As a games journalist, one would expect that my love for the medium would endure, no matter what. I had always assumed that every Direct, State of Play, and Developer Direct would continue to instill in me the same unbridled sense of hype and joy that I got long before I worked within the industry, that every reveal, trailer, and experience would sustain my nostalgia-driven hunger for fresh new games. Yet, perhaps rather unsurprisingly, even I, a person dedicated to the love of video games in almost every aspect of my life, have felt that passion falter on a number of occasions.
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I say all of this because, right now, that passion is once again wavering. That’s not to say I don’t still feel joy when I game. Rather, the breadth of experiences that bring me that joy is narrowing, the requirements for fulfillment growing ever stricter. As I sit and wallow in enforced boredom, I’ve found myself looking back at the games that have torn me from such slumps and set me back on the right track. Last time, the time when it truly mattered, it was the criminally underrated 2021 open-world title Sable, a game so good it not only restored my love of gaming, but made me feel complete inside once again.
Sable Is An Underrated Gem
There was a moment during my playthrough of Sable as I drifted across the pastel, Moebius-inspired world atop my glider, the rush of wind kicking up sand as I went, smoke spiraling upwards lazily in the distance, an impossibly large ash-white skeleton to my left, the soothing, ethereal score by Japanese Breakfast giving the whole experience an air of otherworldly bliss, where I caught myself truly having fun. It wasn’t an emotion I had felt playing games in a long time, yet here I was, vibing out (for the lack of a better word), a smile plastered across my face, as I completely submerged myself in the beautiful wonders of this alien world.
Sable is a masterpiece of unparalleled proportions. There is simply nothing else like it, nothing that offers quite the same blend of abstract surrealist serenity and meaningfully rewarding narrative-driven exploration. It coalesces to create a sense of purpose that goes beyond merely seeing and doing everything there is to see and do. I felt very much connected to Sable herself and the world she inhabited, excited to uncover the mysteries awaiting me beyond the horizon and complete her journey of self-discovery. I suppose in a time when I felt an intense sense of dissociation with my own identity, Sable’s coming-of-age narrative truly resonated with me.
Regardless, I suspect, even if one were (hopefully) not experiencing such sadness, they’d still be able to enjoy Sable’s exploration-driven open world adventure. It’s packed with unique characters, striking landscapes, and delightfully intricate quests, all tied together by a suite of expertly implemented platforming mechanics, collectibles, and, of course, the glider. Sable, much like its obvious inspiration, Breath of the Wild, is one of the greatest open-world games available, simply because it values player-led discovery over the suffocating need to guide you at all times. Sable trusts you’ll find its beauty, its wonders, and secrets because you want to, not because you’re told to.
Alas, the game’s rather disastrous PS5 port resulted in it garnering a rather unfortunate amount of negative reception. Sable losing its Xbox exclusivity should have been a blessing for the game, as it opened its utterly unique experience to an entirely new audience, one substantially bigger than that which Xbox had offered. Yet, it ended up being a curse, as that larger audience, the most vocal, was subjected to a laggy and broken port that soured them and anyone willing to try it on the entire experience. While the port is fixed, it has led to Sable being a criminally underrated game, despite its obvious strengths.
Sable Restored My Love Of Gaming (And Music)
They say to do what you love as a job, and I suspect that’s a valid argument for the majority of people. However, the one escape I had from much of the emotional pain I’ve experienced throughout my life was video games. Working within this field, becoming analytical, critical, and, naturally, overly negative, didn’t just taint the experience for me, but rendered its once comforting embrace cold and unpleasant. That is to say, gaming became unenjoyable in the same way one grows to hate Chaucer, Shakespeare, Lord of the Flies, or 1984 when studying it at school.
However, even if I were not working in the games journalism industry, my passion for the medium would have waned regardless. Growing older naturally burdens one with more responsibility, more anxiety, and more fears. Those issues become exacerbated when, like me, you also suffer from a seemingly incurable depression. Suddenly, the fun and sense of escapism I had derived from sitting in front of my TV and indulging in dozens of hours of game time became a frustrating exercise in self-torture and punishment. As my depression spiralled, so too did I lose interest in hobbies, music, literature, gaming, and life.
Fortunately, Sable came along and fixed that. As aforementioned, I resonated with its central themes of self-discovery and identity. Yet, more importantly, I found solace in its breathtaking environments and slower pace. Its lack of handholding requires a substantive investment from the player and a willingness to engage on a much deeper level. You cannot passively experience Sable, at least if you want to truly enjoy it. So, in a way no other game at the time was capable of, Sable got me to care.
Of course, getting one to engage and immersive themself so much is only possible if the experience itself is rewarding, and, fortunately, Sable is. It reminded me of just how great games can be, how you feel when a developer truly cares about the art they’re making, how an inspired, meaningful video game can move you in a way film, TV, and literature simply cannot. It helps to that the soundtrack by Japanese Breakfast also reinvigorated my love for music, with tracks like Glider and Better the Mask inspiring me to explore a whole new genre.
Sable perfectly personifies the power that games alone hold to truly transform one’s life, impacting it on a level only possible thanks to how much interaction it requires from the player. It is a shame Sable remains one of the most underrated games of the past decade, as I feel that many are missing out on, at the very least, a very enjoyable experience akin to Breath of the Wild. I think, now, more than ever, I need a game like Sable to remind me of why I fell in love with games in the first place. Alas, if only I could just lose my memory and replay it for the first time again.
Do you have a game that affected you in a profound way? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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