Saya no Uta: The Song of Saya

Saya no Uta
DeveloperNitroplus
Publishers
DirectorGen Urobuchi
ProducerDigitarou
ArtistHigashiguchi Chuuou
WriterGen Urobuchi
ComposerZizz Studio
PlatformsMicrosoft Windows, Android, DVD Player-game
ReleaseMicrosoft Windows
  • JP: December 26, 2003
  • WW: May 5, 2013
Blu-ray, DVD
  • JP: February 28, 2013
Android
  • JP: April 17, 2014
GenresVisual novel, eroge
ModeSingle player

Saya no Uta, also known as The Song of Saya, is a 2003 horror eroge visual novel developed by Nitroplus. It was first released for Windows only in Japan in December 2003, and was later ported to other platforms. The story follows a young student, the sole survivor of a car accident that killed his family, who begins to suffer bizarre cognitive disorder-like symptoms that progress into constant horrific visual scenery. The original plot was written by Gen Urobuchi, who took inspiration from reading Lovecraft novels during a lonely time in his life.

In 2009, an English fan translation patch was released. Later, in 2013, American company JAST USA officially published an English localization using a revised version of the fan translation and also re-released hard copies on DVD-ROM in 2020 for outlets such as J-List with a more modern VN engine. A Chinese version was also released by Kagura Games, co-published with JAST, for the game service Steam, which uses a modern game engine. This version was heavily censored due to China's censorship regarding pornographic material and Steam's inconsistencies regarding lolicon material. The game was released on GOG under the moniker of "Directors Cut", although no changes were made to the originally intended writing or visuals.

Saya no Uta has been positively received, with praise for its narrative and themes. Critics have frequently described it as one of the scariest video games ever made, and an example of video games as an art form.