Pyre

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 217 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 164 out of 217
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 217
  3. Negative: 24 out of 217

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  1. JonAM
    Dec 28, 2017
    10
    It is difficult to find companies trying original approaches for their games, but once again Supergiant Games show us that this is possible.

    The easiest way to describe this game is by comparing it with The Banner Saga since Pyre follows a similar structure. Replace the strategic turn-based battles with real-time american football matches between teams of 3 players, and there you have    It is difficult to find companies trying original approaches for their games, but once again Supergiant Games show us that this is possible.

    The easiest way to describe this game is by comparing it with The Banner Saga since Pyre follows a similar structure. Replace the strategic turn-based battles with real-time american football matches between teams of 3 players, and there you have it.

    If you haven't played The Banner Saga before, then think about this game as a narrative adventure where you are presented with lots of written conversations between very deep characters. You travel around a fantastic world as a team that takes part in rites that are very similar to football matches.

    The game then alternates between both systems (conversations and rites) and creates a great story around it. There are also some RPG ingredients, since each player of your team will earn new skills and items as they gain experience.

    The only important thing for you to know is that this is not an action game as Bastion or even Transistor were. The narrative side is much more stronger this time, so you'll spend most of your time reading and clicking the "next" button as text is presented in front of you. The good thing is that the characters and the world itself are so deep that if you don't rush and take care of immersing yourself in the lore, once you finish the game you'll feel like you have gone through an amazing odyssey.

    Apart from this, music is superb as usual and the overall level of quality achieved is very high. Don't miss this game, but know beforehand where are you diving into!    … Expand
  2. blunderfuljoe
    Sep 18, 2017
    8
    I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised when starting a game. Going in blind may have been a bad idea, but I don’t regret it. Supergiant Games’ new game, Pyre, in the simplest of terms is a mystical 3-on-3 basketball league where everyone is seeking redemption. The creators behind Bastion and Transistor created another intricate world with layers upon layers of backstory; a deeply richI don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised when starting a game. Going in blind may have been a bad idea, but I don’t regret it. Supergiant Games’ new game, Pyre, in the simplest of terms is a mystical 3-on-3 basketball league where everyone is seeking redemption. The creators behind Bastion and Transistor created another intricate world with layers upon layers of backstory; a deeply rich and vibrant world in which Pyre takes place in. Supergiant Games has this amazing ability to immerse you into a completely different world each game with their beautiful art and their powerful music. I was drawn into the world as soon as the music began and set the mood for the story to come. When the first characters appeared on screen, I just kind of stared in awe at the screen. Each character, each expression, and each line was carefully tailored to fully immerse you into the world of Pyre.

    The game revolves around a group of exiles in a purgatory-like world called the Downside. You are found by the Nightwings, a triumvirate that are currently running the rites in the name of a mysterious benefactor. You are known as a Reader, one of the few literate people in the world. In the Commonwealth—from where all the exiles were cast out—literacy is outlawed. You are quickly thrown into the world of the Rites and the passages presented by the stars. The story focuses on everyone’s motive to return to the Commonwealth. Pyre is a story about what freedom means to everyone. It’s through the story that each character including the Reader, begin to learn and understand their own definition of freedom.

    Only a single character can be moved at a time and when they pick up the ball, they lose their aura. Each character is able to manipulate their aura in different ways. The most common one is being able to shoot their aura in front of them. If an opponent is hit by any of your auras, they are banished for a short time, only to reappear after a couple of seconds. This goes for the player as well. This is where the intricacies of the gameplay begin to appear. Depending on who you have chosen to represent you in the rite, their abilities change how you play the game. Each pyre has a set health of 100 and certain items/abilities can change that. Depending on how high the Glory stat is per character, they deal damage equal to that number. Once you score with a character, that character remains banished until either you score with another character or if the enemy scores. You can prevent this with character abilities/items and the throwing mechanic. When the character has the ball, they can throw the ball into the pyre or to other players. The distance and number of points scored is determined by how long the player charges the throw. If you score through throwing, no characters will be banished.

    After you play in your first liberation rite, whether win or lose, you begin the cycle again. You begin to challenge the same triumvirates on different maps. The triumvirates become stronger each time you face them with items and abilities being added to their repertoire. Despite, the fact that you are playing the same set of opponents, the map variety changes how you have to play the rite against the opponent. One map has gaps that will propel you in whatever direction you are facing, while another has constantly moving objects.

    Pyre is a visual novel with a compelling story and gameplay that strongly resembles a generic sports game. I felt connected to characters and I genuinely felt happy when they were able to return to the Commonwealth. The character development reflected heavily on the overall message that Supergiant wanted to portray. The gameplay was the most lackluster part. To be fair, I am not a big fan of sports games; I can count the amount of hours I have ever played a sports game on one hand. The gameplay was not bad, it was just not my thing. The eventual repetition of the rites was meant to achieve a closer understanding as to why the other triumvirates were running the rites, but I thought that the repetition added no extra value other than story. Supergiant tried to alleviate the feeling of repetition through scrambling the maps and opponents, but it never felt different enough. I found myself heavily relying on those with faster mobility. I would constantly choose characters with higher quickness to rush the ball. Once I had the ball in hand, I would maneuver to lure the opponent AI away from their pyre, pass the ball and proceed to score. I cheesed my way through the game. The combat and scoring against the other triumvirates got repetitive quickly and I never really got into it. I still enjoyed playing through the game. I found my rhythm in the matches and quickly burned through them to reach the story parts. My style of play never felt cheap because the reward of progressing in the story was well worth it for me. Pyre's story drew me in and the rites were just enough fun to keep me interested.    … Expand
  3. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    8
    amazing game, i love all of supergiant games work and this was no exception. It has a similar art style, music, and atmosphere to their other games, but brings in a completely new mechanic as well with the 3v3 battle system. I loved the story/atmosphere/music/art, but the gameplay wasn't as great as transistor or bastion
  4. Teekesselchen
    Dec 11, 2017
    10
    This game is so innovative, yet brings out all the things we've come to love from Supergiant Games.

    The entry hurdle for players will be the unusual combination of genres. Visual novel and action-oriented fantasy sports game are neither the most popular on their own nor would one think of them to blend easily. For those willing to look behind genre terms and to enjoy the experience    This game is so innovative, yet brings out all the things we've come to love from Supergiant Games.

    The entry hurdle for players will be the unusual combination of genres. Visual novel and action-oriented fantasy sports game are neither the most popular on their own nor would one think of them to blend easily. For those willing to look behind genre terms and to enjoy the experience however, it turns into an amazing experience.

    Those who played Bastion and Transistor will already expect the beautifully stylised graphics, award-worthy soundtrack, and lovely narration. But Pyre comes with a bigger scope than its predecessors, dealing with a much larger cast. Nonetheless, no quality is lost. As unique as the many characters are, they still receive all the detail they deserve.

    The visual novel style part of the game is entertaining enough on its own, but most of all perfectly embedded into the whole experience. It combines effortlessly with the lightning fast sports portion of the game called the "rites", which turns out to be immaculately balanced with a great variety of choices and strategies, which comes as a positive surprise for its unique format.

    Finally one of the most impressive feats of the game is to seamlessly adapt the story progression whether you win or lose the rites. Together with the increasing number and importance of choices as the game progresses, this allows for a myriad of possibilities, reflected in the pacing and outcome of the game.

    Supergiant Games did not rest on the laurels of their first hits. They took a great risk straying this far from the established paths, but the result gives them right in every way.    … Expand
  5. PanMrkvicka
    Aug 16, 2020
    10
    amazing game, if you hate reading youre dumb this game offers truly an amazing story and the gameplay is fine
  6. SJile
    Jul 25, 2017
    9
    This game is quite unlike anything else out there. It's like a visual high fantasy novel meets... hockey? And the matches (on PC, at least) control a lot like Diablo or a MOBA, where you point-and-click your way into the goal, passing and dodging your way across the arena.

    It shouldn't really work, but it does. And in traditional Supergiant fashion, it's all wrapped up in superlative    This game is quite unlike anything else out there. It's like a visual high fantasy novel meets... hockey? And the matches (on PC, at least) control a lot like Diablo or a MOBA, where you point-and-click your way into the goal, passing and dodging your way across the arena.

    It shouldn't really work, but it does. And in traditional Supergiant fashion, it's all wrapped up in superlative art, music and writing.    … Expand
  7. Jetstream
    Jul 31, 2017
    10
    Supergiant Games has done it once again, a game that shines beautifully all the while with utmost elegance and grace. Incredible design, astounding music by Darren Korb, phenomenal voice acting, and a touching story. Nothing can go wrong with these guys. Spending money on this game is amongst the few things that will make you richer.

    May thy Pyres burn bright and the Scribes watch over ye all!
  8. lolermaximun
    Jul 26, 2017
    10
    Is a incredible game and is to much funny, And the matches (on PC, at least) control a lot like Diablo or a MOBA, where you point-and-click your way into the goal, passing and dodging your way across the arena.

    It shouldn't really work, but it does. And in traditional Supergiant fashion, it's all wrapped up in superlative… Expand
  9. Kanazawa
    Aug 25, 2017
    8
    Honestly, the first couple hours I played this game it was ridiculously boring with little to no draw. It was not until the 3v3 game started to pick up in difficulty that the game became enjoyable. It doesn't come close to bastion or transistor but the music was nice and the visuals were beautiful. My primary complaint deals with the overwhelming amount of dialogue told through reading. ItHonestly, the first couple hours I played this game it was ridiculously boring with little to no draw. It was not until the 3v3 game started to pick up in difficulty that the game became enjoyable. It doesn't come close to bastion or transistor but the music was nice and the visuals were beautiful. My primary complaint deals with the overwhelming amount of dialogue told through reading. It was so much reading I just started skipping much of the dialogue. The ending was quite disappointing too. Still, solid game that had me hooked for hours.… Expand
  10. CurlyJefferson
    Mar 20, 2018
    8
    I loved it. Art is top-notch, story is interesting, and actual game-play is kind of fun. The lore is there. Music and sound effects are great as well. This is the first game I played by this studio and it makes me excited to check out their back catalog.
  11. weasleye
    Feb 7, 2021
    9
    Played Pyre in one sitting from 530 AM yesterday till it was finished 13 hours later.

    This is a game that you absolutely should not miss if you are a lover of story rick RPGs Pros: Choices that truly affect the game in both story and game play Incredible ABC dialogue options Incredible writing and story Unmatched artwork and animation Interesting gameplay Intoxicatingly good    Played Pyre in one sitting from 530 AM yesterday till it was finished 13 hours later.

    This is a game that you absolutely should not miss if you are a lover of story rick RPGs

    Pros:
    Choices that truly affect the game in both story and game play
    Incredible ABC dialogue options
    Incredible writing and story
    Unmatched artwork and animation
    Interesting gameplay
    Intoxicatingly good characters

    Cons:

    While the gameplay is interesting it can be a bit rudimentary in that its easy to pick up and also relatively easy to master early on. If you are into difficulty be sure to use the limiters.    … Expand
  12. RMDsilva
    Apr 24, 2018
    8
    Pretty cool as a game, very cool as a story.
    Could do with more variety game-wise and I agree with "Complex strategies are counter-productive and hard to pull off!"
  13. MrBetterThanYou
    Aug 5, 2017
    9
    Pyre is a 'Sports' game with story told in 'visual novel' style. Both of these aspects I use in the very lightest sense, as once more does Supergiant Games outdo themselves with their third game.

    Sound 5/5 The soundtrack is by Darren Korb, so naturally, it's outstanding. The way it alters based on events is equally outstanding. The voice acting is likewise good. Despise most of the    Pyre is a 'Sports' game with story told in 'visual novel' style. Both of these aspects I use in the very lightest sense, as once more does Supergiant Games outdo themselves with their third game.

    Sound 5/5
    The soundtrack is by Darren Korb, so naturally, it's outstanding. The way it alters based on events is equally outstanding. The voice acting is likewise good. Despise most of the dialogue being non-English, the actors still deliver great emotion to their parts.

    Design 5/5
    Yet another aspect Supergiant has under their belt thanks to the amazing art of Jen Zee. Everything stands out. Every character, triumvirate, island, etc. Just a pretty looking game. Despite the ideas of the races being none-too original (eg: Tree people is pretty common), they are all distinguished in nature and design, and are all very beautiful.

    Story 4/5
    Difficult to grasp at first, but as it reveals itself, the world shows how absolutely packed with lore it is. It adds up to an immersive experience that left me wanting more.

    Gameplay 3/5
    Supergiant usually falls flat in this aspect (though 'fall flat' is only in comparison to itself). The rites are simply an ultimate-style ball sport. It looks nice, and plays satisfyingly, but there isn't much to distinguish it.

    Conclusion:
    A great story backed by visuals, and soundtrack, and a decent game. If you are searching for Supergiant's specific old formula, a great sport game, or not much reading, this won't do it for you. Otherwise, buy it.

    Price worth: 100%
    Rating: 9/10    … Expand
  14. touchofheaven
    Jun 2, 2020
    10
    It's a great game. Interesting idea, good story, interesting characters you get attached to, great music.
  15. Yenker
    Mar 24, 2019
    10
    The Art, music and story are among the best I've ever experienced. Especially the music.
    I loved the fact that you have opposition, not enemies. You resolve conflict through sports, though that sport does leave the losers in a state many of them would consider damnation (some of them actually like the Downside!).
    I don't connect to characters on an emotional level often. Baldur's gate    The Art, music and story are among the best I've ever experienced. Especially the music.
    I loved the fact that you have opposition, not enemies. You resolve conflict through sports, though that sport does leave the losers in a state many of them would consider damnation (some of them actually like the Downside!).

    I don't connect to characters on an emotional level often. Baldur's gate 2 and to an extent Witcher 3 ring out as exceptions. Pyre was incredible in that regard, I even cared about what happened to a few of the opposing teams and had considered purposefully losing to them.

    I find that in most RPG of late I can't wait for them to stop talking, they are just not interesting characters because you go through conversation loops that don't feel genuine.
    Witcher 3 and Pyre are great exceptions!    … Expand
  16. RagingPoet
    Aug 6, 2018
    8
    Pyre is a true Supergiant game: great visual style and soundtrack, very flexible difficulty settings via optional risk/reward modificators, original world with a lot of lore and engaging character-driven story.

    I really don't get it when people call choices in the game inconsequential: if you care about characters even a little bit, then consequences are very drastic. A lot of dialogue    Pyre is a true Supergiant game: great visual style and soundtrack, very flexible difficulty settings via optional risk/reward modificators, original world with a lot of lore and engaging character-driven story.

    I really don't get it when people call choices in the game inconsequential: if you care about characters even a little bit, then consequences are very drastic. A lot of dialogue is changed based on Liberation Rites result and during the game ending you get to see lengthy epilogues for all of your companions and opponents.

    Pyre is definitely something worth checking out for every narrative games fan.    … Expand
  17. nbdiden
    Feb 5, 2018
    9
    This is a beautifully stunning game with a beautiful story. Each of the characters had a uniqueness about them that made me connect with them even though the difference in our environment and our situations are completely different. The goal of this game is to assemble a group of exiles in a place called the Downside(where exiles go when cast out of the Commonwealth) then you choose threeThis is a beautifully stunning game with a beautiful story. Each of the characters had a uniqueness about them that made me connect with them even though the difference in our environment and our situations are completely different. The goal of this game is to assemble a group of exiles in a place called the Downside(where exiles go when cast out of the Commonwealth) then you choose three of your team members to participate in a magical game loosely based on real-world basketball(most original gameplay I maybe have ever played) to liberate your team members. Soon, you will know every star in the downside and every god that each one is named after. There is an immense change in environment between each star(biome) that the rites take place, from archipelago to frozen tundra each having its individual effects on your team members. This game is definitely a must-have, and for those looking for an innovative and original game… Expand
  18. ikearagao
    Jul 25, 2018
    8
    Supergiant made it again, another great indie game, this time with their most immersive and creative world yet.
    This game has genius design when it comes to balancement, making you choose between your stronger characters to ascend but at the same time giving characters stronger skills as they level up, its just brilliant.
    This game also provides intricate and well developed backstories    Supergiant made it again, another great indie game, this time with their most immersive and creative world yet.
    This game has genius design when it comes to balancement, making you choose between your stronger characters to ascend but at the same time giving characters stronger skills as they level up, its just brilliant.
    This game also provides intricate and well developed backstories to almost every character, making you care more than you should when leveling up characters.
    The story has to follow a pattern unfortunately, a part of me really likes the way that they developed that but another part wishes that they spent more time developing character interactions, it really makes you wonder if they spent one more year just developing that department, it would be what Mass Effect 3 ending should have been.
    The only flaw is the fact that it doesnt have an online mode, which is kinda understendable for an indie company, but just makes you think that it was something that they could have done, even if all games had to be hosted.    … Expand
  19. Che3es
    Jan 24, 2019
    8
    You can always count on Supergiant Games even if it's a genre that you usually don't play
  20. Mi4i19
    Mar 27, 2019
    10
    By the will of the Scribes!

    А если серьезно, то Pyre - лучшее, что случалось в моей длинной геймерской карьере
  21. Crimert
    Nov 27, 2020
    8
    In my opinion, this is a sports game. The story of this game is interesting as well. I really enjoyed it. 10hrs on record.
  22. 13baker11
    Dec 13, 2019
    10
    Undoubtedly Pyre is one of the best games I have ever played.

    The story of Nightwings and their trials in rites is mixed with complex interpersonal relationships, that seem to shed a bright light on characters' sad existence. The rites themselves are challenging, but to a reasonable degree. There is also a certain layer of strategic depth in composing your triumvirate and executing    Undoubtedly Pyre is one of the best games I have ever played.

    The story of Nightwings and their trials in rites is mixed with complex interpersonal relationships, that seem to shed a bright light on characters' sad existence.
    The rites themselves are challenging, but to a reasonable degree. There is also a certain layer of strategic depth in composing your triumvirate and executing your strategy.

    The graphics are kept simple, yet beautiful and the soundtrack is exceptional.

    I believe that everyone should play this game, and for me there is no higher praise than that.    … Expand
  23. Prometheus1241
    Aug 18, 2020
    8
    Freedom is an ability to make choices without fear, bearing the whole responsibility for its consequences.

    Pyre is third SuperGiant’s game, which itself is a graphic novella and sports simulator with RPG elements. During the game you must take a lot of choices, small and big ones, but the most important is to choose who is going to get freedom next. And believe me, it is awfully hard,    Freedom is an ability to make choices without fear, bearing the whole responsibility for its consequences.

    Pyre is third SuperGiant’s game, which itself is a graphic novella and sports simulator with RPG elements. During the game you must take a lot of choices, small and big ones, but the most important is to choose who is going to get freedom next. And believe me, it is awfully hard, because characters in you team are all quite charismatic and you start to treat them like friends, which makes final goodbyes even harder.

    But to give your team ability to gain freedom you must take part in the rites. During them you choose 3 members of your team and fight against the enemy’s 3 team members. There are around 8 other teams that will challenge you in the rites and which want to gain freedom just as you. Each rite time needed to gain freedom decreases. To prevail in the rite, you need to extinguish enemy’s pyre by throwing ball into it. You can specially give up letting your foes gain freedom, and this is one of the best Pyre’s moments. Most of them, just like you, have been sent to endless desert for some minor crimes like, em, ability to read( yea, it is restricted to be able to read in Pyre’ s world), and sometimes you may want to let your enemy become free. By the way, you are Reader, one of the few people, who can read and who can gaze into stars to control rites and that is why you are so important for teammates, yet, it is not the main reason they need you. Every rite is followed by fascinated soundtrack, making you feel more immersive in the process. There is also an ability to upgrade your team either by amulets or by learning the skills wasting the xp points.

    Your team consist of different races. And no, there are no elfs and dwarfes, there are talking dogs, walking trees and other miracles of the local fauna. Of course, they all have different abilities: while humans can run, trees do short blink and harpies can fly and so on. They all bring a lot of strategy into rites. To temporary banish enemy from the playground, you need to touch them with your aura, either by coming close to him or by throwing it into enemy. Sounds interesting, yet due to game’s length( it took me 11 hours to complete it) battles become monotonous, Also, rites feel a little bit unfair because it is really hard to control all 3 members during the rites, while AI does it without any difficulties. This makes battle system a little bit confusing, yet it brings a lot of pleasure, at least for the first hours.

    Graphics are good. It is not realistic, mostly hand drawn and does not have lots of animations (Vanomas disapproves). Yet it is incredibly good optimized, and I think you should be able to run it on notebook.

    Overall, Pyre is good project. It is very sincere project, made with whole lotta love. If you search for a game with emotional plot, that is both relaxing and tensive, Pyre is your choice. I recommend it to anyone who is searching for a good game. Also, I would like Fifa or Madden fans to try it, so they can see that good sports games are not all about football, hockey and others.

    8/10    … Expand
  24. Ave-Nar
    Nov 17, 2021
    9
    I haven't played too many visual novels, but Pyre is an excellent one. A lot of well written characters and a good story. The artstyle and music are great just as it can be expected in Supergiant Games. The ball-game is a good concept, but could have been more polished. It was still an excellent experience to learn game mechanics find out different strategies. In this game you have to makeI haven't played too many visual novels, but Pyre is an excellent one. A lot of well written characters and a good story. The artstyle and music are great just as it can be expected in Supergiant Games. The ball-game is a good concept, but could have been more polished. It was still an excellent experience to learn game mechanics find out different strategies. In this game you have to make hard decisions, accept consequences and proceed after losses.… Expand
  25. george_bondo
    Jun 20, 2023
    9
    the game is magical, a kind of ordinary novel with gameplay that is very decent and at the same time a simple sports game, the characters are great, and like other supergiant games projects, Pyre has magical music and atmosphere
  26. netbattler15
    Mar 6, 2023
    9
    Who says that sports games need to be based on real sports?

    I love the art, the music and the story.

    The sport is interesting and works well with video game controls. It also ties into the story in interesting ways.

Awards & Rankings

49
#49 Best PC Game of 2017
72
#72 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. CD-Action
    Oct 30, 2017
    75
    A great looking game that successfully blends different genres and offers the most distinctive setting from all Supergiant’s titles. Its ending and lack of online PvP along with framerate drops disappointed me though. [10/2017, p.48]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Sep 29, 2017
    60
    The unusual combination of virtual sport and text narration that does not fit everyone but definitely will find its fans. Moreover, it has an excellent sound and visuals. [Issue#277]
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Sep 13, 2017
    86
    One of the major Pyre’s features is that you can’t die. Sure, a fight to the death is nothing if not stimulating, but death is still a release – and no one escapes Downside that easily. Actually, inability to die is akin to a curse, because, although you can’t die – you still can lose. And you will have to find strength to keep going despite that loss, despite having let down your teammates and friends. [Issue#222, p.56]
See all critic reviews »