Pyre is an action role-playing sports video game developed by Supergiant Games for Microsoft Windows, Linux, macOS and PlayStation 4, released on July 25, 2017. The macOS version was released on August 3, 2017.
Pyre, a creation of Supergiant, the developer behind Bastion and Transistor, is a rather unusual game, blending a text-based narrative game with what can only be described as a fantasy arena sport with light RPG elements. You play as an exile, cast into the desolate Downside for crimes against the Commonwealth, namely for practicing the banned ability of literacy. Because of your ability to read, you are picked up by a small group of exiles whom you will lead to freedom from the Downside, uncovering and taking part in increasingly momentous circumstances that will decide much more than the mere liberty of your companions.
The path to freedom is a fantastical sport called the Rites, in which many teams (or triumvirates) compete for a chance to return to the Commonwealth and a pardon for all past crimes. Your job is to interpret the Book of Rites and to lead your companions in the Rites. When a Rite begins, you must choose three companions to represent your team, the Nightwings. The goal of the Rites is simple: extinguish the opponents’ goal, called a pyre, by dousing it with an orb that materializes in the center of the arena. The gameplay is fluid and refined. You control one character at a time; and though switching between characters can sometimes be confusing (or frustrating), it is quite easy to learn. Each character exudes an aura that banishes opposing characters for a short time on contact, and each possesses various abilities that can be used to banish foes, defend your pyre, or dodge your opponents. Each character also has unique stats that define them and their gameplay. Larger characters tend to move slowly, but possess larger auras and deal more damage to the enemy pyre, while smaller characters are faster and weaker, though they will have a better chance to score.
Victory or loss will depend on strategy—how you counter the opponents’ moves, defend your pyre, and send your characters in to score. Once you score, the character that dealt the blow will be banished until someone else scores. There is a good amount of variety given by characters and the environment; for instance, one arena is floored with ice, making movement more unpredictable, and some characters trail their aura rather than project it in a radius. There are some RPG (role-playing) elements present as well; your characters can level up to gain new passive effects, and you can buy trinkets from the local Slugmarket to give your triumvirate an edge in the Rites. And, if you really want to test yourself, you eventually unlock the ability to invoke Titan Stars, which will make the game more challenging but reward your characters with more experience upon completion of the Rite.
But despite all this variety, I find myself sticking to roughly one main strategy and team loadout (one defensive character, one offensive one, and a quick scorer), and the gameplay gets a little old after a while with little to incentivize trying multiple strategies or play styles. This is, of course, not to say that the gameplay itself is bad. In fact, it is quite fun, and there is nothing more exhilarating than to pull off a great play, deny your enemies the orb, and douse their pyre with a flair of skill and strategy.
When not taking part in the Rites, you are given the task of guiding your ragtag group of exiles through the Downside, picking paths to get you to the location of your next Rite. Sadly, there are few truly meaningful choices in this game that directly affect the story, and each decision usually results in a buff for your next Rite, an item to equip on a character or sell in the Slugmarket, or some dialogue that reveals something about one of the characters. Aside from these choices, you will often take part in dialogue between you and one or more of the characters in your group. These interactions can be quite interesting, since each character is unique and quirky, but they may become a bit tedious after a long session in the game, when you often just want to get to the action and advance the plot. I definitely enjoy many of the characters, two of my favorites being the overly emotive wyrm knight Sir Gilman and the refined tree-man Volfred Sandalwood, and these dialogue sections do an excellent job fleshing out the personality and backstories of all the characters.
The art direction of Pyre is where the game truly stands out; it is simply amazing. The Downside is a surreal wasteland, marked by vibrant colors, twisted foliage, and a huge diversity of biomes, from dry desert to tempestuous sea to frigid waste to beautiful forest. Every environment and arena is brimming with fantastical abnormality that simultaneously sets it apart from other fantasy settings and cements it into its own unique dream-like world. In addition to the visual style, Pyre is accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack by Darren Korb, which meshes perfectly into the world to bring it to life at an even greater level.
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this game. The Rites and choice-based gameplay may not be the best of the best, but they are definitely enjoyable, and Pyre drew me in with its characters, story, art direction, and soundtrack.
To wrap things up, here are the numbers:
Game Factor: Is it fun/replayable? 7/10
Look Factor: Are the graphics/design good? 10/10
“Jump-in” Factor: Is it easy to learn/hard to master? 8/10
The Final Verdict: 8/10
While you probably won’t find yourself coming back to play this game multiple times, the atmosphere, unique gameplay, and quirky characters make Pyre a very good game on the first playthrough, and I would recommend giving it a try and adding it to your collection.
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