cutting through the music randomly, to flying and intertwined goats in the middle of the desert.
Despite my negative review, the game isn't extremely bad, it's just mediocre and evoked no strong feeling to me.

If the map wasn't so big, maybe the devs could have made an interesting world to explore instead of this white piece of bread of a game.
Overall, the game lacks any ambition, originality or interesting idea.