{"id":100405,"date":"2019-09-18T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/sayonara_wild_hearts"},"modified":"2019-09-18T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T15:00:00","slug":"review-sayonara-wild-hearts-a-marvellous-music-driven-masterpiece","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2019\/09\/18\/review-sayonara-wild-hearts-a-marvellous-music-driven-masterpiece\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Sayonara Wild Hearts &#8211; A Marvellous, Music-Driven Masterpiece"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/sayonara_wild_hearts\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/switch-eshop\/sayonara_wild_hearts\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<div id>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/99341\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/99341\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The Switch isn\u2019t exactly lacking in short, artistic games that grab your attention for a scant couple of hours, unleash all \u2018the feels\u2019 (as the kids say) then wander off into the sunset, leaving you dumbstruck at what you\u2019ve just played. <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/gris\">Gris<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/gone_home\">Gone Home<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/what_remains_of_edith_finch\">What Remains of Edith Finch<\/a><\/strong> are just three examples of Switch games that provide these short but highly concentrated journeys that stay with you far longer than they take to beat. You can now happily add <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/sayonara_wild_hearts\">Sayonara Wild Hearts<\/a><\/strong> to this acclaimed list because while it\u2019s a short game, it\u2019s one you <em>really<\/em> have to experience.<\/p>\n<p>Experience is the right word here, by the way. Although Sayonara Wild Hearts absolutely is a video game in every sense of the word \u2013 it\u2019s split into 20-odd levels, there are items to collect and obstacles to avoid, and you\u2019re given a score at the end \u2013 it\u2019s also a <em>ride<\/em>. It may always be clear what your overall goal is, but the way this goal is presented to you is constantly changing, in the best possible way.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/99339\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/99339\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>To go into too much detail would be to spoil part of the game\u2019s essence: half the fun here is starting a new level and letting out a <em>wee<\/em> swear word \u2013 not an angry one, but an awe-inspired one, probably with <em>\u201cohhh\u201d<\/em> before it \u2013 as you realise how the game\u2019s managed to transform its basic mechanic into yet another different style. Whether you\u2019re on a skateboard, a motorbike, a sports car, a horse, and whether you\u2019re travelling through a forest, a city, the skies or some abstract Escher style world, twisting and morphing under your feet as the camera swoops around (all at a flawless 60 frames per second), you might want to put a little net in front of your mouth to stop flies taking advantage of your constantly-dropped jaw.<\/p>\n<p>Now that we\u2019re verging on <em>\u201cit\u2019s so good you\u2019ll accidentally swallow insects\u201d<\/em> territory, let\u2019s calm down a bit and look at what we\u2019re <em>actually<\/em> dealing with here. Sayonara Wild Hearts tells the story of a young woman whose heart has been broken, and takes you on her emotional journey as she tries to come to terms with it and eventually move on with her life. As with many short, artistic games, a lot of the plot here is open to interpretation: you make of the protagonist\u2019s journey what you want to make of it. After all, when you\u2019re on a motorbike shooting at a giant three-headed robot wolf, it\u2019s not like the parallels with a relationship breakdown are immediately obvious. Actually, maybe they are.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98899\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98899\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>The actual game element of Sayonara Wild Hearts is straightforward enough. Each stage is on rails and has you collecting a series of hearts and various other glowing power-ups, each with varying points values. Your initial aim is simply to collect as many of them as you can and avoid the various obstacles thrown at you until you reach the end of the stage. Occasionally, you\u2019ll get <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/ds\/elite_beat_agents\">Elite Beat Agents<\/a><\/strong>-style rhythm prompts \u2013 you know the sort, where the circle shrinks and you press a button at the right time \u2013 but these are <em>extremely<\/em> lenient.<\/p>\n<p>This is not a game that wants you to fail, at least on a basic level. You <em>absolutely<\/em> can die, and the incredibly high speed of the action combined with the slightly twitchy controls means there are a few sections later in the game that can be a little tricky to navigate. But each time you die, the game simply rewinds back a few seconds and lets you try it again, and again, <em>and again<\/em>. And if you still can\u2019t do it a prompt will come up asking you if you just want to skip that bit. After all, there\u2019s a break-up to get over here, and there\u2019s no way this game is going to let its heroine fail to reach the closure she needs.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98893\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98893\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>Before the self-appointed \u2018hardcore\u2019 gamers \u2013 the ones with the final stage of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nes\/super_mario_bros_the_lost_levels\">Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels<\/a><\/strong> tattooed on their small intestine \u2013 start complaining that this is another example of games pandering to non-gamers, sit down and relax. Beating the game and reaching its ending is something everyone will be able to manage, but that doesn\u2019t mean there isn\u2019t still a challenge to be found here. Clearing a stage is one thing, but clearing each one with a gold rank is a whole different story.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the idea: each time you collect an item without dying, the next one is worth more points. For example, the first small heart you collect is only worth 1 point, but the next is worth 2, then 3 and so on. If you can stay alive and collect as many of these hearts as possible, you\u2019ll eventually get to the point where you\u2019re getting 153, 154, 155 points each time. Add to this the larger power-ups \u2013 which also multiply in value but to a greater degree \u2013 and the extra points you get for timing the rhythm bits perfectly, and the high score potential is obvious here. The catch is that dying resets the counter, meaning you drop back down to 1 point for the next heart again; the aim for a high score and potential gold rank, then, is to collect as much as you can without dying.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98902\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98902\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>This is much easier said than done. Everything zooms by at an extremely fast pace here, and the visual spectacle can sometimes make navigation trickier than you\u2019d initially expect. Many of the game\u2019s beautiful, neon-soaked stages are littered with set-pieces, often morphing and transforming your entire environment while you\u2019re still on the move. Add to this the occasional dramatic camera swoop and your simple task of moving around and collecting stuff suddenly becomes noticeably trickier (though never frustratingly so, crucially).<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s one main issue with Sayonara Wild Hearts. It\u2019s one that eventually resolves itself, but by that point, the initial damage has been done to an extent. The game is described by its developers as a &#8220;playable pop album&#8221;, and that\u2019s absolutely accurate: for better <em>and<\/em> worse. This happens to be one of those albums that have little intermission tracks, which means a number of the game\u2019s 23 stages are far too short and end just as you feel like you\u2019re about to get into things. It\u2019s especially annoying when you consider how deeply immersive this game is; having that immersion cut off abruptly \u2013 sometimes after less than a minute \u2013 so you can be given your score for that brief section and get dumped back to a level select screen can be <em>really<\/em> jarring.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98895\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/98895\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Sayonara Wild Hearts Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\"><\/a><\/aside>\n<p>There\u2019s an unlockable spoiler in this paragraph, so move onto the conclusion if you don\u2019t want to know it. Still with us? Well, this issue is thankfully addressed when you clear every stage for the first time and unlock Album Arcade mode. This takes all 23 stages and joins them together, giving you one glorious, unbroken journey with a single high score. It\u2019s only at this point that you truly appreciate what that \u201cplayable pop album\u201d description means; the whole game itself only takes around 45-50 minutes to beat in this way, but the incredible electro-pop music merges with the unbroken action in a way we haven\u2019t seen since <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/games\/ps4\/rez_infinite\" class=\"external\">Rez<\/a><\/strong>. Play it in handheld mode with headphones on and it\u2019s almost spiritual at times. It\u2019s just a shame that you have to play through it in a broken-up manner first; after all, you only get one opportunity to make a first impression.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"conclusion\">\n<h2 class=\"heading\">Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>Sayonara Wild Hearts is the video game equivalent of Prince: it\u2019s extremely short and its journey maybe ends a little sooner than you\u2019d hoped, but it packs so many varied and beautiful ideas into its brief life and masters so many different styles that even though there\u2019s a real disappointment it\u2019s over so quickly, what it did give you will remain with you for an extremely long time. A true creative masterpiece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Switch isn\u2019t exactly lacking in short, artistic games that grab your attention for a scant couple of hours, unleash all \u2018the feels\u2019 (as the kids say) then wander off into the sunset, leaving you dumbstruck at what you\u2019ve just played. Gris, Gone Home and What Remains of Edith Finch are just three examples of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}