Pyre

Pyre is a game-changer. It’s a shoo-in for best indie game of the year, and it will be a crime if it isn’t at least competing for Game of the Year by the time December rolls around. As someone who walked in without any expectations, color me surprised.

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 to get Pyre out of my head for a long time. This is Supergiant’s best work to date, and that’s saying something.

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.

An engaging fantasy visual novel elegantly supplemented with an addictive and unique sport, Pyre is a true original. As gaming obsessions go, it burns bright, if not long. [Oct 2017, p.93]

Looking back on my time with Pyre, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it. The game is a beautifully wrapped package, with great gameplay and deep lore and plot to delve into if you want to. The gameplay is enjoyable enough to make the multiplayer mode worth taking a look at, lack of online features aside. Pyre really grabs you early on and doesn't let go until the very end, where you learn of the effects of your decisions throughout the game. This is Supergiant's best title yet, and I cannot stress this enough - this isn't a game to miss.

Pyre is a wonderfully made game, with simplistically beautiful graphics, and an engaging soundtrack. The gameplay can get a bit repetitive, but that doesn’t stop it from being an enjoyable journey. The characters and challenges were more than enough to make up for it.

Pyre is simultaneously a sports game for people who get tired of the repetition of sports games and an RPG for people who get tired of grinding through telegraphed battles.

Pyre marks Supergiant Games’ third consecutive masterpiece. A bizarre blend of genres creates an excitingly original title aided by incredible world building and one of the most consistently interesting casts of characters we’ve ever seen assembled. This is all further enhanced by some outstanding artwork. Framerate issues and the odd difficulty spike detract from the overall experience, but can't prevent this outing from achieving excellence.

Between that fascinating, open-ended approach to storytelling and its totally unique core gameplay, Supergiant Games pursued a vision for something new with Pyre, and the company has largely succeeded. Fans expecting more of the same may have to fight through some disappointment — especially if they want to be able to more thoroughly explore the nooks and crannies of the Downside. But Pyre makes a worthwhile trade-off here, exchanging the familiar for the fantastical.

Pyre is a fun, deep and strategic game with a gorgeous aesthetic. But it's the way the music and themes stick with you long after the credits roll that really makes it a worthwhile experience.

Pyre understands the primal thrill behind executing a dangerous slam dunk and the dueling probabilities of luck and dexterity necessary to make it happen. With Pyre, Supergiant Games' passion for systems-driven trials of skill and fondness for vibrant, wistful fantasy converge in the Mutant League NBA Jam daydream role-playing game I never knew I always wanted.

It feels disingenuous to even try and write words about Pyre, another Supergiant masterpiece.

Pyre’s world is full of dynamic characters with unique motivations, darkly vibrant backdrops that look like paintings, and a soundtrack that you’ll be humming for days, weeks, even months to come. It might be slow to start, but once it picks up it never looks back. The Rites are exciting and addictive, and you’ll always want to play “just one more round.” Even when the game is over, you’ll want to have at least one more round through the whole thing, just to see how things might turn out differently. Pyre is an admirable addition to both Supergiant’s repertoire and any gamer’s collection.

Supergiant Games continue to burn brightly as an independent studio, with Pyre being their latest imaginative and fantastical adventure. It casts aside many of the trappings of an action RPG from Bastion and Transistor in favour of something more akin to a real time tactical game, wrapping its fast paced and often fraught battles up in a world and cast of characters that gradually draw you into its cyclical tale.

Not only is it one of the most beautiful games I've played in recent memory, but it has some new mechanics and ideas to keep you playing.

Supergiant Games has created something special that lives on in your heart. And against great odds, it's invented a sport that could have stood on its own without the story it's attached to--but it's so much better because it is.

Simply describing Pyre‘s spectacularly outlandish battle system doesn’t do it justice… Pair that with a wonderful cast of characters, a riveting story, and enthralling music and visuals, and you have nothing short of a compelling game that demands your time and attention.

Pyre mashes up point-and-click adventures, RPGs, and sports games—and comes out the other end with one of the more memorable stories we’ve seen in some time. It’s a tale of freedom, sacrifice, and rising against the odds, even when they seem to be in your favor. While it can be a bit repetitive gameplay-wise, the colorful world and even more colorful characters should be more than enough to motivate you to fight for the exiles of the Downside.

Looks, sounds, and plays flaming great. Supergiant Games' best title yet, this is a journey worth taking. [Sept 2017, p.72]

Pyre’s storytelling ambience, narration, art, and music work in concert. This gives the experience a singular identity, and the mash-up of role-playing and sports gameplay cements that distinctiveness. More showing and less telling could improve the pacing, and the lengthy travel and dialogue sequences have the potential to detract from the thrill of the “fights.” But I’m hesitant to fault that more gradual approach, as Supergiant has once again crafted an unusual and surprising fictional backdrop, and a little extra reading is well worth it for some unchecked originality.

Hats off to Supergiant Games. With their third game they push the boundaries again and deliver an exciting and emotional journey with mechanics somewhere between fantasy rugby and a visual novel. Art design and the beautiful soundtrack draw you into this world even more.

Pyre gives SuperGiant games the hat trick on indie excellence. While it lacks the simple perfection of Bastion in favor of a more complex and convoluted set of mechanics, it nonetheless executes everything masterfully. A few nagging complaints here and there don't change the fact that the game is just a delight. The characters, gameplay and story come together wonderfully and are augmented by beautiful visuals and a fantastic soundtrack. When the worst you can say is that the game overstays its welcome a little, you know you have something good on your hands. Fans of SuperGiant's stuff or indie games in general should consider Pyre a must-buy.

Supergiant Games just gave us another gem: despite some verbose sections and the amount of text to read (that can be overwhelming at times), Pyre has a sophisticated art direction, a compelling and charming story, and an original and unique take on the RPG genre.

Pyre is SuperGiant Games' best game to date. It is a compelling, original formula, winch combines RPG and tactical sports where the spell is cast through its character's charisma, the overwhelming options you always have at your grasp, the instant fun of the matches, and through deep, strong storytelling.

Deep, atmospheric and unique, but too slow and only in English. Not for everyone, but those who enjoy its proposal will be sucked into this magnificent new world that Supergiant Games has created.

Pyre’s battle system is excellent and delivers upon thrilling competitive play, but whether it has any future in that space could rest on whether it gets online play.

Despite some of these hiccups, it’s difficult not to enjoy being part of this strange world and participating blindly in its customs. Although I wasn’t quite as attached to the characters as I had hoped, I did appreciate the medley of personalities and felt the world and its customs were admirably orchestrated within everyone’s backstory. It might not be for everyone, but Pyre delivers on its fun gameplay in a way that beautifully illustrates the struggles of redemption and what it means to gain true freedom.

Pyre backs up its eye candy with some pretty impressive world-building and fun gameplay, particularly in Versus Mode.

Pyre is something special and different, and that's undeniable. It has its flaws, but it's overall a great game, and Supergiant has proven once again they know how to make unique experiences.

A quirky fusion of genres which challenges as much as it charms.

You've never played anything quite like this. [Issue#191, p.74]

Pyre is painted with the same deft brushstrokes of originality and fancy that Bastion and Transistor were, but reaches far greater heights than either.

If Pyre never quite feels like a classic sporting struggle, your ragtag band of rebels and their delightful mobile home are a heartwarming upside to life on the Downside. [Issue#310, p.108]

I do not care for sports games, and yet I adored Pyre. It's one of those games where in the hands of an amateur developer, the idea could have been flimsy and the execution awkward. Supergiant Games constantly shows passion and innovation with each of its titles, and doesn't seem to be afraid to go back to the drawing board when something isn't quite working. Pyre is essentially the high fantasy version of Space Jam, only the Reader is not Michael Jordan and no one from the NBA had their powers stolen, yet the team has heart, soul, and is made of a bunch of rag-tag misfits. It's easy to root for the little guys.

A fascinating and deep strategic adventure that will please the storytelling's lovers.

Pyre offers a unique blend of storytelling and thrilling arena combat. The ability to duel against friends adds incentive to keep playing even after the game is finished but it’s the cast of characters that steal the show. They are unquestionably worth investing in due in part to the sprawling history and noble journey they embark upon which you won’t soon forget.

Given the chance, Pyre opens up a world rich with lore to enjoy, and a variety of characters to throw headlong into magical bonfires. With both the story campaign and a multiplayer match mode available, it’s easy to get deep into the Rites yourself.

Pyre is a beautifully written and designed adventure game with addictive and intuitive combat. The campaign overstays its welcome somewhat during the second half, but that is not enough to tarnish the overall impression, which is of a unique game, filled to the brim with some of the most memorable characters seen in quite some time.

Pyre is one of the quirkiest, fun and most fascinating titles of 2017.

Pyre is an audiovisual delight, with a mesmerizing, painterly art-style which is further complemented by some excellent, tactical gameplay, too. Simply put, it's a magical symphony of the senses.

Pyre represents another solid effort from Supergiant, as the awe-inspiring world, both in terms of design and depth, coupled with a lovable cast of heroes and villains, continue the studio’s renowned streak for titles with big heart and unique gameplay. The repetitive and overly-lengthy nature of the campaign, as well as a lackluster versus mode, holds the title back from reaching the same heights as its predecessors, but those looking for an original universe and an uplifting tale will be hard-pressed to find a deeper and better-looking game this year.

Pyre definitely suffers from structural issues, and doesn’t solidify into a truly great experience until its later half, but on the whole it’s another fascinating entry from Supergiant Games - and that second half is worth it. Somewhat flawed, but recommended nonetheless.

Colorful characters, wonderful music and unique gameplay along with some RPG elements make Pyre fit in with the studio’s back catalog quite nicely. Despite its storytelling and gameplay faults, it still fits in a great deal of content for the asking price and is worth picking up if you’ve enjoyed the studio’s previous work or are looking for one of the more unique takes on the RPG genre, which you’ll definitely find here.

If you only consider its narrative, art direction, music and lore, Pyre is absolutely gorgeous. But its "combat" mechanic just doesn't succeed in being totally fun.

The bizarre mix of influences and gameplay doesn’t always gel, but the visuals and writing help paper over the cracks in this admirably unique adventure.

Pyre is a diamond in the rough. Its sense of adventure and novel Rites are ultimately held back from realizing their full potential by a campaign that feels drawn out, static teammates, and easy enemy AI. There’s plenty to love here, and Pyre will most definitely worm its way into the hearts of many, but it doesn’t quite top Bastion as Supergiants’ crowning achievement.