We Prefer the Masquerade

Sayonara Wild Hearts wastes no time earning its reputation as “a pop album video game.” From the title screen on, the score is up-beat and catchy¹, the visuals are vibrant and evocative, and the setting is mysterious but familiar. Also just like my favorite pop albums, this game won me over before I could articulate what makes it special.

Although it may initially seem like a typical rhythm game, it actually offers tons of variety in gameplay–including sequences of drift racing, rail shooting, and even shmup. Such variety ruins long skills-based games that try it, but it can enhance shorter and artistically-motivated experiences.

It likewise took me some time to recognize the strength of the animation. In my defense, it’s tough to understand the game’s subtler details when you’re focused on claiming hearts. I enthusiastically watched friends play it from start to finish a couple times, though, and that gave me the opportunity to appreciate how energetically (and absurdly) the heroine moves as she rides longboards, motorcycles, boats, convertibles, and wild animals.

Animation: Simogo

Preparing to write this essay got me thinking about the last rhythm game I beat, Thumper. I’ve never played two games which are more antithetical. Visually, Sayonara is specific where Thumper is ambiguous. Thematically, it’s hopeful rather than dreadful. Temperamentally, it’s encouraging rather than punishing. Sonically, it’s catchy rather than hypnotic. Interactively, it’s playful rather than precise. Sayonara Wild Hearts is an almost perfect foil to Thumper’s aggressive ethos, and (much as I enjoyed Thumper), I think it’s a superior game for it.

More than anything, though, Sayonara Wild Hearts impressed me with its blending of “cute” and “badass.” So much modern media drums up a tension between these aesthetics: to be cute is to be sincere and vulnerable, but to be badass is to be self-aware and strong. Presumably there’s a whole world of art that challenges this dichotomy, but this game is singular for me. It presents the player-character as simultaneously powerful and sensitive, authentic and cool.

Reading that back, it doesn’t sound so remarkable even to me, but those moments have made me emotional every time I’ve played or watched the game. That’s why I’ve been so excited to share it with others, and whenever possible, to experience it alongside them. Give me a call when you play, and I’ll probably join you, too.