Spoiler-free mini-roadmap

[visighost]

Sable is a stress-free, bug (in-game and technical)-filled exploration sandbox. I would highly recommend going in blind, but would keep these spoiler-free / hopefully-vague-enough tips in mind to minimize backtracking and grinding:

 

-Pick up every Chum (little worm things) you see and deliver them to the Queen when you meet her quotas. It increases your stamina, which makes it easier all around. Note that you need 100 in total for all upgrades, and there are much more than that around. Still, if you see one, I'd take the detour to grab it!

 

-Don't bother with the fishing mini-game until you've done pretty much everything else. I found it extremely buggy and had to force close the game a few times. Saving and backing up is recommended (I lost progression once). I'd recommend the Steam guide for info on where the fish are located.

 

-Grab butterflies when you see them. Keep one of each type for the Vivarium and sell the rest, they serve no purpose

 

-You will get some decent bikes for free, but if you want to spend, the Speedster in Eccria is, as its name implies, fast! I'd recommend sticking with it for most of the game. It's also good for Bikes Don't Fly.

 

-You don't need to buy clothes. You should get enough in chests / as rewards for the trophy. Of course, you can go ahead and customize your look! Loving me that Crystal Farmer look.

 

-Thread every line of rings you see. Go in the building doing so reveals, and note that there is always a Chum on top.

 

-Complete all quests. Even if they don't reward badges, they will lead you to spots with Chums! Speak to everyone you see (speech bubble or not). It's not entirely obvious who has a quest for you.

 

-See something grey on the map? 80% of the time, it's something with important with a fast-travel point. Try to visit them all!

 

Pretty much everything should otherwise come naturally. Refer to the Steam guide or other resources at the end if you need (I needed a few more Chums myself, and heavily relied on a fishing guide).

 

And that's pretty much it. Sable has gorgeous, Moebius-like art, a really good soundtrack, and manages to create a chill atmosphere with a real sense of discovery. It's marred by technical issues (the animation gets choppier the longer you play, you will sometime "freeze" while trying to change zones, the fishing games' controls don't work half the time), but I STILL loved my time with the game, so that's saying a lot. And hey, no trophies are buggy or missable (I think? The game warns you 2-3 times at the end point anyway), so I'd encourage trying it out if you're curious!

Edited February 6, 2023 by visighost

[RaidenXS]

Is there a time estimate to plat?

[xMILLZEx]

34 minutes ago, RaidenXS said:

Is there a time estimate to plat?

This guide says about 20 hours.

 

I always go to platprices if there's nothing on this site, as they link out to different guides.

[psycho_clank314]

It's been a year, how are the bugs now?

[Vault-TecPhantom]

Good mini guide.

I platinumed this in June this year and just came to echo the OP's warnings for new players who will be taking this up once it drops on Essential next month:

Although Sable is really good it is buggy and very, very VERY poorly optimised. The fishing mini-game literally does not work most of the time and getting the trophy is a matter of luck and patience. Beware, and like the OP says,  backing up your save is recommended.

[BestUsername----]

What’s the earliest available time to catch all the insects/fish? Are we talking 5-8 hours in or is a post game situation?

[pelagia14]

I enjoyed this game a lot, but agree that it is poorly optimized. After playing for 2-3 hours at a time, the game's framerate would start to drop (at least when using the fastest hoverbike). I'd save, completely close the game, then reopen it and continue playing, which would solve the issue for another 2 hours or so - thus it seems like a memory leak issue with the game.

 

Per @visighost's suggestion, I saved fishing until the very end. Initially, it was pretty frustrating how the game would sometimes just completely freeze up when I would try to fish. I found a system that ended up working pretty well for me, though:

 

1. When you reach an area where you want to fish, get off of your hoverbike and save your game.

2. Pull out your fishing rod (). 

3. Wait a half second before you press  to cast your rod - essentially, make sure that the change in camera angle and the animation of pulling out the fishing rod are completed before you give the game a new input to respond to.

4. Whenever you catch a new type of fish, definitely save! 

 

Using that system, for the couple of more rare fish that I needed, I was able to catch over 10 common fish in a row (without saving for each of those - since I had already brought them to the Vivarium) and the game didn't freeze up on me or anything. I could also walk to other plants nearby (ie, 25-50 meters away) and repeat steps 2-3 without needing to redo step 1.

 

Essentially, so long as the game didn't need to render graphics beyond my current area and so long as I didn't try to cast my lure or cancel out of fishing mode before the animation/camera changes were finished, I was able to fish with very little issue.

 

@BestUsername---- Once you finish the 'prologue' Ewer Region and the rest of the game map opens up to you, you can find an Angler Hut in the next area (Sansee). That is where the 'fisherman' is located who can give you a fishing rod. I'm pretty sure that you first need to visit the Vivarium and talk to its inhabitant though, as they will mention that catching fish is something you can do and to talk to the 'fisherman' to learn more. The Vivarium is in the south-eastern-most region (The Wash). 

 

So technically you can start fishing pretty early on in the game, but you can also complete it at the end of the game as you are wrapping things up before completing the game's final quest (and perhaps even after that).

[knicksrulez220]

On 11/29/2023 at 3:59 PM, Vault-TecPhantom said:

Good mini guide.

I platinumed this in June this year and just came to echo the OP's warnings for new players who will be taking this up once it drops on Essential next month:

Although Sable is really good it is buggy and very, very VERY poorly optimised. The fishing mini-game literally does not work most of the time and getting the trophy is a matter of luck and patience. Beware, and like the OP says,  backing up your save is recommended.

Thanks to your warning I first tried this on my backup account. The framerate was awful to the point of being unplayable for me.

 

Shame - would have loved to try this game out as a palette cleanser between my AAA games.

 

*Edit: So few PS5 games utilize the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers of the Dualsense. I caved in and just played it once I figured out this game uses both quite well. The performance is not good but underneath is a fun and relaxing game. I'd be recommending this game wholeheartedly if not for the poor framerate. I'm still enjoying it quite a bit, enough to chase the Plat on my main account.

Edited December 21, 2023 by knicksrulez220
Ended up playing

[yowzagabowza]

It's crazy how, even being on Plus right now, this game isn't anywhere near the most played list on this site.  I've seen terrible games end up at #1 or #2 when they go free. I guess the performance issues really are THAT bad. I know that's the reason I haven't started it. 

Too bad Sony still saw fit to make a deal with them for Plus.

[visighost]

On 12/8/2023 at 10:53 PM, yowzagabowza said:

It's crazy how, even being on Plus right now, this game isn't anywhere near the most played list on this site.  I've seen terrible games end up at #1 or #2 when they go free. I guess the performance issues really are THAT bad. I know that's the reason I haven't started it. 

Too bad Sony still saw fit to make a deal with them for Plus.

 

While the performance indeed sucks, I would definitely not let that put you off the game. It's worth it despite it all!

[audiopile]

Thanks for making this guide.  I was enjoying the game, but yesterday I lost several hours of progress, so now Im just about getting this done and this guide should help me get my time back.

 

Really fun game, no its not perfect, i suggest turning on high visibility if you are experiencing eye strain - i felt immediate relief when i did this.  Also saving every hour or so and backing up.  My save was lost when I let my PS5 go into rest mode with the game loaded.