STORY
Rot. Decay. A wasteland of twisted, pulsing flesh. Sakisaka Fuminori survives a terrible accident only to find himself trapped in a nightmare with no escape. His friends offer him comfort and support, but their warmth cannot reach his frozen soul. Then he meets a mysterious girl named Saya, an...
Rot. Decay. A wasteland of twisted, pulsing flesh. Sakisaka Fuminori survives a terrible accident only to find himself trapped in a nightmare with no escape. His friends offer him comfort and support, but their warmth cannot reach his frozen soul. Then he meets a mysterious girl named Saya, and little by little, his madness begins to infect the world.
ABOUT THIS GAME
From developer Nitroplus (Steins;Gate, SoniComi) and acclaimed writer Urobuchi Gen (Fate/Zero, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Psycho-Pass) comes one of the greatest visual novels ever published, Saya no Uta ~ The Song of Saya. This multimedia adventure puts you in a gripping horror romance that asks how far you are willing to go for love. Features beautiful artwork, haunting music, and a story that you'll never forget.
A REMASTERED CLASSIC
Newly remastered and updated for Windows 10 and beyond. This new version includes:
New Game Engine
Higher Quality Image Resolution
Improved Translation
Better System Compatibility with Windows 10
This software contains mature themes and graphic images that are not suitable for minors. You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase. Characters, places and events are fictional – resemblance of real-world people, places or events is purely coincidental.
All characters, models, actors, actresses and other persons that appear in any visual depiction of actual sexually explicit conduct are at least eighteen years of age or older.
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Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Not a game for the weak of heart, nor the weak of stomach. Those who can endure the near indescribable gore filled landscapes, and the often traumatic events happening to our characters, may just find a moving story about love, life, and self(ish/less)ness. Is there a Bad Ending in this game? Is there a Good Ending? Each player will probably have a different answer based on their own personal views. I won't say much more for danger of going into spoiler territory, but if you're looking for a visual novel to play for a couple sittings, and think you can handle the themes, I would highly encourage you to give this gem a go. You may not play it for long, but it will certainly stick with you for far longer than the playtime may suggest.
Full disclosure: Though I have played this game, I have not necessarily played this version of it. I purchased it from JAST after the game was talked about on Extra Creditz, many years back, before EC went off the rails and started believing that *cough* playing cops & robbers would turn you into a robber-sympathizer, so to speak.
To say that "Song of Saya" isn't for everyone is putting it mildly. It's disturbing. It features, among its story elements, murder, rape, and cannibalism. Perhaps more disturbingly, it shows you some of those things (not all!) in a context that makes you understand why the characters doing them would think it was okay. I will note that it isn't *saying* those things are okay, and definitely not encouraging, condoning, or even necessarily forgiving them. But it does offer some insights into why someone who has become deeply alienated from their peers might choose to indulge in a kind of willful ignorance if it seemed to be the only way to re-connect with someone, and perhaps find happiness again.
If you're easily offended, you shouldn't play it. If you don't feel like you have a reasonable amount of cushioning in your mental and emotional reserves, likewise. Also, frankly, if you're looking for titilation, you're probably not going to find it, here. I'm not saying the art is bad, just that it's mostly not in the service of providing the player with what most people would consider erotic.
Mostly, what you will find is a rather sad story about isolation, depression, and alienation. What it costs those who suffer from them. How even those who want to help may find their ability to intervene inadequate. It invites the player to see horror in a love story, and tragedy in the end of a relationship despite its being, quite literally, bad for everyone.
I will conclude by saying that I've never played anything quite like it, and it's stuck with me. It's inventive, thoughtful, and genuinely horrifying.
Very engrossing visual novel, though definitely disturbing at times, somewhat depressing, often intense and not for the faint of heart.
Beyond the otherworldly bizarre scenes and moments of extremely graphic violence (described or shown, at times both), there is some cannibalism in there and three rape scenes as well and while the rape scenes don't feel glorified, you do take the perspective of the rapist in all cases and are intimately privy to their thoughts (which felt gratuitous to me). It is very graphic, you have been warned.
Otherwise, the visuals are greatly done (both the beautiful and the disturbing), the soundtrack is great and at times deeply moving (and really does a lot to sell the beautiful purity that lies at the heart of the horrible in this story, I don't think they could have pulled it off without the soundtrack), the mystery that is the story is awesome to unravel and the relativity of characters' perspective is brilliantly explored in this game and is arguably its most distinctive plot point, for me anyways.
In terms of characters, I found 3 particularly interesting in this story: Saya, then another who is unfortunately only in the background of the story and a third whose full depth can only be understood by completing 2 of the 3 possible endings. The rest of the characters are somewhat plain. The main protagonist is clever, but mundane (an half-empty vessel for the player to inhabit) with a subtle undercurrent of toxic machismo and waves of coldness. The only things I liked about him were some of his clever ideas and his bond with Saya. Thankfully, you get to experience the viewpoint of other characters in the game.
So, despite the flaws, this game is a solid 4 stars for me. If it wasn't for the overly detailed, intimate and arguably pornographic depiction of rape, it would have been 5, because the story is disturbingly awesome otherwise.
The story is very good. I feel that, through allegory, it shows how someone whose outlook is warped by depression or loneliness can seek solace in a relationship, to the extent that the relationship becomes all-consuming. If a relationship becomes a person's only reason for living, it can further alienate the person from the rest of the world and make them dissociate from reality and morality. There are also intriguing science fiction elements that comment on the nature of life. The first several hours do a great job building up a sense of dread. It's all backed up by good music and Japanese voice acting with English subtitles.
Even though this is not my first explicit visual novel, and I bought this one expecting it to be harsh, I was not ready for this. There are multiple rape scenes, very explicitly shown. The story is a bit too eager to get to these scenes, not doing enough to establish the character motivations for committing them. Even the consensual sex scenes involve someone who looks a little young.
Another problem with this game is it feels too long. Even though there are only two choices to make and three different endings, it took me 10 hours to see everything. Some of the images are recycled too much. The dread and shock just wore off about halfway through the game.
On the whole, I found this game a letdown, though still worth a try because of its thoughtful premise.
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