Rating
Pyre
A party-based RPG/visual novel/sports game hybrid wherein the player, dubbed the Reader for their literacy by the group of scavengers who discovers them, is sent in exile to a lawless wasteland called the Downside and has to lead their ever-growing party of misfits to locations wherein many similar parties compete in Rites in order to attain freedo...
Details
- Released
- July 25, 2017
- Developer
- Supergiant Games
- Genres
- Action · Role-playing (RPG) · Adventure · Indie · Visual Novel
- Publisher
- Supergiant Games
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Pyre Reviews
Professional reviews from gaming critics
From the art to the music to the story to the tactical gameplay, and even to how they’re all woven together so artfully, Pyre is an adventure that excels in every area of its design other than limiting its multiplayer to local only. It’s an epic journey that made me feel thrilled, devastated, and awed, and its tense moments had me tugging my collar both in and out of its fast-paced mystical sports arenas. With an emotionally charged ending that saw so much I’d striven for come to fruition, but was still tinged with tragedy and melancholy even when I did almost everything right, I won’t be able...
Pyre is simply a complete package. Everything from story and characters to art and gameplay is superb. While I could use nearly every positive word I know to praise this game, nothing can really describe the roller coaster of emotions I felt playing it. It is an endlessly surprising and satisfying experience that I would recommend to just about anyone.
Mixing together so many different influences and styles of gameplay together could have made Pyre an unwieldy, confusing experience. However, Supergiant apparently found just the right mixture of ingredients to make Pyre work almost perfectly, as its addicting Rites "combat" shows. Thanks to a compelling mix of gameplay and atmosphere bound by an incredible art style, Supergiant Games has crafted one of this year's most unique titles that's equally tense and thought-provoking throughout its journey. Coming from the studio that already has provided memorable titles like Bastion and Transistor, ...
The action that takes place in the arenas of Pyre is explosively fast-paced and laced with magical allure. While the action that occurs off the field is a satisfyingly slow unravelling of dense lore and affecting individual tales. These contrasting styles interchange flawlessly throughout the game’s duration - creating a rhythm for the journey that consistently feels unpredictable and exciting. Even with all its blemishes, Pyre is a rousing expression of exceptional high fantasy. The PC version of this game was played for the purpose of this review.
May it be the likes of Shadow of the Colossus or Metal Gear Solid, if it’s quite there but not enough to push the boundaries, it’s still an awesome game.
Like the award-winning Transistor and Bastion, Pyre is a superb effort by Supergiant Games, and cements the studio as one of the industry's premiere indie game developers. Even if players aren't excited by its sports-like gameplay features, Pyre has a wonderful cast of characters and an engaging story that make it hard to put down. It's easy to get lost in Pyre's world, and it is the kind of game that will leave a lasting impression on those that play it.
Supergiant goes three for three with another title you don't want to miss.
For those that are left wanting after finishing the game, there’s a few options that increase replay value of Pyre. For starters, you could simply replay the game, making different choices in the paths you take and the characters you free from exile. If you want more of a challenge, you can also invoke the various constellations that appear later in the game, giving your opponents various advantages. On the other end of that is the Versus mode, which lets you play against the CPU or another...
Pyre teaches you to fight tirelessly for your freedom, but to question the definition of that freedom as well. I like the sports-combat a little more each time I play. And Pyre fetishizes the tools of the writer's trade, but more importantly focuses on the art and dialogue of good storytelling.
Pyre is a party-based role-playing game in which you lead a band of exiles through an ancient competition spread across a vast, mystical purgatory.
Pyre is a bit of a departure for developer Supergiant Games. The small 12-man studio was quick to establish a brand with their first two titles, Bastion and Transistor, which were both isometric RPGs with a focus on action, innovative mechanics, and gorgeous art. Supergiant's third game builds on those acclaimed titles in some key ways, but also veers off into new and uncharted territory.
And that, I think is the goal of Pyre. It wants you to recognise that people are not there necessarily so that you can Win Win Win, that others, even your enemies, sometimes deserve their desires over your own machinations. There are messages woven into the tale about justice, mercy, forgiveness, and liberty in a way that few games even attempt to cover. And I haven’t mentioned once how stunning the whole thing looks – I barely even need to say that. I only wish that the mechanics and feeling of Pyreball lived up to that strong storytelling, because it so often feels like an interruption to a ...