Sanabi Review

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Facts

An Unlikely Pairing

Sanabi is a narrative-focused action platformer. It combines fast action segments with a story about a futuristic world. Do these elements combine to form something special? Find out in this Rapid Review.

At the beginning of my adventure, I was shown a brief introduction to my characters that blended quickly into the gameplay tutorial. From the get-go, I was impressed by how the story was being used to teach new mechanics. This continued happening throughout my adventure; as pieces of the story unfolded, I experienced new training. Combining the story with tutorials made learning the ropes in Sanabi easy and engaging.

However, the story serves to be so much more than a mere tutorial. I would go as far as to say that the writing is amazing, the game immersing me in a way I was not expecting whatsoever. The actions that I performed in the game directly correlated to the story, yet the story was so much more interesting than just a simple plot device. There were multiple characters that I enjoyed learning about, and these characters had depth and realistic attributes.

Moreover, the actual premise of the game is captivating too. I enjoyed getting to peer inside the mind of a military veteran as he circumnavigated a technologically advanced world with all sorts of crazy devices. The different plot points lead to a wonderfully satisfying climax. Simply, the story content here was great.

Training the Chain

The gameplay in Sanabi is also very satisfying. The main character, the veteran, is fast after his many years of combat training. Thus, moving around with him feels good and he is easy to leverage. A major part of this is that he has a chain arm with a grappling hook attached. This enabled me to grapple with different ledges and manoeuvre through stages with ease. This gave me a lot of flexibility in how I wanted to travel through areas as there were different ways to use the arm. In some instances, I chose to perform dashes in the air that shifted me on the hook from one area to another. In others, I built momentum from continually grabbing onto ledges. Simply put, this hook made movement fun.

Additionally, the way the chain arm is implemented was engrossing as well. I did not necessarily feel like I needed to master movement. Unlike in Boomerang X where I had to remain off the ground for extended periods, in Sanabi, there are plenty of safe areas. It was easy to get from point A to point B. This may sound like a bad thing, but I liked it. Since the game focuses so much on the story and gameplay, it is nice to have some slack (both literally and figuratively) as you grapple through areas. It was possible for me to fly through stages with each featuring a gameplay curve and movement mechanics that are super enjoyable and accessible. Though it was not required, as I became more familiar with my abilities, I was able to run through different points quickly. This made it satisfying to continue optimising mechanics beyond what was needed.

Cohesive Layouts

The engaging movement was complimented by digestible level designs. Each of the areas I explored featured guidance on where to go and what to do – nothing was overly complicated. Exploring these levels was still fun though. There were multiple stage components in each of the different levels, which made each area feel unique. The gameplay was often impacted by these. For example, in some levels, I had to rush from point A to point B to avoid being heated by a laser whereas in others, I had to avoid a burrowing worm. The levels constantly introduced new ideas and mechanics, making the levels a lot of fun to explore.

While playing on the Normal difficulty, I had no issues with moving through areas easily. A few puzzles required me to get into certain positions at certain times, but often these were easy to understand, even on the first go. This did not bother me though, as I enjoyed getting around each stage.

Even taking out enemies was largely simple. Scattered throughout each stage are a few different types of robotic foes. While they fire weapons, finding ways to take them out was always easy. The boss fights were also not insanely challenging. To me, these fights served as cinematic climaxes to showcase my power. While combat did not stress me out, it kept me engaged and stimulated. Moreover, Sanabi features constant checkpoints. Even when I did die, it only took me back a few rooms. This made failure punishing enough for me to want to play well while not making me replay the same segments too many times. The combat and level designs kept bringing me back for more.

Summing the Pieces Together

While the combat is enjoyable, the true beauty of Sanabi comes from the combination of the story content and the gameplay. The way I played the game felt so special because I could read the story and then engage with the combat. Though I expect that the game will be enjoyable for those who are not interested in the story whatsoever, I considered the story as I was writing this review, as it heavily impacted and improved my experience.

Additionally, the aesthetic design was on point. The world I explored was gorgeous. The landscapes are interesting, enemy designs are diverse yet easily recognisable, and the main character looks powerful. The set pieces were also different enough that I felt like I explored a vast area.

Furthermore, the background music was great. I found that it was never overpowering enough to distract me from reading the dialogue on the screen, yet it helped build to more intense climaxes and kept me engaged as I platformed through different places.

Overall, Sanabi is an excellent game. The visual style and music help, but the true core of the game comes from engaging gameplay sequences seamlessly blended with a charming story. The combat is fun, fast, and flashy. Plus, each part matters, as everything I did in the game contributed to the overarching plotline. Sanabi is a great game I can easily recommend.

5 out of 5

5

You can purchase Sanabi on the Nintendo eShop here.