PAX West 2019: A Lengthy Demo of Simogo’s ‘Sayonara Wild Hearts’, Which Will Be Part of Apple Arcade

Simogo is one of the most legendary developers on mobile, and their library of games that they’ve released over the past decade has run the gamut of being utterly charming with unique mechanics to games that just straight up redefined what interactive entertainment even is. I think they are geniuses, but the mobile platform hasn’t been super kind to poor Simogo. Constant software and hardware changes have made keeping their existing games up and running a headache, and the nature of pricing on the App Store means that even their most critically acclaimed titles aren’t exactly ensuring they have a secure future in game development. So in December of 2017 Simogo more or less bowed out of the mobile arena, with their new game tentatively titled Project Night Road being developed exclusively for consoles and PC. They weren’t saying they’d NEVER make a mobile game again, but they just had to try out a different strategy in a different segment of the video game world.

However, earlier this year when Apple announced their Apple Arcade subscription gaming service, Simogo’s new game, which was now called Sayonara Wild Hearts, was among the games announced that would be heading to the service. Finally mobile gamers could get excited for Simogo’s next masterpiece alongside console and PC gamers. And Sayonara Wild Hearts, to no surprise, is also shaping up to be another genre-defying piece of art from Simogo. It’s been described as a “pop album video game" and as you can see in our lengthy demo from PAX West 2019 this weekend, that seems like an apt description. The gameplay is constantly changing, the soundtrack is weaved seamlessly into the action, and the visuals feel delightfully drug-induced. It’s a total trip. Look for this one to launch alongside Apple Arcade at a date that will most likely be unveiled during Apple’s upcoming iPhone event happening September 10th.