Sayonara Wild Hearts
Before making this year’s mind-bending mystery game Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, developer Simogo made a big splash in 2019 with its vaporwave rhythm adventure Sayonara Wild Hearts. Billed as a pop album video game, Sayonara Wild Hearts feels unlike anything else, and is more akin to a dream or a particularly trippy listening session.
Each level is set to a different song, which make up the game/album’s track list. Most of these levels take the form of an endless runner in which you move to avoid obstacles and collect hearts. There are boss fights peppered in as well, and everything incorporates rhythm inputs to the beat. It’s all a fast-paced fever dream that you only really begin to appreciate when you fully immerse yourself in the visual and sonic overload going on. To make the package sweeter, the game can be completed in about an hour, just about the runtime of a solid album with a hefty helping of bangers.
