Pyre
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Critic Reviews for Pyre
The latest game from the creators of Bastion, Pyre expertly blends sports with a fantasy world, delivering a unique and engrossing experience in the process.
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.
Pyre's campaign is repetitive and its combat never quite clicks, but a touching and thoughtful story makes it worth sticking through to the end.
Dazzling and mysterious, this ambitious party-based RPG is a masterpiece.
The bizarre mix of influences and gameplay doesn't always gel, but the visuals and writing help paper over the cracks in this admirably unique adventure.
Pyre is a lengthy sojourn into a surprising setting, with gameplay focused on a thrilling, smartly balanced battle sport
Much of the pull of this world is delivered through Pyre's narrative, which drives the game forward in spite of the repetition of its sports game-style core. Sharply written dialogue is interspersed between rites, illuminating a story that branches in dozens of different ways. That plot is carried on the shoulders of a wonderful cast of characters – party members such as the gruff demon Jodariel, the bitter bog witch Bertrude and my personal favorite, Sir Gilman, a snake with a single large eye who wears a clunky metal helmet and wants nothing more than to be an honorable knight.
