Sayonara Wild Hearts is a unique rhythm-based runner game about skateboarding, motorbiking, dance battling, shooting lasers, saving a girl's heart and saving the world. Read our full review of the game to see if you jive with its vibe or not.
Sayonara Wild Hearts Game Review and Score Explanation
Sayonara Wild Hearts Game Score Explanation
| Overall | Sayonara Wild Hearts is marketed by its developers as a “Pop Album Video Game”, and it definitely is! But as immersive as the game is, and as much as it actually feels like you’re playing through a full-length album, Sayonara Wild Hearts comes up short in the mechanics and replayability department. That said, it’s still a good game to pick up to fill your time with, and it absolutely delivers where it promises to be fresh and engaging. |
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| Story | The game’s story is jam-packed with abstract concepts and ideas, such as the disruption of the fabric of time and space due to a broken heart, Divine Arcana, Tarots, Zodiac Signs, and magical transformations. But the very core of the story can be tied up as inadvertently saving your heart from falling apart while saving the world from further discord. It’s a good one, it’s a classic, and it’s a comforting thing to see in a very cerebral video game art concept. |
| Gameplay | Sayonara Wild Hearts puts a spin on the runner game formula by incorporating rhythm-based movement. The game doesn’t ask much from you aside from moving the arrow keys to dodge obstructions, and pressing the quick-time button at the right moment. Likewise, movement is limited to the stages’ linear paths, but the animation makes up for it, as some stages will transform and change directions, sometimes in the middle of a song. The camera angles change at times as well, and so you’ll have to reorient yourself. Some tracks make you feel like you can’t catch your breath, while other stages offer you room to breathe a little and take in the intricate visuals. Aside from musical and tempo-keeping sensibilities, hand-eye coordination is an absolute must! |
| Visuals | The game’s visuals are cool, no doubt, but there are a lot of intricacies and symbolism here that tie in with the overarching theme perfectly that are fun to catch. The settings also change from stage to stage, set props morph and transform along with the map, glowing hearts and diamonds are laid out for you to collect, all of this taking place while our heroine moves at neckbreak speed. It becomes a bit too much at times, maybe even borderlining sensory overload, but Sayonara Wild Hearts is anything but apologetic for it. The entire setting feels alive as it thumps to the music’s beat, and it’s not always that a small game just gets you to…feel. Like your blood is actually moving, and your heart is thrumming along to the moving, vibrant setting. It’s a visual treat. Although, I do want to stress that this is not recommended for photosensitive and epileptic people! |
| Audio | 100% here for it, from the soundtrack to Queen Latifah’s voice-over. Queen Latifah’s narration provides comforting and equally powerful guidance to the crazy universe of Sayonara Wild Hearts, balanced out the game’s more upbeat pop soundtrack. |
| Value for Money | The game costs around $12.99, and a whole lot less on sale, and is packed with stunning visuals and a whole music album to boot. So really, you’re kind of getting a 3 for 1 deal. Although the game is relatively short with 23 stages, totaling around 90-120 minutes to complete, it is a game you can easily pick up and get back into from the start. It’s not tiring to play, and once you really get into the rhythm of it and learn the patterns, the game becomes mildly addictive. |
Sayonara Wild Hearts Review: Pop Music, Art, and a Broken Heart
Sayonara Wild Hearts is a visually stunning game accompanied by an equally engaging soundtrack. Strobes of pulsating neon lights, a girl cruising through highways at neckbreak speed, dapper all-girl bike gangs, mystical creatures, and meaningful music tracks, all carefully laid out and displayed in this journey of a girl who’s going through a rough, rough break up.
It’s a great game to pick up when you just want to put your mind elsewhere, or if you’re going through a rough time yourself. The game is a fresh take on runner games with its rhythm-focused gameplay, Bubblegum Pop soundtrack, and a universal message on love and romance.
Sayonara Wild Hearts Full Game Review
Pros of Sayonara Wild Hearts
| Things Sayonara Wild Hearts Got Right |
|---|
 Stunning Art Direction and Aesthetics Simple, No Pressure Gameplay Soundtrack That’s Banger After Banger Beautifully Delivered Message |
Stunning Art Direction and Aesthetics
Sayonara Wild Hearts opens with a scene of a falafel deli basked in a purple-blue hued sky,, setting the tone of the entire game. Out comes a girl with her skateboard donning neon-colored wheels. We find out, through Queen Latifah’s narration, that this girl has gotten her heart broken so violently that her sorrow echoed through time and space.
She lies in bed, specks of neon littered throughout her personal belongings in the bedroom, and from the get-go, it all feels magical. A glowing neon butterfly lands on the girl and suddenly we are transported to another dimension. This is just a glimpse of the wild dance between the city and the girl that will erupt on your screen later.
The game is unapologetic with its use of bright, booming, and pulsating colors. In Sayonara Wild Hearts, we enter a world of fast-paced chasing and catchy pop music. It also features very distinct anime-like themes, from magical transformations reminiscent of Sailor Moon, to stand-offs between the protagonist and villains a la any RPG you can think of.
The blue backdrop of Sayonara Wild Hearts is the perfect canvas for our journey through heartbreak, as we pick up our hearts (literally in the game), and get reminded of all the different colors that we can let back into our world, speck by speck, as we get better and move on.
Simple, No Pressure Gameplay
Sometimes, you just want to hang back and play a game that doesn’t demand much concentration or energy. This is one of those games.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is pretty straight-forward in its gameplay and very forgiving. It’s a simple runner game where you speed through the city and pick up hearts for points, (here comes the ‘but’, though) but you have to move in time to the music as the directions of the linear path in the map change.
Just as in life, you’ll need to face the music. Thank God in the game, you get second chances–and a third, and fourth. Or if you’re like me who can’t move their thumbs fast enough, maybe five or more. There’s no failing in this game as it lets you restart right from where you fell or where you hit a wall while chasing a biker gang. Fail enough times and the game takes mercy on you by asking if you’d like to skip a certain part that you just can’t get past.
At times, you’ll be on a skateboard. Other times you’ll be speeding through the city on a motorbike or a giant, floating tarot card. In general though, each level will feature a different track and a different whip, letting you net points by amassing hearts.
At the end of each level, you’ll get ranked as Bronze, Silver, or Gold, based on how many hearts you’ve picked up. It doesn’t matter if you get ranked or not in the end, however, as the game and story just goes on! This simple, no pressure gameplay shows that its main goal is telling you a story and a message.
Banger After Banger Soundtrack
The soundtrack is a huge part of Sayonara Wild Heart’s appeal, and the entire musical score is actually custom-made for the game. The carefully curated music mirrors both the blue hues of the game and the livelier, pulsating, neon colors. The music ties in with the chaos of the game in such a way that you’ll only hear the mellower songs in the “Heartbreak” stages that are devoid of people, your adversaries, and all the hypnotic colors in the other stages. Once the game bursts back into life, bubblegum pop plays in the background as you speed forward all fired up in the fast lane.
At moments, it feels like you are playing through an animated music video, as it’s easy to get lost in the accompanying track. Each drop and weave is synced perfectly in time to the music.
Beautifully Delivered Message
In addition to its easy gameplay, curated aesthetics, and soundtrack, the game also has a beautifully delivered message on love and romance.
Sayonara Wild Hearts cleverly shows the internal violence that ensues in our hearts. The game captures the long road we take in getting back up and putting our hearts back together so we can finally move on.
Simogo, the game’s developer, did a little nudge-nudge-wink-wink with the amassing hearts mechanic, which can be a metaphor for our protagonist’s way of fixing her own broken heart. The battles and stand-offs against those stylish groups of girls out to get you is, in a sense, you fighting off the ghosts of your past loves.
It’s not always easy to vanquish the world of those who are out to cause greater imbalance, nor is it to quell your heart’s sorrows, but you always have to put in the work and put some color back in the blue backdrop of the world.
Cons of Sayonara Wild Hearts
| Things That Sayonara Wild Hearts Can Improve |
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Low Replayability Value Epileptic Trigger Warning |
Low Replayability Value
Unless you’ve gotten absolutely obsessed with the game’s soundtrack, or if you just want to chill, I find that there’s little reason to replay the game. Aside from maybe beating your personal high scores or revisiting the story, there is no real incentive to come back and ace Sayonara Wild Hearts.
The graphics are cool and hypnotizing, the experimentality of the game’s system is definitely a fresh take on runner games, and the music is chef’s kiss, but that’s pretty much it. There are no in-store purchases, DLC to expand the game, nor post-game content. The game also doesn’t give you the option to change difficulties. After all the coolness bursting through the screen, all you’ll leave with is a good life lesson.
Epileptic Trigger Warning
One thing I hope for this game to change is for it to put a content warning for epileptic triggers. This game is flashy and constantly bombards your vision with exploding colors and animations.
For those who experience epilepsy or similar conditions, you might want to lay off this game. There’s no setting to change the visuals to tone down the graphics. Even the start menu is literally thumping and popping to the music’s beat.
Sayonara Wild Hearts Overview & Premise
Officially marketed as a ‘Pop Album Video Game’, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm-based runner game about speeding through the city, sword-wielding, fighting off girl gangs and magical creatures, collecting hearts, and restoring harmony to the universe.
The game follows an unnamed young woman who’s just gotten her heart broken so violently,, her sorrow echoed through the universe. A diamond butterfly appears in her dreams and transports her to a different dimension. She turns into her other persona, a masked biker, called The Fool.
As it turns out, The Fool is a heroine created by the universe’s overseers,, The Divine Arcana Trio, from the shards of a broken heart. They’ve placed their hopes in this young woman, hoping that she’ll save their world from a cursed arcanum, its allies, and all their vile hearts and restore harmony to the universe.
Who Should Play Sayonara Wild Hearts?
Sayonara Wild Hearts is Recommended if You Enjoy:
- Night Skate
- Hi-Fi Rush
- A Musical Story
If you like creative spins on runner games, then Sayonara Wild Hearts might just be for you. People who enjoy flashy graphics and good music are in for a treat with this game as well. The music, animations, and art directions are highly commendable. A mystical lore is set and all you really have to do is get into the groove, press arrow keys, time your button presses to dodge and weave through obstructions, and enjoy the audio-visual treat.
Is Sayonara Wild Hearts Worth It?
Definitely Worth the Few Bucks!
While Sayonara Wild Hearts is not necessarily action-packed, nor does it have highly engaging gameplay, it still is a good game to pick up if you want to do something with your idle thumbs. It’s a great, euphoric game to pick up and fill your time with.
The music and art direction do a lot to incentivize the game. It’s as if you’re also paying for a whole concept art/music album. It’s packed with amazing visuals, a whole curated pop album, and a nice message for us humans who go through… a lot of stuff.
While the whole game is linear and doesn’t have mini-games, you can always come back and replay each level even if you haven’t finished the entire game. If you’re a perfectionist who wants all Gold ranks in each level, you can play to your heart’s content.
How Sayonara Wild Hearts Matches Up to Recently-Released Games
| Games That Came Out Recently | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
 Hi-Fi Rush |
Do you want to replay that one level at any time even if you haven’t finished the game? You can’t in Hi-Fi Rush, but you absolutely can in Sayonara Wild Hearts! If, in those tiny gamer rage moments, you cannot get past the fact you got a Bronze rank (or even no rank), you can replay each level in Sayonara Wild Hearts to perfection as much as you like. You’re probably better off trying Sayonara Wild Hearts first if you’re not so keen on being the most excellent at weaving through city traffic and netting thousands of points and just simply want to move to the beat. | Sayonara Wild Hearts is very limited in its gameplay. Sure, hitting W, A, S, D can get tough, especially timing it to a beat. But there’s no platforming, combat, and absolutely no hack-and-slash here. Hi-Fi Rush gives players agency whereas Sayonara Wild Hearts lacks it. |
 Melatonin |
While Sayonara Wild Hearts is more runner, Melatonin plays more like a classic rhythm game (think Osu!). Both games have its distinct art style and music genre, however Sayonara Wild Hearts offers more diversity for your earbuds. Melatonin’s tracks are limited to a 4/4 time signature that’s played throughout the game. You have to hit the same 4 beats in all stages. It could feel very repetitive after a few chapters. If you’re looking for a music game that requires more motor skills, then definitely go with Sayonara Wild Hearts. | Both Sayonara Wild Hearts and Melatonin are in the same price range, but considering the cost-to-gameplay ratio, I have to give it to the latter. Melatonin has three modes you can play: a Practice Mode, a Scored mode where you’ll be ranked, and a Hard Mode where the music’s bpm is halved. If you’re looking to be challenged with a faster rhythm of the same track, you’ll probably have a better time with Melatonin. |
How Sayonara Wild Hearts Matches Up to Similar Games
| Games Similar to Sayonara Wild Hearts | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
 Night Skate |
If you’re looking for a faster-paced gameplay and more extravagant animation, you might want to play Sayonara Wild Hearts instead of Night Skate. Additionally, if you’re in this for the game soundtrack, Sayonara Wild Hearts is the better option as you wouldn’t have to unlock songs unlike in Night Skate. | Sayonara Wild Hearts is a linear game and each level has a start and finish. If you just want to play an endless runner, then Night Skate is the better choice. Both are enjoyable games, but each has their own flavor and vibe. |
 A Musical Story |
While both games demand you to feel the rhythm to hit the button triggers perfectly, Sayonara Wild Hearts is much more lenient and even delays the track a bit for you, although you wouldn’t be netting as many points, it doesn’t matter! You can just slide on the tracks throughout the game and still be able to have a fun time. | If you prefer a gameplay that requires to be absolutely precise, you might want to play A Musical Story instead. This game requires ear-hand coordination. A Musical Story’s gameplay relies heavily on being on beat 100% of the time. If that piques the interest of your perfectionist side, you’ll probably enjoy this game more. |
Sayonara Wild Hearts Trailer
Game8 Reviews
Sayonara Wild Hearts Product Information
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| Title | SAYONARA WILD HEARTS |
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| Release Date | September 19, 2019 |
| Developer | Simogo |
| Publisher | Annapurna Interactive |
| Supported Platforms | Nintendo Switch, PS4, Microsoft Windows, iOS, macOS, tvOS, Xbox One |
| Genre | Rhythm, runner, action |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | E |
| Official Website | Sayonara Wild Hearts Website |
