Sayonara Wild Hearts is a perfect experience. It may not last long, but it will certainly draw you in with its story, keep you there with its variety of gameplay, and then bring the entire experience together with its amazing visuals and music.
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Sayonara Wild Hearts was dropped in our lap about a week ago and I had personally never heard of it. While trying to get another review out of the way, I was mildly intrigued by what I had seen in the trailer for Sayonara. It looked unique, artsy, and somewhat melancholy. It relied on a mixture of Tempest graphics while sporting a Subway Surfer type of feel. The latter of that sentence is not an insult, rather it’s just to point out that the game ran on rails at times. While it might be on rails, those rails are gorgeous in visuals, design, and music. This game had me guessing about the experience. I truly had no idea how much this game was about to deliver.
No. Idea.
The first thing you want out of any great game is a solid reason why you’re going to take control of the character you’re playing and what their purpose truly is through the narrative. In Sayonara Wild Hearts, you play as an unnamed character that has had her heartbroken and has fallen out of love with something or someone, or maybe she’s simply going through depression. The game literally takes her heart and breaks it into pieces. Each heart piece has turned into some vile enemy that sports emotional attributes that represent their power. For example, one heart piece has turned into twin characters that flip-flop levels as they’re playing out. Every time the twins snap, the level you’re trying to complete changes to an alternate level, and then back again with every snap. Pretty cool, right? You have no idea until you see it. Anyway, for every boss enemy taken down, a piece of heart is given back. That doesn’t mean that our hero is going to be happy, rather it just means she’s trying to defeat her own worst enemies, which happen to be herself.
The game features a crazy good narrative with a deeper meaning that is impactful. How impactful? And you must know that the following sentence isn’t something I use lightly or at all in my past gaming experiences. I have a heavy belief that you should reserve writing about your true dramatic experiences when they actually happen. Further, it annoys the absolute shit out of me when people online say that they’re ‘literally crying about something’ when they beat that statement like a dead horse through their social media channels. It negates actual emotional moments.
Getting off my social media soapbox now, I had tears streaming down my face at the end of this game. I can’t tell you why, but it spoke to me a bit. The story connected to me and spoke to me. This is the first time such an occurrence has happened since I’ve been gaming (I started in 1980 if you want context). I’m flabbergasted at the very least.
Okay, moving on.
Tears aside, outside of the story and my emotional breakdown, the game’s real beauty lies within its game design. Each level is custom crafted to the boss. If the boss rides a motorcycle with minions, then expect a nice race to the finish line. If the boss ends up being a gaggle of sword-wielding motorcycle riders, then expect a sword fight that features FFVII-like action. Sayonara does a superb job of crafting its creativity around the bosses it wants to feature. It’s comparable to how Black Dynamite was conceived, where Michael Jai White sent a picture to director Scott Sanders of his character and only then built a story around it. This is how each level seems to have been conceived, and it’s absolutely the right way of doing things.
Now, the nitty-gritty of the overall gameplay design is incredibly unique. While some player mechanics certainly stay the same (mixing QTE, movement on rails, etc.), the game does a beautiful job of bringing you something new each time you complete a level. For example, there is a virtual reality level where you play against an enemy via a VR world. The game is designed in an old vector-style 3D feel, where you’ll have to dodge 3D objects floating at you while navigating in first-person to correct spots to survive (this is a lot like when Flynn gets sucked into the MCP’s world in TRON — mesmerizing and old school). The same level shifts from first-person view to arcade-style vertical view where your player becomes an icon on an old arcade screen trying to collect hearts while dodging enemies. The level is seamless in its transitional efforts and engaging with its design. This is only one example, but trust me that each level is a unique experience of its own. One of my favorite levels is Parallel Universes, which features the aforementioned twin characters that snap to change levels instantly. It was probably the most creative and difficult level of the bunch, and also features some of the best music.
Before we discuss presentation, there is a scoring system featured in the game, which creates motivation to replay levels. As you progress in the game by collecting hearts (small to large), you will get points from them. The scoring system works off a three-tiered ranking system: bronze, silver, and gold. The better you do, the better you rank. The game allows you to go back and forth between levels to improve the ranking, and I’m almost sure there is a trophy waiting for you at the end of the ranking rainbow. Again, it’s motivation to keep playing the game after it’s done. For me, I will certain try to do better with it in the coming months (I mostly achieved bronze, but was concerned about completion rather than ranks) because I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with this title.
Level and gameplay design aside, the presentation value of this game is through the freaking roof. The game does a great job of mixing cel-shaded animation with a vector graphics backdrop. It wants you to think it’s modern but also plays off the history of gaming through its visuals. This is a colorfully stylish game that comes at you fast and furious with a melancholy palette and an edgy style that reminds you over and over that this labor of love was crafted to visually astound and touch you. The mixture of visuals and powerful music is something you would probably find in a high-end European techno night club. All elements of the presentation help to push the game’s agenda along.
If you can’t tell, I’m absolutely in love with this game. It was an enormously pleasant surprise.
Overall, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a perfect experience. It may not last long, but it will certainly draw you in with its story, keep you there with its variety of gameplay, and then bring the entire experience together with its amazing visuals and music.
