PLAY SAYONARA WILD HEARTS

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a difficult game to describe, but I'll do my best: 

Imagine your worst breakup - the sort of thing that rocks your sense of self. Emotionally turbulent, you get on your motorcycle, you turn up your music, and you let yourself feel. You aren't sure where you need to go - your destination isn't the point - the ride is the point - wherever you are, you need to be somewhere else, to process your feelings. It's raining, the rhythmic drops breaking across your cheekbones and mixing with your tears. You're angry, you're heartbroken, and you aren't sure what to do about either. Why did she leave you? What did you do wrong? How could you be so stupid - again? You aren't paying attention to a wet curve in the road, your motorcycle goes sideways and your unprotected skull strikes something that turns the world black. The coma-induced fever-dream you experience on life support is Sayonara Wild Hearts at its wild heart.

A RUSH OF TAROT

There's no dialogue to Sayonara Wild Hearts. Minimal exposition, maximal vibe. You're The Fool, a masked hero; at times you're riding a motorcycle, at times a skateboard, at times soaring through the air on an oversized tarot card, sword in hand. The screen is a wash of colors, moving too fast to fully react to, the sound system is blaring out music that pulls you farther down the rushing road ahead. I'm pretty into it. 

Tarot is one of the core themes of the game, and I got the sense as I played through it that I would be more into it if I were more tarot-literate. The hidden collectibles are all themed to different astrology signs (Cancer, Leo, Virgo, etc) and I feel like the core characters are probably related to tarot as well; something about the way they're designed gives that impression.

Musical nostalgia is a second core theme - those collectibles are each paired, with an A-side and B-side. Each level has it's own audio track - in a lot of ways I might compare Sayonara to something like Guitar Hero - the music plays based on your ride through the level, so you feel a bit of disappointment when you "miss a note" that very much feels like Guitar Hero. Similarly, most of the levels feature a sort of Guitar-hero-meets-Tempest design, where you shift your position across a set of implied columns in order to hit collectible powerups arranged within those columns. It's beautifully executed.

80s action would have to be the third theme - partly seen through the very swords-and-sports aesthetic of the game, partly through the iconic music, and partly through the game's occasional "classic arcade" sequences. It knows exactly what it's trying to execute, and hits those points perfectly.

A COMFORTABLY DIFFICULT GAME

I am not very good at this game; playing through it, I scored "Bronze" (participation award) on about half the levels and "Silver" (slightly better, still not great) on the other half. That means I watched a *lot* of little collectible score-things pass me by as I inexpertly (and frustratingly) swerved between them. At one point I apparently solved one of the game's hidden collectible puzzles, but I'm not sure how exactly I did that, or how I would do so again. It's a game that very much allows you to "fail forward" through it, and (happily) encourages that playstyle. If you want to revisit levels and get all the hidden collectibles, they're there. Otherwise, Sayonara.

I'm decidedly not the game's target audience - I'm too old, too male, too indifferent to tarot, and too focused on getting a decent score. Sayonara is cool with that, but it feels a bit like being welcomed by an extrovert to attend a party that's admittedly awesome, but not really for you, an introvert. I don't mean that to be a mark against the game - Sayonara does a fantastic job of making that party tons of fun - I mean to say that even if you aren't the target audience, you're still going to have a good time.

Sayonara was developed by Simogo (a little Swedish studio) and they did a frankly great job I'm going to keep an eye on their next projects; this game is seriously very *different* from most others I've played. Annapurna Interactive published it and I'm not surprised - with recent games like Solar Ash, Donut County, Stray, and Neon White... Annapurna has had a lot of great projects.

I didn't remember to take screenshots during my playthrough.

I found Sayonara Wild Hearts to be a thoroughly enjoyable game, and would give it eight angsty masked warriors out of ten. Minor griping aside, the game is an experience I'd happily repeat. Ride on, and happy gaming.

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE IV: EBLIS WHICH WAY

 This is the fourth recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on May 11, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE III.

(This was a shorter game and mostly combat, and therefore a shorter recap)

ANNIHILATION ADJACENT - EPISODE III: WELCOME TO NYANZARU

This is the third recap episode for ANNIHILATION ADJACENT, covering the events of a game that took place on April 20, 2024. It takes place directly after EPISODE II.

CHEESY LEEK, ONION, AND MUSHROOM PIE

I based this recipe on one that Nigel Slater wrote up last November, but I wanted to add more vegetables, and I didn't have any crème fraiche. As such, the filling in my take on his recipe has little in common with Nigel's original. Despite being vegetarian, this is definitely more of a "comfort food" than it is "healthy."

OVERVIEW

Prep - Quick, less than 10 minutes

Cook  - About 90 minutes, in stages.

Serves - 4-5 as a main dish 

You'll need - Leeks, Onions, Mushrooms, Parmesan, Soft Cheese, Cream, Flour, Eggs, Butter

It's difficult to eat a 'reasonable portion' of this pie. You've been warned.

RECIPE

Start with the crust - measure out 180g of butter (about a stick and a half) from the fridge, then dice it into cubes about a quarter inch to a side. Add in 300g of flour (one and a quarter cups) and (with clean hands) squish the chunks of butter into the flour, until all your little butter cubes have been squashed/mixed into a semi-consistent "dry slurry" of flour and butter. Drop in an egg yolk and about 50ml of water (about a quarter cup) . Mix that up with your hands until it looks like dough, then ball it up and stick it in the fridge for a bit.

While the dough chills, slice about 2 pounds of leeks into half-inch rounds, then rinse those to get rid of any sand. Leeks are delicious, but they've got that unfortunate trick of hiding sand between their layers, like an onion that spent too long at the beach. Once cleaned, toss the leeks into a heavy pan with more butter (half a stick) as well as salt and pepper, cover them, and cook them on low heat for a solid 20 minutes, stirring once or twice as you go. You don't want much color on the leeks; cooking them gently keeps their flavor mild.

While the leeks cook down, grab about 15 button mushrooms, clean and quarter them. Slice 4 cloves of garlic thinly. While you're at it, slice up an onion into thin strips. You can probably put the cutting board away after that.

The leeks will probably be about done when you finish, so tip those into a bowl and replace them with the mushrooms and garlic. Those won't need a lid, just stir them occasionally for 10-15 minutes over low/medium heat while you return to the crust. Add salt and pepper; you probably don't need more butter - the leaks will have left a decent sheen on the pan - but keep an eye on the garlic so that it doesn't burn. As the mushrooms cook down, they'll (ideally) leak moisture into the pan so the garlic doesn't dry out, but such things are fickle. 

This is a good time to preheat the oven to 395f (or 200c if you can use the word "chuffed" in a sentence). Toss a large baking sheet in there to heat along with the oven, and clear a (lightly floured) space on your counter to roll out your dough.

Working slowly, flatten the chilled dough-ball on the counter with a rolling pin, enjoying the wonderful smells around you. Roll it out to a thin pie crust, probably a scant 1/4 inch. You want it to be a bit bigger than a dinner plate. Once it's there, transfer it to a sheet of parchment paper, but leave it on the counter for now.

The mushrooms & garlic should be done around the same time as your crust, so transfer them to the bowl of leeks, add a bit of oil to the pan (if needed) and then cook the onions. Again, low/medium heat will work just fine.

While the onions caramelize, prep the cheese. Start with parmesan - you're looking for 80g of parmesan (or 3 ounces) as well as about 140g of a soft and creamy cheese (5 ounces) - I used a package of Boursin since it was getting old, but goat cheese would work great here too. Grate the parmesan, and break the soft cheese up into smallish chunks.

The onions probably still need time, so give them a stir and prep your egg wash by cracking an egg into a small bowl, whisking it, and tracking down a pastry brush.

When the onions are ready (I cook the tar out of onions, since I prefer them to be a bit noodlish) you can add all the other vegetables to the pan. Add in a sprinkling of flour to help it thicken. Stir that all together, add in the cheeses, and pour in about half a pint of heavy cream (about a cup). Let all of that melt together for a bit, stirring frequently, until the cream is absorbed. 

Dump the filling to the center of your pie crust, then fold the crust partway up around it, working around the sides and leaving the center open. Brush the crust with your egg wash, then carefully transfer the pie (You can use the parchment paper to "slide" the pie) onto your preheated baking sheet.

Just look at that wonderfulness. Oozing creamy, cheesy vegetables.

Let the pie cook for about 40 minutes, then allow 10 more for it to cool. Enjoy!