Sayonara Wild Hearts Review: A Study in Bisexual Surrealism

I read an article or heard a podcast saying that Sayonara Wild Hearts is big bisexual energy. After about four hours of riding motorcycles and fighting female biker gangs I wanted to add a qualifier, it is neon surreal big bisexual energy. You play as a woman whose heart broke so much it altered space and time. Now she must collect hearts and beat the bad guys represented by the major arcana. Sometimes you ride a motorcycle through city streets dodging fireballs, others you are surfing on a giant card in a tunnel of heartbreak.

The surreal aesthetics gives it a very unique and attractive style. Neon blues, purples, and pinks light up the screen as you zip around in various levels. The Nintendo online store page describes Sayonara Wilds Hearts as, “A pop Album Video Game”. The main game is about an hour or so long however, I still keep going back in every so often to play. I am determined to get a gold rank in every single song. Everything about it is hyper stylized and the music syncs up perfectly with the action (if it didn’t the game would not work at all).

Sayonara Wild Heats plays as an on the rails action experience. You can move side to side, up and down, or other combinations depending on what freedom the levels give you. I had issues with determining whether or not I am lined up with the hearts I want to collect. The pace at which some obstacles pop up can be too fast to even react. Eventually I figured out how to navigate the levels. The environment and colors simultaneously pop out and muddle the background.

However, none of this really took away from the uniqueness of the game. One level you ride a deer through a forest, another you battle androgynous twins creating two parallel universes to navigate through. It all feels like a fun fever dream that you would give brief moment of excitement in a world of misery.

What brings this all together is a wonderful soundtrack that I am woefully inadequate to describe. Then music feels like a chill European pop experience. Some of the songs really slap. It is possible my husband is starting to tire of listening to the album in the car, but I drive so I get to choose the music. “Begin Again” is a song that constantly pops into my head when I am writing or do other work. However, “Dead of Night” is such a standout that I consider it the strongest out of the soundtrack.

However, there was one surprising aspect to the game that I cannot get over. The narrator for the story is Queen Latifa. It truly launches an already surreal experience into the stratosphere. Even more amazing they recorded her lines in one day just a few weeks before the game came out. Hearing her say “Gold Rank” brings me joy.

This game’s experience is short. And not everyone will be like me who absolutely loves the music. If you are on the fence maybe hearing a song or two will help you out? The gameplay is not too hard nor is it complicated so even newly dubbed gaymers will be able to enjoy it. Overall Simgo’s newest game is simple, poppy, stylish, and best of all, unabashedly itself. The game combines styles from many weird titles but this is such a wholly unique experience that I keep enjoying.

Queer Factor:

Well, this game is queer as hell. The protagonist is a bisexual woman. There is a kissing part and you kiss people of all genders. Even though the words bisexual are never brought up, the game is a clear as day in regards to the protagonist.