Pyre, a party-based narrative-driven RPG by Supergiant Games, the creators of Bastion and Transistor, where you try to lead a band of exiles to freedom by participating in a series of mystical competitions, is now out. It’s available on Steam and PlayStation 4 with the retail price set at $19,99 or your regional equivalent. The game’s original soundtrack by the highly talented Darren Korb is also available as DLC, in case you want to listen to the tracks outside of the game.
The reception so far seems to be mostly positive, with a couple of middling reviews here and there. Have a look:
IGN 9.7/10:
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 to get Pyre out of my head for a long time. This is Supergiant’s best work to date, and that’s saying something.
PC Gamer 71/100:
In the end I loved how their stories wrapped up, which made Pyre a strange contradiction for me: I preferred the destination to the journey. And as frustrated as I was with its lack of variety, I was just as in love with its small touches. Instead of a generic ‘continue’ text prompt, for example, every action in the story gets its own unique bit of writing. ‘Seek now your destination.’ ‘Journey onward.’ ‘Accept this, for it is done.’ I didn’t think there was room to innovate the ‘continue’ button. I was very wrong.
That creativity is what I’ll remember about Pyre as I look back on it. Pyre is clearly made with great skill and great care, blending art and music and words with more confident style than most games can hope for. But for all that work, its story and its combat never really meld, and neither was ever quite as fun or varied as I wanted them to be.
Destructoid 8.5/10:
The gameplay within the Rites is a fairly new concept to absorb, which took some time to get used to, but once I did I found that I really enjoyed it. Everything for the most part is balanced and fair, although there were a few hiccups here and there. For example, getting the orb into the Pyre can be tricky at times as there’s a small window for error and a lot of precision required for “dunking,” so to speak. Also, when there’s a lot of action happening at once, most notably when picking up the orb, there’s a momentary lag that occurs which can be detrimental (I lost a few rounds due to this).
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.
GameSpot 9/10:
Pyre’s competitive side is a wonderful surprise, both for how it introduces a brand new sport and for how it seamlessly connects to a narrative filled with heartfelt characters and tragic circumstances. But it’s all held aloft by relentlessly beautiful artwork and a masterful soundtrack packed with a diverse selection of genres and instrumentation. Every inch of the lush Downside, and every second of your journey, is a delight for the senses.
And thus it’s all too easy to fall in love with Pyre. It’s immediately attractive. Its songs dance in your head long after they debut. And before you know it, you find yourself driven to get better at rites and perform at the top of your game. Likewise, you can’t help but reflect on your partners in the Downside–those you trained, as well as those you neglected. 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.
Kotaku Scoreless:
Pyre is interesting enough to play multiple times, but it can also be played just as a one-on-one sport. In the game’s versus mode, which pits you against either an AI opponent or against a friend on your couch. In the story, there’s a lot of narrative pressure to do well in the rites. Against another person, I was a bit freer to just enjoy banishing my enemies, or passing the ball down the court, or flying over an aura blast. When I played against Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo in the office, he banished me just as I was about to score on him and I shouted, “you motherfucker.” Pyre is good in many ways. It’s even good enough that it made me call my boss a motherfucker.
Eurogamer Essential:
There’s a lot to love here. Everywhere you turn, there’s something to appreciate. The music, which I’ve yet to mention, is stunning, and easily the best soundtrack to come out of the Supergiant Games’ studios. I don’t have a vocabulary to describe the audio, but I will admit to leaving the game to idle for no other reason than to write by the tune I’ve selected. (Tangentially, Pyre has the coolest jukebox I’ve seen in any game yet.)
And there are always little things to interact with, little clever things that Supergiant Games has done with the way that information is presented, little choices in their approach to design that impress. Even the skill trees and the way you can assist your coterie of misfits, the inscrutable language used by the general populace. It is a good game. (I do miss hearing Bastion’s Logan Cunningham’s voice, though, but somehow, I don’t think his basal tones would quite fit the role of the announcer.)
GameInformer 8.75/10:
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.
PlayStationLifeStyle 9/10:
It feels disingenuous to even try and write words about Pyre, another Supergiant masterpiece. I don’t feel that my prose can even begin to match the resplendent beauty that permeates this journey through the Downside. If only that I could stand there in front of the Scribesgate once more listening to the Lone Minstrel and the Gate Guardian sing the hymn as the Rites commence one last time. For as amazing Pyre was, I’ll just have to find myself exiled once more to find freedom in the flame.
GamingBolt 9/10:
As a whole, Pyre is polished, refined and offers the perfect narrative blend between its radical world and outlandish combat. There’s nothing quite like it but even if there were, the charm of Supergiant Games shines like a beacon throughout.
COGconnected 85/100:
After a bumpy start with its combat, Pyre lives up to its predecessors with its rich lore, stunning art design, and interactive narrative. With the choices that you carry out altering the story, Pyre‘s diverse cast of characters in such an imaginative world makes it one to return to after you beat it, possibly again and again.
USgamer 3.5/5:
Pyre’s strengths lie in a lot of things: its beautiful visuals, amazing score, multi-branching tale, gameplay that somehow marries the best of sports games and tactical RPGs. But it’s wrapped in an expansive story that doesn’t quite earn its keep over its many hours, and fails to flesh out the endearing characters you meet and spend time with all along the way. In the end though, Pyre’s a quest worth taking if you’re up for the challenge and the inevitable dread you’ll feel when you lose sometimes.
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