Pyre Review

Pyre is the latest game created by the team at Supergiant. They released massive hits like Bastion and Transistor, and they are also preparing Absolver this year as well. So yes, the pressure is pretty high for Pyre, since it has to satisfy a wide range of fans. But does it succeed or not?

First impressions of Pyre

Right off the bat, you will note that this is not Bastion. It is a party based RPG, but the primary focus is on talking and creating a very good story. I particularly like the approach that Pyre has taken. It delivers a gripping and genuinely emotional story that you will enjoy exploring. But aside from that, there are some strange design choices, such as the ability to play magic ritualistic basketball. While this seems a nice thing to have in such a game, it’s also unexpected.

Characters

Aside from the story that has lots of depth and which is fun, you will note that Pyre comes with some memorable and fun characters. Some are designed to be loved; others will be hated right off that bat. But this shows that the story is very compelling, and you do have a lot of unique ideas here for sure.

Gameplay

The core gameplay in this game consists of the Rites, which do tend to be fun most of the time. You have to note that the game is pretty easy in the beginning, but the more you explore it, the more enticing the gameplay will become. The RPG elements are also nice and very customizable, which is pretty good as well. The soundtrack is amazing too, which is extremely important in a game like this.

Pyre does have the atmosphere that other Supergiant games have. It also manages to offer lots of fun moments, and it’s quite easy to get into, once you get the hang of how it plays. The issue for some people is that Pyre is very similar to a visual novel, and a lot of people expected a fully-fledged RPG like the other titles created by the developer.

The game isn’t marketed as a visual novel, but even if the world is huge, there is a lot of dialog in here. it may not be a game for those people that just don’t want to spend a lot of time reading.

However, the story tends to make up for that, and by reading each one of the dialog lines, you do get very invested in the story and the characters as a whole.

Closing thoughts

Pyre is not a perfect game. And it made some Supergiant game fans angry. Yes, it’s not like Bastion, nor does it want to be that. It’s still a very good game. The combination of basketball, a great story and visual novel ideas is something interesting. However it does take some getting used to. Pyre is a lot of fun to play, and it can be quite interesting and exciting. It’s certainly worth your time, even if it can take a while to get used to it!