Sable’s alien desert is a central figure in its story

The open-world exploration game Sable has an extraordinary art style, appearing as a kind of living science-fiction graphic novel. But the eponymous character’s journey is common in the world, a coming-of-age ritual that will urge her to cross massive sand dunes and explore palatial ruins. Developer Shedworks teamed up with publisher Raw Fury, and the game is due out sometime in 2019 for PC and consoles.

During last week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, I was excited to dig into a hands-on demo. I was attracted to Sable’s sparse elegance and flat colors. And also, I saw that I would get to cruise around on a hoverbike.