Sayonara Wild Hearts

I’ve heard Sayonara Wild Hearts referred to as a playable electropop concept album, and that description is both right on the money and selling the game short. The outstanding soundtrack ripples through neon gameplay reminiscent of Rez and Audiosurf, while tarot-powered characters, weapons, and vehicles advance a story of rediscovering self-worth with a uniquely female perspective that gaming needs more than ever. This is the kind of game that makes me look at everything else on the market and wonder what the fuck their excuse is. The mix of retro and modern game design is sublime; the story can be experienced by any reasonably cognizant person, but achieving decent ranks requires unbroken chains of elegant pattern exploitation. The controls feel a little loose, and there are pseudo-quick time events that feel beneath the rest of the game, but only because the rest of the game is so exhilarating and mesmerizing.