Sayonara Wild Hearts Critic Reviews

Truly incredible, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a pop-culture gem that celebrates music and games in a passionately individual way. There has never been anything else quite like it, and if you have even a passing interest in gaming’s inherent value you need to play it. And then play it again.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is an utterly gorgeous experience, and it looks, plays, and sounds fantastic on the Switch. A game on the surface and a pop album at its core, in what is perhaps the most effective and interesting blend of entertainment mediums I've ever seen. With stylish visuals, an incredible soundtrack, and simple yet inventive game mechanics, Sayonara Wild Hearts is simply a must-have.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is the kind of game which opens my eyes to new possibilities that games can provide, and I’m desperately awaiting this style of design to properly take off.

Ultimately Sayonara Wild Hearts will be a permanent fixture on my Switch console (as well as my iPhone, as this title is one of the launch titles for Apple’s Apple Arcade service). While the Fool’s journey is a relatively short one, it will be extremely revisitable as one can strive to get the gold rank scores as well as collect all the diamonds strewn across the levels. Why wouldn’t you, with an excellent soundtrack and superb visual design, I couldn’t find a better way to pass the time.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is more than a game for me. It's a catharsis vessel. It's a story of self-love. It's a reminder that some things break but that doesn't make us broken. It was once a dream and now forever a memory. It's transcendent and undying, but, of course, it is. Wild Hearts Never Die.

It’s tough to review a game that is generally regarded as unarguably excellent, but to any of the people still holding back on Sayonara Wild Hearts, I urge you to jump in. There isn’t a single element of it that hasn’t been crafted with love and care, and its pop-centric soundtrack is brought together by some really fun gameplay. It is absolutely essential.

Short, sweet, and simple, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a package of positivity, with music and visuals that will sure to win anyone over.

While you can easily compare Sayonara Wild Hearts to other stylish rhythm games - Rhythm Heaven, Thumper, and Rez came to my mind while playing - the precise spectacle makes it stand out from similar works. This is a full-length interactive music video that exudes joy. It’s the absurdity and wonder of some Eurovision performances made playable. Like a good record from a band I like, I’ll spin this game often. That makes the secrets beneath the surface more appealing as Sayonara Wild Hearts might be one of my favorite music albums of the year in addition to being a killer video game experience.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is like Pop Rocks: The Game. It’s a delicious and surprising visual and audio journey that constantly changes rhythms and mechanics before disappearing rather quickly in a glamorous, flavor-filled explosion.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is the video game equivalent of Prince: it’s extremely short and its journey maybe ends a little sooner than you’d hoped, but it packs so many varied and beautiful ideas into its brief life and masters so many different styles that even though there’s a real disappointment it’s over so quickly, what it did give you will remain with you for an extremely long time. A true creative masterpiece.

Everything works in concert in Sayonara Wild Hearts. It’s sublime.

Sayonara Wild Hearts can compete with stars such as Robyn, Carly Rae Jepsen and Tove Lo. That may sound strange, but as an interactive pop album there's no bigger compliment.

Let it be known that one needs to really play Sayonora Wild Hearts in order to truly experience it. Everything here describing the game honestly can’t do it justice. The graphics are a pure blast of neon joy and the soundtrack is absolutely stellar, but when combined with simple yet addictive gameplay that takes so many wonderful twists and turns, it creates this sort of trippy experience that you only see once in a blue moon. This is easily some of Simogo’s best work and should not be missed out on. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to play this album over and over again just for the tunes alone. “Wild hearts never die, wild hearts never die…”

Visually marvelous and musically infectious, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a unique experience unlike almost anything else out there. It may not be for everyone, but for a certain audience, it's going to be dynamite.

With a world of neon-clad cyberpunk aesthetics, fast-paced action and an enthralling soundtrack, Sayonara Wild Hearts delivers a riveting experience that will make the player want so much more, as the game's only frustration derives from the short length of each level. Sayonara Wild Hearts demonstrates how a remarkable game does not need to borrow from the AAA formula of colossal worlds and hundred-hour gameplay experiences when something so bright and enveloping is enough.

In a catalogue festooned with gems, this wild heart glitters brightest of all.

This colorful escape couldn't have come at a better time.

Sayonara Wild Hearts isn't particularly long, but the catchy pop score and variety of levels give you a decent challenge.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is a quick but intense ride through a landscape that's been made dangerous and jagged by broken hearts and pop music. Its unusual style makes the road hard to see from time to time, but people who love Simogo's games will love riding with The Fool.

Sayonara Wild Hearts is much more than the rhythm game it looks like: it is a whrilwind of visuals and sounds, where electro-pop music depicts a wild chase, sets in a neon-looking city. As short as it is intense, this experience is like no other, and find its inspiration in many genres. Like a good LP, it will plays over and over, until you know it by heart.