Sable's Grimoire

I don't often write reviews, but this one deserves it. I'm a bit of a visual novel enjoyer, and I've had several I like, dislike, and just managed to push through. This one was genuinely one of the best I've played, and wish it got more of the recognition it deserves. Our MC (Sable) isn't a blank slate, but has enough options it can still feel like you're living through his life. The side characters don't fall into being simple tropes, but rather each feel like a fleshed out person, and despite which route you follow, everyone remains relevant throughout the story. I have nothing but fond memories of my time exploring every route. Wholeheartedly recommend, sale or not. I can't wait for Sable's Grimoire 2.

Played this on my Steam Deck. Had to fiddle around and go into desktop mode and use proton, but it worked. Overall I quite liked it for the most part though I found certain routes significantly more interesting than others. Tix - The first route I played. She's cute and I liked seeing how her relationship with Sable evolved. Her final words were so sweet. The no consent stuff did bother me though. 6/10 Rei/Eth - A very lighthearted route. Rei's ending is pretty disappointing, but Eth's is nice and so is their combined ending. 7/10 Lisha - By far my favourite route. Lisha develops a lot and gets to spend a lot of quality time with Sable. Looking forward to starting her sequel. 9/10 Draken - Didn't really like her and there's a disturbing rape scene that's not removed by the mature filter. 3/10 Jorou - She's okay, but I didn't find her that interesting even after the twist. I was much more interested in the gorgon girl, Meara. 5/10 Eris - I really liked her, but she barely appeared on her route. The times she did though were great. Didn't expect her to be so cute. I'm hoping that she becomes an actual romance interest in the sequel. 8/10 Regardless of how I feel about certain things, I am very glad I gave this visual novel a chance. It certainly deserves more attention.

It's a very good and involving story that you cant help but get sucked into. I have spent hours reading and enjoying this story. I still have a long way to go before i finish but thus far its one of the best visual novels I have had the pleasure of reading. I look forward to seeing how the rest of story unfolds.

Sable's Grimoire 2 when? Also works on steamdeck :)

This story can really grab you. One day, it grabbed me and had me reading for hours - it ate up my whole day! I eventually realized the story was so long that I wouldn't reach the end, no matter how much I read in a day, so I put it down. As for the artwork and music, it's strong. Though, a minor point is that I feel the artist should study anatomy more: the anatomy doesn't look glaringly off to the point where I can't overlook it, but it DOES look off. As for the characters, there are a lot of them, and they feel distinct. At the same time - from what I've noticed, at any rate - there are a lot of plot points, and I've noticed that sometimes plot points just don't get resolved in satisfying ways, or at all. For example, I never got to properly apologize to Tix, about what happened during magic-casting class, and I thought I would have a proper conversation with Rei about Hel, since she very clearly encountered her, early on, and seemed to be wondering about who she was. But it seems that some scenes or conversations just never get proper resolutions. I'm not familiar with the entirety of the game, so I don't know if these things get properly resolved depending on your choices, but it at least seems true, to me, that things end up feeling frayed, if you only play through the game once. Such a thing could be argued to be true to life, and in that way, I might be able to respect it, if it's an artistic decision. But as a writer, myself, I feel like this might simply be an oversight, or flaw. Another thing which feels true to life (at least, these days) is the emphasis on politics and how it can polarize people. It's done quite accurately - often with people being hateful of things which they've only heard misinformation about, or which they haven't stopped to think about. With all that in mind, things can get quite heavy. Even among the main cast, there's a lot of casual discrimination against people based on their species. I've also noticed that characters can be very abbrasive. Even if a character is warming up to you and thinking of dating you, she might still be rude to you near constantly. It gets very tiring. There's also one character who seems so hateful to everyone that I honestly wonder why he hasn't been expelled. I don't get it. Soft recommend from me: it can be very addictive and grow on you, but take breaks from it: it can get way too heavy. And I understand if this simply isn't your cup of tea at ALL. I was thinking about not recommending it based on how harsh characters and topics can feel, but I do respect this title and I can tell a lot of effort went into it: it shows. And I also respect how the writers are trying to tackle very delicate issues in rather delicate ways. Talking about that sort of stuff, in a way which is level-headed, takes guts.

noice

Already played it, but decided to also buy it on Steam in anticipation for the sequel, Sable's Grimoire 2. If Sable's Grimoire seems like the sort of thing that might interest you, I suggest you give it a try!