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 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.