Sayonara Wild Hearts (Part 1)

Developer: Simogo I have a LOT of things to say about this game. I don't know how many parts it will be, but if I waited until I've said everything I wanted to say about this game, I would never publish anything.

So, what is Sayonara Wild Hearts? I know when I come across games with weird names, I tend to check out a little. If anyone started raving about a game called Sayonara Wild Hearts to me, I would assume they were some pretentious hipster who only ever plays the most indie of games, the games that could be considered art.

And... well... If you play Sayonara Wild Hearts, that's kind of exactly what you are doing.

Ok, so what IS it?

I guess, if pushed for a genre it is fair to call it a rhythm game. Or an endless runner? Its not really a game, persay. I wouldn't recommend this on the strength of it's gameplay.

Which is still failing to describe what it IS. What is Sayonara Wild Hearts?

We are a thousand words into the review and we still don't know what the game is. And honestly, I don't think I could have described the game any better than if I had actually tried.

After my first playthrough of Sayonara Wild Hearts, I really had no idea what I was experiencing. One minute I was skateboarding down rainbow road, then I was doing magical girl transformations, then I was riding a sick ass motorbike through some really poorly designed streets, chasing some cute devil girls before getting into a quick time street brawl with them. And just as I started vibing with that aspect of the game, I was chasing an elk through a forest and fighting robot wolves and a bunch of cute furries who pilot a giant wolf mecha. And then I'm back on my motorbike chasing some lovers with a giant sword/spaceship. And then I'm fighting death and driving on the ceiling, and then I'm riding deaths vomit and then I'm fighting a giant eyeball and then I'm battling myself and kissing dragons and then I'm back on rainbow road and then I'm just crying because despite all that random chaos this story is SPEAKING TO ME.

So... WHAT IS SAYONARA WILD HEARTS?

Its an interactive musical experience. Don't go into it expecting a game. You will have fun with it, but its not the most challenging game you'll ever play.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is the story of a girl going through a break up. She is chosen by a being known as the Fool to help fight some evil doers and get pieces of a shattered heart to bring harmony back to the Fool's world. And thus begins the Fools Journey.

The Fool's Journey is a metaphor told through major arcana tarot cards for the journey through life. And I will talk about this in depth one day, because my love for this game got me diving into research about Tarot cards and... They have woven together an amazing story, but I want to give anyone who reads this a chance to play it and experience it before I dissect it.

Most of the game is sort of like an endless runner, weaving between lanes, picking up hearts to increase your score. Movement feels exciting though. Especially on the motorbike levels. Ducking and weaving through traffic in the earlier levels, the way the Fool will do a graceful flourish every time you pick up one of the bigger hearts, it's all adds to the feeling of freedom I get every time I play this game.

Progression is guaranteed. If you fail at a spot too many times, the Magician Arcana will come and ask if you want to skip that part. The challenge comes in getting high scores. Scoring is interesting and works like a combo. Every heart you pick up is worth 1+ how many other hearts youve picked up. So a string of 4 hearts will give one point, then two, then three, then four, for a total of 10. The longer you go through a level without crashing, the higher your score will be at the end. It seems simple enough but I have spent hours on certain levels chasing that Gold ranking. (and if that sort of gameplay IS interesting to you, then this will be a home run. It worked for me, but I can imagine I would be in the minority).

The art style is... I don't know. Im not an art critic but I fucking love what its doing. Again, id have to describe it as sapphic. High femme? Gay as shit!? Whatever it is, it works for me, and I have 16 hours of playtime on this game and I suspect a hell of a lot more even though I've seen it all a number of times.

From the very first time I played the game I was picking up on all these queer vibes, but I couldn't really explain why. The heart motif running throughout the game, the colour pallet, that all added to it, and I will talk about why I honestly believe this game is queer representation, even if it isnt spelled out in a later post.

But that leaves me with the biggest draw of this game. The soundtrack. The soundtrack of this game has become the soundtrack of my life. From every hour playtime I have on steam, I have 10 on youtube listening to the various tracks from the game. I listen to it when im walking. I listen to it as I clean. I listen to it while I play Magic the Gathering. It makes me cry, still. The themes of love and loss are explored in the lyrics. As a very gay BPD bitch, once I looked up the lyrics (I couldn't really tell in game, im usually too focused on picking up hearts and the songs are quite fast paced), I was obsessed because they were telling my life story. Its the soundtrack of my life in many different ways. And the way the music is interwoven with the gameplay...? The "editing" for lack of a better word... I guess sound design? is phenomenal. The way the music plays into the levels to build up, or release tension. The way the sound effects of pickups add to the melody. In one level, the music is a key part of the level design, and it blows my mind every god damn time I play it. It's just so satisfying to watch/play/hear.

This game will take you about an hour from start to end. It is not a long game, and it shouldn't be bought if you are seeking value for money in the form of quantity. Think of it more as the security blanket movie you pull out on a shitty day. You will find comfort in its familiarity. And you will feel. With very few words, this game tells an incredibly emotional story, and after about 12 run throughs, ive stopped crying at the ending. I still get goosebumps, but i've stopped crying.

This game will forever be what I point to when arguing that games are art. Every single part of this game gives me that little endorphin rush, that dopamine hit. I strongly recommend this to anyone who has ever had a break up, to anyone who has difficulty in knowing themselves, to anyone who loses themselves when they lose their partner. I will revisit this and talk more in depth about the lore/music/general vibe. I guarantee it.