The moments where you really get into the rhythm and flow produce a gameplay experience that's akin to euphoria that kind of synesthesia that causes your heart to pound and soul to soar. Beautifully crafted in every way, with music, visuals and gameplay combined to create an intoxicating loop that seeps into your eyes, ears and veins in a way that will have you replaying each level over and over just for the thrill of it – and possibly a gold rank. After all, no-one is really happy with a bronze rank, are they? This is as much an ode to the gaming industry and its history as it is to our emotions, and our lust for love.Īnd of course, because this is a game, there are high scores to get, rankings to obtain between bronze and gold, and mastering each level becomes a dance routine that you must learn to really succeed. Heck, there's even a point where you're racing across the visor of a VR headset. Nods to Luminez and Rez make way for Space Invaders and Jet Set Radio.

'Something that really stands out is the vast array of video game references'īut something that really stands out is the vast array of video game references. I'm not entirely clear whether it's just the one romance that she's lamenting, but as someone who's had her fair share of heartbreak, it plays out like she's replaying every swell of love and crushing heartbreak that she's ever experienced in her life in one 45-minute gameplay experience.

The narrative will have you weaving through 24 levels of varying length and intensity, telling the tale of a young woman who's had her heart broken. This is not a rhythm action game like any other, and it almost feels redundant to call it that. Because of that, it means Sayonara Wild Hearts hits me straight in the feels as hard as I'm about to send our heroine into the back of a bus. It's story that's been repeated throughout my life, and every time I hear Claire de Lune I'm reminded of my mother's anguish at her passing. After the opening cinematic, a twinkly, lo-fi version of Claire de Lune is blasting through my TV speakers, and as my skateboarding character soars through the air, I'm reminded of stories of my maternal grandmother playing the very same piece – bar the techno influences – on the piano. There are tears in my eyes minutes after starting Sayonara Wild Hearts. Support Sayonara Wild Hearts by voting for it in the Golden Joystick Awards.

Sayonara wild heart