Allison Weiss
Game Designer & Artist
Sayonara Wild Hearts
Designed and Developed By Simogo
Published by Annapurna Interactive
Guys, no joke. This is my new favorite game. I do not say that lightly, especially because as I say this, I feel a deep guilt as if other games might feel neglected. But this game checks all my boxes: in aesthetics, soundtrack, in its simple and inviting gameplay mechanics that hide complex variations in style, and bisexual biker gangs with dance fights (which is something I somehow didn’t realize I needed so badly). Not only is it an exemplary game, but after looking into Simogo’s blog post on its development, I found that it also greatly appeals to my philosophical approach to game design. So I’m going to get into all of these wonderful things and more, below!
Its Many Inspirations
Here’s a quick list of Sayonara Wild Heart’s many inspirations, straight from Simogo’s blog:
“Sayonara Wild Hearts is a soup made of pop-culture. It’s OutRun, the teddygirls sub-culture, Carly Rae Jepsen, Rez, cafe racers, WarioWare, Blümchen, the 1950s, modern dance, Akira, F-zero, Space Harrier, Sia, Gradius, the 1980s, Charli XCX, Sailor Moon, Ouendan, Tron, Rhythm Tengoku, Punch Out and a good portion of ourselves, strangeness and mysticism stuffed into a blender.”
Akira happens to be the only steelbook DVD I have ever bought, and Punch-Out the only old school Nintendo game I ever sat down to complete, so it seems I was doomed to fall for this game from the get-go.
The Sailor Moon vibes are front and center right here.
The Aesthetic
Bisexual Color Palette
When I was little I despised everything my sister liked, focusing on the color pink and chocolate. But now that I am a grown adult woman, I have realized that it is totally fine to like the color pink. And thank god I did because I have always loved hot pink and don’t want to stifle that fire. And the color palette of Sayonara Wild Hearts takes from the Bisexual Color palette, of which I am, so I feel a great pride in seeing it look so damn good!
The Bisexual flag, pictured here.
The Characters
Also, here’s a quick screencap from the end that made me really happy because this girl looks just like me. Like I actually have that guitar.
The cast of characters in Sayonara Wild Hearts consists of the player character, a woman suffering from a broken heart and gifted the power of The Fool arcana, and her enemies, some rogue arcana in the form of some extremely fashionable biker gangs, a tech wizard, and Little Death (The kid with the yellow hair pictured to the left). Going off visuals alone, this is a cast of characters of all ladies that aren’t scantily-clad, and are pulling off badass moves, both in fighting and dance battling. That alone is a feat in itself, but each character conveys a distinct personality and style without any speech!
The Gameplay
Driving around, being rad.
The controls for Sayonara are simple and play about the same regardless of the system you use, left and right to move left or right, and any button press for quicktime events. But the simplicity doesn’t hold back the variety of the stages, that switch things up and gradually build over-the-top nature. You ride every kind of vehicle from skateboards to boats to a dragon, and the maneuvers you will have to pull off while riding them increase at a fair and forgiving rate while being just difficult enough to feel a sense of achievement afterward. This in particular is the mark of a finely-tuned game, the ability to teach and introduce new obstacles without interrupting the game’s flow.
A nice touch on top of that arises when the game provides more difficult obstacles to overcome, like the high-speed highway stage where you have to maneuver with quick turns or crash into the rails. I died a lot before I got the hang of the stage, and after around the fourth time the narrator, voiced by Queen Latifah, asked me if I wanted to skip that portion of the level. Now I said no, but giving players the option to just move beyond what is giving them trouble is an excellent way to minimize rage-quitting. By making the challenges optional, the game allows you to really play what you want, when you want.
Soundtrack and Rhythm
Click on the above image to check out the soundtrack on Daniel Olsén’s Spotify
The soundtrack may just be the real star of Sayonara, and I can honestly say that I have been listening to it on loop since I finished the game. Aside from them being “absolute bops”, as some friends of mine would put it, they match up to the intended rhythm of your movements in the stages. So when you hit the quicktime presses at just the right moment it will sync up with the tempo and feel especially satisfying. But this works both ways, as getting a feel for the rhythm and tempo of the song will help you gain a sense of how you should be timing your maneuvers, as well.
When I first started the game up and it played the title song, I knew I was in for a treat. Little did I know, it was only the appetizer for a tasty feast for my ears.
It All Comes Together to Make Something Amazing
When the stunning and fashionable characters and stages come together with the tight gameplay and awesome pop soundtrack, the experience exceeds being the mere sum of its parts. For example, there is a stage set in a winter forest where the chill music will swell and get hushed just before the drop to the chorus, and then blast an awesome melody as a massive three-headed wolf mech chases your tail, further emphasizing the thrill of the moment. And that thrill is the coolest part of playing Sayonara Wild Hearts, where it really feels like a larger-than-life adventure where you are the hero. When you kick ass, you do it with style, flare, and some awesome beats, and you don’t need a million buttons or combos to do it.
Three-headed wolf mech pictured here.
The Development Behind It
A cool idea, that was given the time and effort it deserved
When I looked into the development process behind Sayonara Wild Hearts, I looked at Simogo’s blog page (which I have linked at the bottom of this webpage). More than anything described in other reviews about aesthetic, hearing what the designers had to say about their approach to making Sayonara resonated with me. *Gotta not use resonate so much* Now, I’m not the best at games, so I don’t go out of my way to play difficult games that require “skill” or “effort”, or make me throw away hours or days of my life. As such it feels natural that my own approach to game design wouldn’t involve me making such games. Sayonara Wild Hearts fulfills my desire for a quick fun game, but also allows me to take on its challenging stages if I so choose. If I choose not to do something that’s giving me trouble, I don’t have to muddle my way through and can skip all the stress. This quality was by design, and I appreciate that almost more than being able to identify with the characters.
Gonna take some direct quotes here:
“Why are we actively pushing people out of this amazing thing we love? Why can’t there be amazing looking 3D games that aren’t operated by 12 buttons and 2 sticks simultaneously? Why can’t there be awesome action games without convoluted systems? And, most importantly: Why do we keep on putting the same type of characters (dudes dudes dudes and more dudes) in them?”
Yes to this. A million percent yes. This take isn’t made often enough in games, and I am overjoyed to see it so brilliantly executed.
To Get To The Point…
This Game Rules. Go buy it, or borrow a copy from a friend. Play it, Or Tell Random People About It, Like I am, Right Now.
Sayonara Wild Hearts is out now, on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Mac and Apple Arcade. I really loved playing it, and it only took me about day to get gold on the stages (cause my stubborn ass refused to move on to the next level until I got the current one done perfectly). I hope you enjoy it, too!
Here is the link to Simogo’s blog page, check it out!
http://simogo.com/2018/12/07/sayonara-wild-hearts/
Ally Weiss 