It’s not often that sports and RPGs gets the fantasy narrative treatment. But then again, there aren’t many games like Pyre, and fewer developers like Supergiant.
I’m about three quarters through my playthrough of Supergiant’s odd mix of aura-driven fantasy sports, and while the moment to moment gameplay is a touch more simplistic and less frantic than I was hoping, I’ve enjoyed every moment of Supergiant’s latest adventure so far. As Gita found, there are still all the hallmarks you would come to expect: lovely little animations, charming storytelling, a detailed soundtrack and charming characters throughout.
[referenced url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2017/07/pyre-the-kotaku-review/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/mkkvbhnpwueaor37vboe.jpg” title=”Pyre: The Kotaku Review” excerpt=”Pyre is a sports game about starting a revolution. In a worse game, that would be a joke, but Pyre takes both its sports and its politics seriously and combines them in an unexpectedly compelling way.”]
That said, I can understand why Pyre won’t be the most beloved game Supergiant has ever made. The core gameplay, a 3v3 mode of passing orbs from one character to another for some grand celestial dunks, isn’t as quite as palatable as the turn-based combat of Transistor or the familiar action in Bastion. But most people have enjoyed it nonetheless, and as a fan of slightly unpopular sports, I’m looking forward to the finish.
How have you found Pyre?
Comments
7 responses to “Community Review: Pyre”
Love this game although I’m reasonably bad at it. Makes me feel I’m old and my reflexes no longer keep up. Played bastion and transistor fine though. Not sure why I find this harder. Maybe managing the multiple characters is the problem. But anyway, the game is great. like a mix of Transistor, Banner Saga and a basketball game.
Love the story, love the characters, love the music. The game play is quite interesting and how the game brings all the pieces together both in and out of the Rites is quite cool. The rites by themselves are a difficult but rewarding experience. Definitely a game I won’t be forgetting for years. Pretty much like all of Super Giants works to day.
I feel bad that the game is being hated on by fans that wanted more bastion or more transistor. Super giant is clearly just trying to do something new each time and I think that’s quite cool. I understand the disappointment but hating on Pyre for not being Transistor 2 is weird. I don’t judge a banana for not being a steak. So strange.
Overall I highly recommend it. To fans of Supergiants other games, I just caution you to approach it with an open mind because it’s familiar but its still VERY different from Bastion/Transistor.
finished it over the weekend. Fantastic game, with a few caveats.
the rites are surprisingly deep – lots of potential tactics when you’ve got your full squad to pick from. but… aside from visual-novel-esque interaction with squadmates, thats the whole gameplay aspect. if teh game were much longer, this would be a problem, but at ~10 hours, it doesnt get tired.
being a Supergiant game, beautiful visuals are almost a given. & Pyre delivers.
again, the soundtrack is fantastic – very clever in that the few tracks with vocals actually change depending on whats happening in the story. but… the lyrics to the few vocalised tracks just recount whats happening – personally, i’m of the opinion that “hey, i’ve just played that. I dont need a vocalist to sing about what i’m currently watching.” if the vocals were less specific, & tackled the themes of the game more broadly, i think it’d be better.
having said that though, the contextual lyrics are a wonderful technical & musical acheivement.
Logan Cunningham’s part as The Voice is impressive. the only real voiced character in the game, but he’s once again pretty good. i didnt even recognise his voice at first – its a far cry from the gravelly bass of Rucks. but its well done.
story-wise… i dont want to spoil anything. so in general, your characters have been exiled. they can win back their freedom by taking part in competitive rituals. about a third of the way through, this story element manifests itself in a somewhat unexpected way that directly impacts how you play – i think this mechanic is handled very well & introduces a new series of sometimes difficult choices…
overall, the story didnt have the same impact that Bastion & Transistor had (i know this coz i wasnt a blubbering wreck at the end of Pyre, unlike the other two).
also, i really appreciate the option to have custom matches vs AI or vs another player – probably not a multiplayer game many people will put lots of time into, but its a nice addition.
TL;DR – great game. well worth playing. i dont think its the best Supergiant game though.
How do you feel about replayability? That’s my second biggest concern about Pyre, behind the gameplay itself.
Replayability is focused entirely around how invested in the story and characters you are. Can’t explain too much without spoilers but I’ll try.
Basically your choices effect how long you may spend with your characters and so losing your favourite characters earlier may end in a better plot ending for them but a harder game for you. In a way you can play a few more times to see the different possible endings for each of the characters and then in a way carry different handicaps/force yourself to learn different playstyles to accomodate these choices. Really can’t explain without spoilers man :/
well, it’s a “branching” narrative – there’s no real fail state, just different paths depending on whether you win or lose rites. i’ve not gone back to try so i cant comment too much on that.
I guess replayability would come in the form of trying out new tactics & focusing on particular party members & doing the story in a different order.
but given you can jump straight into a match at the main menu, you dont really need to replay the story to do all that.
funny thing is, just after the credits rolled, i wanted to replay Transistor more than i wanted to start up a new Pyre run.
Edit: also, like Bastion & Transistor, there’s a series of modifiers that increase difficulty of the rites. you could definitely switch them on & do a replay if you’re after a more challenging experience.
Interesting. I’m still pretty reserved about this game but I’ll keep an eye on it. Thanks 35 and @shoitaan.
fwiw, i’m fine with the fact i paid US$20 for it (but i’m a bit of a Supergiant fanboy)
but if you’re still on the fence, wait for a sale 🙂
…just try to avoid spoilers in the meantime :p