In an alternate universe watched over by three divine arcana of the Tarot ( The High Priestess, The Hierophant, and The Empress), a cursed arcanum named Little Death ( Death), and her allies, the Dancing Devils ( The Devil), the Howling Moons ( The Moon), the Stereo Lovers ( The Lovers), and Hermit64 ( The Hermit), stole all harmony, and hid it in their hearts. Plot Sayonara Wild Hearts ' plot is based on the Major Arcana of the tarot. If the player fails to clear a section after a few tries, the game provides a means for the player to skip that section ( The Magician), only losing out on possibly earnable points. Should the player hit an obstacle or enemy projectile, they are returned to a checkpoint. The player earns points for hearts collected, timing on button presses, and avoiding obstacles, and are rated on a bronze, silver, or gold rating for each. During the levels, the player will encounter different boss encounters, which will incorporate a mix of movement and timed button presses to avoid attacks. Other levels may require the player to move a cursor on screen to target a bow-and-arrow weapon to defeat enemies, in a manner similar to Rez. In some levels, the player will be prompted to press a button in time with the soundtrack to make a jump or avoid an obstacle. The exact mechanics of each level change, but in general the player attempts to guide the character to collect hearts across the level to earn points, while avoiding obstacles. In each level, the player controls the main character as they automatically travel through a surrealistic landscape alongside a pop music soundtrack. Sayonara Wild Hearts is a rhythm game broken into 23 levels.

Gameplay One of the chase sequences in Sayonara Wild Hearts

It was met with positive reviews for its visuals, soundtrack, and gameplay, and nominated for several year-end awards. The game was released for iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and tvOS devices in September 2019, for Windows in December 2019, and for Xbox One in February 2020. Each level of the game is set to a song, with the player guiding the woman while collecting hearts, avoiding obstacles, and fighting enemies. Described as a 'pop album video game', Sayonara Wild Hearts follows the story of a heartbroken young woman through a surrealistic landscape. Sayonara Wild Hearts is a music-based action game created by Swedish developer Simogo and published by Annapurna Interactive. iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, tvOS.

Sayonara wild hearts forest ghost