This year, for Solstice, my spouse got me a copy of Saya no Uta (aka The Song of Saya) after a "recommendation" from the people over at Extra Credits. That recommendation came with several warnings about content, but I'm both brave and was enchanted by the idea of playing a game created by the person who wrote Puella Magi Magical Madoka.
Today, I played it. It took me around 5 hours to get all three endings. I've previously played Fate/Stay Night and School Days, so I was expecting it to last a bit longer. However, while it was short, it was intense (rather like Madoka).
The premiss is this: our protagonist, Fuminori Sakisaka (Fuminori hereafter), has recently been in a major car accident and suffered brain damage. His particular brain damage causes a constant visual, auditory, olfactory, and sensory hallucination - he sees the world as made of meat, and the people in the world as being Eldridge abominations. Fuminori is doomed to live out his life in a world that he perceives as hell.
Except for one person - Saya, a girl he met at the hospital. She is the only person who looks normal to Fuminori. So he invites her to come live with him, eschewing his friends and responsibilities to spend more and more time with her, the only beautiful thing in his horrifically ugly world.
And that's where things get weird.
Suffice it to say that thing go badly very, very rapidly. Saya has a complex backstory of her own, and Fuminori's friends (who don't know about his hallucinatory condition) soon begin to wonder what is wrong with their friend and attempt to investigate.
There are three endings. The first comes up fairly rapidly, and is technically a "game over" - except that it is arguably the "best" ending.
The other two endings take longer to achieve and occur at the "end" of the story. Which one is "good" and which one is "bad" depends on your perspective.
The game - which is a visual novel with minimal input (there are a total of two questions, the choice of which puts you onto the paths one each of the three endings) - is sublime. I don't mean that the game is good (although the story is an excellent deconstruction of its genre) - I mean that it is literally sublime: terribly beautiful.
It is grotesque and glorious. It is sickening and sweet - although not sickeningly sweet. Horror has never been so beautiful.
That's about all I can say without spoilers (which will be included below for the curious). However, I will add two warnings.
First: The Meat World hallucinations are pretty gross, and very frequent. If the thought of a world made from rotting meat would make you not want to play this game... then don't.
Secondly: This is an H title, so it has sex scenes. And, since it was remastered for America, it has uncensored sex scenes. If you've ever read a hentai (or played an H-game) it's nothing out of the ordinary, but it's there. If that will bother you, then you may want to avoid this game.
Thirdly: There is a rape scene, so consider this a trigger warning. Also, keep this in mind if you just can't stand fictional depictions of rape. I will say one thing about this scene - it is actually treated with a greater level of seriousness and shown to have a longer lasting effect on the victim than is often the case in fiction. While I personally find rape scenes distasteful, I found this one to be appropriate to the story and well handled overall.
If those warnings don't put you off, then go for it. I highly recommend this game - or "visual novel" if you prefer. The story is unique and incredibly engaging, and the characters were both a refreshing surprise and (in a few cases) utterly demented. An incredibly unique experience that blends horror and beauty in a way rarely seen anywhere.
Okay... and now for what you've all been waiting for. Spoilers.
Okay, spoiler section over.
I highly recommend Saya no Uta. It is unique. It is sublime. It is one of the best horror games I have ever played.
Today, I played it. It took me around 5 hours to get all three endings. I've previously played Fate/Stay Night and School Days, so I was expecting it to last a bit longer. However, while it was short, it was intense (rather like Madoka).
The premiss is this: our protagonist, Fuminori Sakisaka (Fuminori hereafter), has recently been in a major car accident and suffered brain damage. His particular brain damage causes a constant visual, auditory, olfactory, and sensory hallucination - he sees the world as made of meat, and the people in the world as being Eldridge abominations. Fuminori is doomed to live out his life in a world that he perceives as hell.
Except for one person - Saya, a girl he met at the hospital. She is the only person who looks normal to Fuminori. So he invites her to come live with him, eschewing his friends and responsibilities to spend more and more time with her, the only beautiful thing in his horrifically ugly world.
And that's where things get weird.
Suffice it to say that thing go badly very, very rapidly. Saya has a complex backstory of her own, and Fuminori's friends (who don't know about his hallucinatory condition) soon begin to wonder what is wrong with their friend and attempt to investigate.
There are three endings. The first comes up fairly rapidly, and is technically a "game over" - except that it is arguably the "best" ending.
The other two endings take longer to achieve and occur at the "end" of the story. Which one is "good" and which one is "bad" depends on your perspective.
The game - which is a visual novel with minimal input (there are a total of two questions, the choice of which puts you onto the paths one each of the three endings) - is sublime. I don't mean that the game is good (although the story is an excellent deconstruction of its genre) - I mean that it is literally sublime: terribly beautiful.
It is grotesque and glorious. It is sickening and sweet - although not sickeningly sweet. Horror has never been so beautiful.
That's about all I can say without spoilers (which will be included below for the curious). However, I will add two warnings.
First: The Meat World hallucinations are pretty gross, and very frequent. If the thought of a world made from rotting meat would make you not want to play this game... then don't.
Secondly: This is an H title, so it has sex scenes. And, since it was remastered for America, it has uncensored sex scenes. If you've ever read a hentai (or played an H-game) it's nothing out of the ordinary, but it's there. If that will bother you, then you may want to avoid this game.
Thirdly: There is a rape scene, so consider this a trigger warning. Also, keep this in mind if you just can't stand fictional depictions of rape. I will say one thing about this scene - it is actually treated with a greater level of seriousness and shown to have a longer lasting effect on the victim than is often the case in fiction. While I personally find rape scenes distasteful, I found this one to be appropriate to the story and well handled overall.
If those warnings don't put you off, then go for it. I highly recommend this game - or "visual novel" if you prefer. The story is unique and incredibly engaging, and the characters were both a refreshing surprise and (in a few cases) utterly demented. An incredibly unique experience that blends horror and beauty in a way rarely seen anywhere.
Okay... and now for what you've all been waiting for. Spoilers.
Actually, there isn't much I want to discuss here. A lot of this game just needs to be experienced. However, I do want to bring up a few points, particularly about characterization.
First off, Saya. Saya is basically a C'thuhlu mythos creature akin to a Migo or Shogoth. Fuminori's hallucinations convert her from a tentacles monster into a beautiful young woman. And, after she moves in with him, they get with the sexy times. Why? Her "mission" is to collect DNA samples from the dominant species on the planet.
Knowing that, Gen Urobuchi (of Madoka fame) writes her as one of the most sympathetic characters in the game. That's right - this game makes you feel for the tentacled monster. She is (almost) never portrayed as evil. At worst, she is shown to be following her instincts (by hunting and eating prey) or simply unaware of human moral systems. At best, in the first (game over) ending, she sacrifices her own happiness to heal Fuminori's brain damage, leaving herself bereft and unable to complete her mission. She (the tentacle monster) chooses to spare humanity for love.
Urobuchi contrasts this with Fuminori who (in any path besides the game over ending mentioned above) becomes the real villain of the game and goes on a murder spree to kill anyone who might come between him and Saya. His definition of "come between them" includes all of his friends because they know him and happen to be concerned about him. Nice guy.
If you've seen Madoka, then you know that Urobuchi is a master of deconstruction. Here, he brings deconstruction to the C'thuhlu mythos. The tentacled horror from beyond the stars isn't evil - man is. Time and again, Saya no Uta shows humans to be capable of far more malice and cruelty than this monster from space.
First off, Saya. Saya is basically a C'thuhlu mythos creature akin to a Migo or Shogoth. Fuminori's hallucinations convert her from a tentacles monster into a beautiful young woman. And, after she moves in with him, they get with the sexy times. Why? Her "mission" is to collect DNA samples from the dominant species on the planet.
Knowing that, Gen Urobuchi (of Madoka fame) writes her as one of the most sympathetic characters in the game. That's right - this game makes you feel for the tentacled monster. She is (almost) never portrayed as evil. At worst, she is shown to be following her instincts (by hunting and eating prey) or simply unaware of human moral systems. At best, in the first (game over) ending, she sacrifices her own happiness to heal Fuminori's brain damage, leaving herself bereft and unable to complete her mission. She (the tentacle monster) chooses to spare humanity for love.
Urobuchi contrasts this with Fuminori who (in any path besides the game over ending mentioned above) becomes the real villain of the game and goes on a murder spree to kill anyone who might come between him and Saya. His definition of "come between them" includes all of his friends because they know him and happen to be concerned about him. Nice guy.
If you've seen Madoka, then you know that Urobuchi is a master of deconstruction. Here, he brings deconstruction to the C'thuhlu mythos. The tentacled horror from beyond the stars isn't evil - man is. Time and again, Saya no Uta shows humans to be capable of far more malice and cruelty than this monster from space.
Okay, spoiler section over.
I highly recommend Saya no Uta. It is unique. It is sublime. It is one of the best horror games I have ever played.
![[REDACTED]](https://eg-forums-escapist-data.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/data/avatars/l/129/129871.jpg?1621054700){kind=avatar}
