The simple interactive mechanics that the gameplay provides are easy to learn, but difficult to master. Whether on mobile, console, or desktop (and yes, I bought a copy for both my Switch and Steam libraries after experiencing it on Apple Arcade), playing Sayonara Wild Hearts is not as straightforward as it initially appears. On its surface, you might cynically write the game off as a mobile game, given the fact that it was first playable on an iPhone. It isn’t difficult to describe what kind of game that Sayonara Wild Hearts is, but I personally find it difficult to explain why it impacted me so positively. It’s a story about a young woman who fell out of love, and through a series of emotional trials, falls “back into her groove.” The only explicit story that Sayonara Wild Hearts provides bookends the story with the excellent narration by Queen Latifah. There is a narrative that threads these songs and levels together, but most of the narrative development takes place either visually or lyrically. The gameplay formula is largely iterative but I still find myself messing certain sections up – and I have played the game to completion about 10 times. Much of the gameplay is synchronized to the music, and oftentimes levels will require various button timings that will be familiar to fans of rhythm games. Sayonara Wild Hearts is an interactive album that pairs its arcade-like levels with its soundtrack. Like the game’s main character, Sayonara pulled me out of my sleepy, comfortable room, and thrust me into a nearly psychedelic headspace that didn’t relent for an entire hour. I began Sayonara Wild Hearts with tepid enthusiasm, but by the time I reached the title screen, I was already sold.

I picked it up on a whim, because Annapurna Interactive is one of my favorite publishers whose games are always excellent. Playing Sayonara Wild Hearts has been like an adrenaline needle to the heart of my now dormant love for music.

Podcasts took over my headspace, and months started to go by where I’d forget that I have an entire music library at my fingertips. But at some point throughout college, that passion died down into a hobby, which died down to where I can see dust accumulating on my instruments. For years, I felt that playing music was my life’s passion and that my career would revolve around music in some capacity. I picked up my first guitar when I was in 7th grade, and by 9th grade, I was playing concerts in my hometown with makeshift rock bands. Music has been a dominating force in my life for as long as I can remember.

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