Sable's Grimoire Reviews

Sable's Grimoire is a complex game to review. it feels like it's 3 different games entirely Two routes are great, the Main Character is involved and invested in the stories of others and so we can become invested with him. three routes are dull, the main character is lacking in motivation for investing in others and getting involved but does it anyway because that is what the story demands, unfortunately this brings to the fore his unrelenting inner monologue, of theories on demi humans which contradict and are disproved over and over. this only needs to be done a couple of times to establish characters before it becomes tedious and makes reading the story a slog. Also it's exposition that is entirely irrelevant at times to the story and situations playing out. The final route is the one that seals the negative review. An ignorant and offensive story focused on body dysmorphia and self harm where "bad/neutral" ending has the Main character horrified to learn that the subject of the story is "happy with their body" It reeks of transphobia, positive attitudes towards institutionalisation, negative attitudes to disabled people who aren't "happy with thier lot", negative attitudes towards people with mental health conditions and I'm sure other things that I was too offended to notice. I want to be clear I don't think this was the intended effect, I believe the writer was attempting to be considerate about these things, I do not believe they approached any sensitivity readers, I do not believe they did appropriate research into the victims of these things, I think that they were careless and did not consider that by writing about these subjects they would do anything other than good. But due to their privilege and ignorance they instead caused harm. I dearly want this to be better, but I finished it on Joanne's route, and I haven't been hurt like this in something I hoped to be better in a long time. Anyway, Drakken route is best, Justice for Rei she deserves better than Sable's obliviousness, and Eth is an evil genius.