Neither approach is better in theory, but I found my eyes glazing over trying to read through Pyre’s faux-Bible, in part because it’s inconsequential. Where those games implied, Pyre explains. It’s dense-the opposite of the broad brush world-building Supergiant did in Bastion and Transistor. There’s even a 100-page encyclopedia you’ll unlock pages in as you play, and that encyclopedia later earns itself its own glossary of terms. Between Rites you’ll spend most of your time chatting with your companions and learning about the extensive lore of The Downside and the Commonwealth. If that previous paragraph seems packed with odd terms, well, welcome to Pyre. There are nine Triumvirates (teams), and you’ll face off against each as you head towards the Liberation Rite, the ultimate challenge and the one where you can win your freedom. The only way back? The Rites, a mystical series of trials set up by The Eight Scribes that…basically takes the form of a sports league. My interest was ignited by the first few screens of Pyre action, and I think that my love for the game is a fire that may never go out.You play as the Reader, exiled from your home in the Commonwealth to a cursed land known as The Downside. You can watch the launch trailer for Pyre right here, or if you’d prefer a more detailed look, take a walkthrough of the first 20 minutes of gameplay. Elsewhere, IGN gave Pyre a rating of 9.7/10, Gog.com awarded it 4.4 stars out of 5 and Metacritic scored it a very impressive 85%. Out on PS4, Windows, Linux and Mac, the game is rated at 9/10 on Steam, where Pyre costs £14.99. Sure, the rite battles are pleasing, and the narrative is engaging, but Pyre teaches us that the journey is about who we make it with, not just our surroundings. Each of them has their own story and stopping to take an interest in your fellow exiles is a key factor in how much I enjoyed camping out in the woods with them. Overall, I really enjoyed Pyre, and not least because of the characters, who are even more colourful than the landscape they inhabit. I’d advise dovetailing between the two modes to get the most out of Pyre. But there is a lot of fun in exploring Downside, and in Versus mode, you really get to know each character you can represent better. One criticism I could level at Pyre would be that the battles aren’t amazingly difficult, and perhaps lean towards the noob rather than the shark in gaming terms. It’s a world that is comfortable with its own irony, and there is humour to go with the combat, which kept me interested. Fighting for the rites with your party, you wander around a world adorned with fallen monsters in a colour scheme that put me in mind of a swimming pool full of Jolly Ranchers. There are clear references to kicking back against the man in Pyre, as you battle not just against enemies, but the overbearing Commonwealth during your stay in Downside. Instead, it brings together the better elements of its contemporaries and delivers a very rounded game. The soundtrack is amazing, and I choose to listen to it even when I’m not playing the game.īuilt around firing and dodging, and world-building within a mystical universe of super-skilled creatures, Pyre could end up looking and playing like an amalgam of all it admires. The dialogue in the game is a key factor in the game, and one of the reasons I enjoyed the game. The artwork behind the battle for ancient ritual bragging rights is stunning, and there are vivid colours and enjoyable game mechanics in every fight. But there is so much more to Pyre than the first spark of interest. Exploring a labyrinthine world filled with colourful, entertaining characters, all of whom are bidding for freedom by way of fight or flight is a great hook for any game. Supergiant Games are well aware of this, and in designing Pyre has captured part of what is so appealing about the genre. Released in July 2017, Pyre was part of an influx of similar games during a year where gamers have embraced the party-based RPG like never before.
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