Pyre

Definitely worth a play if you're a Supergiant Games fan. Jen Zee's artwork is gorgeous and Darren Korb's soundtrack is incredible, both in the characteristic style of Supergiant Games. The world-building is rich and, if you are into reading text, you get to gradually learn each character's backstory as you progress through the story. Each choice you make in the game actually influences the plotline, and you will get a slightly different ending from other players depending on which characters you liberate. The rites gameplay (the basketball game) is snappy and fun, even for someone like me who isn't into sports games. Although it gets a bit repetitive after the first several hours, it is worth pushing through to the end to see how the story plays out. Also - the lyrics of the background music literally change depending on who you're fighting against and which characters you liberate. This kind of attention to detail sets Supergiant Games apart.

I'm came to this as someone who loves sports and has no experience with other Supergiant Games...games, aside from a brief stint in Hades. However, their reputation proceeds them and is what ultimately brought me to this game. While I did have my issues with this game, I would ultimately strongly recommend this either to people who love visual novels and/or people who'd enjoy a non-traditional sports game (who can probably mash through or outright ignore many parts of the story). As someone who came for the sports, I really enjoyed this for the most part! I found the basic team based ball game style very fun, with a good amount of depth if you want it. There are a number of different classes of players who all have various pro's and con's, and I really enjoyed working with different pairings to find who worked best together. I also enjoyed how the game's story interacted with you decision making in the sports sections. Losing does not end the game, much like real sports you simply must pick yourself up and keep going. If you use a player too much, they will get tired and you may be forced to use unfamiliar combinations of players. And as the story progresses, you may even find yo…

If it wasn't from the "Hades Guys", I'm not sure people would care as much. The gameplay is defenitely unique, but it's not hooking me at all. It's a basketball game with spirits and ghosts, with some kind of story attached to it.

Pyre combines the gameplay of magic Basketball with a story-driven RPG rich in lore. You live in a sort of underworld from which you can free yourself through “Rites” - that is, magical tournaments. Along the way, you encounter a wide variety of characters and learn a great deal about the world from which you were banished, the conflicts between the various groups, and, of course, the backstories of the characters themselves. Ultimately, the goal is to overthrow the realm of the Overworld and, interestingly, it doesn’t really matter that much how well you perform in the games themselves. Theoretically, you could just lose them all. But of course, it makes a huge difference to the characters who you free during the Liberation Rites. Combined with the art style and music - which, as is typical of Supergiant, are excellent - it transforms a somewhat silly premise into a truly epic story.

** Played on Steam Deck There is a lot to love about Pyre, but one glaring issue ultimately dragged the experience down for me. On the positive side, the visuals are absolutely excellent. The characters are incredibly cool and distinct from one another, and I became a huge fan of Sir Gilman. What killed my enthusiasm, however, was the repetitive gameplay loop. Once you learn how the Rites work, the game just loops the same formula over and over. While you do get to expand character development, the story is told entirely through heavy reading. I eventually found myself hastily skipping through conversations just to progress. The loop of Rite, read, Rite, read quickly became tedious. I thoroughly enjoyed my first five to seven hours, but the monotony after that point crushed the experience. 3/5 stars

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