[TL;DR, ★★★ and a half/out of four rating]
Saya no Uta, also known in the west as "The Song of Saya", is a well-known and beloved visual novel that stands tall amongst the greats to this day. Using words such as "beautiful" and "heart-warming" are ways to describe its story, while "grotesque" and "sickening" would also be completely accurate. It is easy yet hard to recommend this classic, and it comes down to each person, but I will try my best to help you decide whether or not you should pick up Saya no Uta.

[STUFF YOU NEED TO KNOW] 
Despite this being the so-called censored release, Saya no Uta depicts some seriously messed up ♥♥♥♥♥ and is not for the faint of heart. It is also a remaster of the original 2003 release with some new CGs and improved translation, among other things less noticeable on a surface level. Overall, this is a great release and a splendid way to bring this beautiful story to a new audience.

I also want you to know that this review will be 100% unbiased or tainted by nostalgia. Saya no Uta has been an entry point for many people into the medium, yet I do not share that experience. I came in knowing next to nothing, which is exactly how I recommend this visual novel be experienced, besides a few things that definitely need to be pointed out. This is where my review comes in. Okay, now we can really start!

[PLOT/THE GOODIES]
Saya no Uta is an excellent and well-crafted story about love in its purest form and is very unapologetic about how it represents itself. Despite being a relatively short visual novel by visual novel standards, the intense and effective style of its writing manages to convey the emotions and feelings extremely well. Thanks to that, the cast of characters will quickly grow in your heart, one way or another. It also features an incredible soundtrack that manages to capture emotion just as well as the writing, plus the art is well drawn and serves its purpose wonderfully. I can't say any more than that, just know that its a very beautiful and emotional story with some spine-chilling moments.

This right here is a gem, and I do have to agree, calling this a "must" read for visual novel enthusiasts. Despite that, it comes with a huge flaw that could have been easily avoided. Its author's strange inclusion of his sickening fetishes.

[THE MORALLY QUESTIONABLE]
Remember how I told you that this release is censored? Hah, now that's stretching the definition! Saya no Uta features gore and, let's just call it, sexual violence without consent. While the gore part is mostly drawn and partially rendered in 3D and totally deserves its place here, the sexual violence without consent part definitely doesn't. They did cut out most of the H scenes for this... censored steam release, but some still remain in the form of writing and CGs, which is absolutely mind-boggling. I don't even want to consider what the full scale of this would be like because what's still here is down right vile. Saya no Uta would've done just as well, if not better, without that. It just makes me turn my stomach every time it comes up and serves next to no purpose in its overarching story. The purpose it serves could've been just as easily rewritten.

If you still want to play the uncensored version, freak, you can easily find it online by searching for it and paying for it. Yes, the patch is not free, and let me tell you that it is not worth the money. Despite it obviously adding the H scenes back that you really just can skip out on, it recovers maybe two other censored CGs at best that feature... excessive violence? Saya no Uta is full of gore, blood, and violence, even in the so-called censored version. It wouldn't be Saya no Uta without it so why censor some of it? I don't know who was in charge of choosing what needed to be censored, but oh well.

Last thing I want you to know is that I'm a strong supporter against censorship, especially of creative works, but this right really doesn't need a patch to fix its censorship. Don't say I didn't warn you, and better save your money.

[CONCLUSION]
Beautiful and emotional, Saya no Uta remains a must read for visual novel enthusiasts, despite its morally questionable inclusion of sexual violence. It delivers on its premise and provides a great read for its remainder, without overstaying its welcome. In a lot of ways, this is how a visual novel should be crafted. It's just this good. If anything of what I just said sounds interesting to you, and if you are still on board after what I just mentioned, give this gem a go.