It is extremely rare for a game to bring me to tears, but as I begin this review, there are a few in my eyes after wrapping up Sayonara Wild Hearts. I was reeled in by a brief trailer that I assumed was entirely made of cutscenes, but, alas, that’s the actual gameplay. I began with the first level earlier in the week, and was so blown away that I decided to wait until this past weekend to give it my full attention. This turned out to be the right decision.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is the most visually-pleasing game I have ever played. With a neon aesthetic, the colors are divine, but the game goes above and beyond that. The environments and art style are so immaculately gorgeous that it’s impossible to absorb in one go. Thankfully, the game is just as much fun to play as it is to look at. The mechanics are a breeze, and anyone can pick up and play this game with no acclimation period.

The game isn’t just a looker, it has the perfect difficulty. Not only is it easy enough to run through that it’s not outside the realm of casual gamers, but it is tough-as-nails to get gold ranks in several of its 20+ levels. As a rhythm game savant, I found myself even getting bronze ranks in a few levels. Thankfully, the hard difficulty isn’t a significant factor in the game’s enjoyability. If the player messes up, they are instantly thrust back into the action with no loading screen necessary.

The diversity at hand in the gameplay is hard to get a handle on. Level design typically consists of on-rails left-to-right movement, but there are so many curveballs thrown that the player can never truly get used to what Sayonara Wild Hearts will do next. Between tight navigation, emphatic attack/defense sequences, and even Asteroid-esque throwbacks, the brief but memorable adventure doesn’t consist of a single second of filler.

Story-wise, it’s compact but impactful. Narrated by the legendary Queen Latifah, the theme of tarot cards enlists the heartbroken main character as The Joker, attempting to bring harmony to the divine arcana of The High Priestess, The Hierophant, and The Empress. She must battle Little Death and her factions atop motorcycle chases, a forest mecha, and more. Sayonara Wild Hearts also has brilliant character design, making it even better.

Amid all this, the highlight of the game is the music. The levels are synced with it to perfection, with fight cues and transitions earmarked to the divine electronic beats. Never lasting too long, the levels/songs are between 1-2 minutes, and are ALL more than capable of sticking inside the player’s head past quitting the game. Seeing as the game ran as smooth as butter on my machine, I’m sure to come back and get those gold ranks soon.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is gaming bliss. It’s an experience that’s more than worth the measly entry fee. It’s as fun to watch as it is to play, is simultaneously easy and hard, it does things other games have never done before, no game could ever nail its aesthetic as succinctly… I could go on and on. Regardless, this is one you’re going to have to experience for yourself to truly understand. Take the leap into Sayonara Wild Hearts today!

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Sayonara Wild Hearts

$12.99

10

Score

10.0/10

Pros

• One of he prettiest games ever
• Perfect difficulty curve
• Unbelievable soundtrack
• Diversity between levels
• Replayability is high

Cons

• Would be rough on those with motion sickness