[Review] Sayonara Wild Hearts - Nintendo Switch

Developed By : Simogo
Published By : Annapurna Interactive
Category : Arcade, Rhythm
Release Date : Septeber 19 2019

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a fascinating arcade rhythm game developed by Simogo and published by Annapurna Interactive all about becoming a hero while traveling at high speeds on the road.

The story follows an unnamed girl who transforms into her second self (just like Sailor Moon!) in the search of tarots card, which actually are a bunch of cool-looking tough girls. During your time in the world of Sayonara Wild Hearts, you will ride bikes, skateboards, deers, show off your dance moves and blast lasers.

Each level is Sayonara Wild Hearts is different. Sometimes you will be riding a bike, sometimes you will be flying, other times you will be pressing the A button for a rhythm-based level, other times you will be in a first-person view. It will hardly bore you. Each level is quite different from the others, and they are all fun to play and try out different things. Just watch out for enemies or various obstacles such as cars!

All the levels have the same objective: make it to the end alive. If something hits you, you must restart from a checkpoint. Your character drives forwards automatically, but you can move left or right as you wish. You can also do some special moves, such as taking risks or drifting to increase your overall score. And most importantly, it runs really smoothly, so you don’t have to worry about eventual frame drops.

Throughout the game you will find hearts: collecting those will increase your score. Although getting a higher score does nothing other than award you a bronze, silver or gold medal, it’s fun to see how high a score you can get. The only bad thing about this is that there is no online leaderboard to show off your skills (or see how bad you did, depending on the point of view).

The most important thing about Sayonara Wild Hearts, apart from the gameplay, is its presentation: it looks dreamy, with flashy and vibrant neon colors, yet with a minimalist look. Everything is always moving, and just looking at it is charming. Not only that, but you could consider the game as a “Pop Album” (even the creators themselves consider it as such), as there are a lot of pop songs in the levels that fit perfectly with the gameplay.

The part where the game lacks the most is its duration. Each level lasts just a handful of minutes, and the overall game lasts about an hour and a half. Not only that, but it lacks post-game content. The only thing you can do for the most part is replay the levels to get a higher score.

But I believe that Sayonara Wild Hearts is truly a shining gem. Its presentation in every aspect is truly gorgeous. The music is wonderful and the gameplay engaging. While it’s a very short experience, I greatly enjoyed it and can recommend it to anyone who wants something extraordinary to play.

In conclusion, if you don’t mind a short game and enjoy music and dreamy aesthetics, then I whole heartedly recommend Sayonara Wild Hearts. It’s fun, it’s gorgeous and the music is awesome. Just remember to play with your headphones for the best experience possible!