Pyre 📽 Through the Lens

I... I can't believe we're here. 😭 This is gonna be the last Supergiant game we cover... I already did a review of Hades, so ye, Supergiant only has four games released at this point. 😁

Pyre is the least known Supergiant game. It makes sense, this is a super experimental game. I'm not sure if there really is anything like it out there. I mean... a sports simulator, fantasy RPG? Ye... Greg and the team really went in their think tank for this one. 😁

Some would argue maybe a bit too much. I personally love this game, even though it's my least favorite Supergiant game. Its execution is still flawless. It's just... too quirky, too nuanced, too much out of left field. 🤷‍♀ I love that Supergiant were gutsy enough to even attempt it. But the mad lads did more than that, they pulled it off!

Therefore, in this edition of Through the Lens 🎞, we'll be looking at our last Supergiant game, the fantasy sports RPG from 2017: Pyre, Roll it! 📽

🚩 UP TOP 🚩

I remember being so confused when this game was first shown. 😂

What are they thinking? was the collective reaction in the industry. But at this point, Supergiant hadn't missed (they still haven't but who's counting?). So everyone was cautiously optimistic.

_{Another Supergiant game, another amazing soundtrack created by the great Daniel Korb!}

Yes, let's reiterate that I don't like this game as much as the others. But that doesn't mean that this is a flawed game, far from it. I think this game was executed as well as it could've with all circumstances in mind. 😄 These guys really went out of their way to create something that has never been done before.

And to pull it off as they did? That's a testament to the talent and dedication behind this team that has lead them thus far to be the greatest indie studio in the market today. 💯

Another great noClip documentary for your eyeballs. 👀 I'll paraphrase most of the main stuff, but if you are at all curious behind the development of games, check these guys out. They do great work and deserve all the attention in the world. They have a lot of content on Supergiant as well, so if you are in any way fans of their work (as I clearly am), you'll love their content❗️

⚾️🏀 SPORTS ⚽️🏈

Yup. 😁 The crazies actually made a freaking sports RPG... // fantasy sports but who's counting.

The game within the game - i.e. the sport that the team developed for this game is... it's aight. 😆 It's honestly pretty meh IMHO but it gets the job done. You're not playing this game for the sport, you're playing it for the overall experience - the world, the feeling, the characters.

It's all so unique and so interesting.

The game itself i simple to understand: you chose 3 combatants to engage in an ancient ritual called the Pyre (roll credits!), the goal of the game is to sacrifice a combatant by jumping in the burning pyre that represent the goal while carrying the ball. 🥅

You can only control 1 'player' at a time, and you steal/take the ball by just touching it - regardless if its held by someone. So there is strategy of placing your characters as "road blocks" but not that much. What you do with the guy you're controlling is what really counts (and you can of course switch between them). 🎳

You have the usual player types: small but quick, big but slow, and an all-around balanced bloke. What makes this game more than the sum of its parts, is that these player types actually have a personality behind them. 😱

🚴 YOUR JOURNEY 🚴

You know what's cool about this game? You play as a reader! A character that READS. 😮

FYI that's like one of my favorite tropes in fiction. I really enjoy stories that are centered around a character's literacy, and this one takes the cake in that aspect. 🍰 As it fully embraces its trope.

Thussslllyyy, since you are the only one amongst your party that can read, you are branded the leader and initiator of the rites (the Pyre, the game). So you get to chose which formation you want to take in "battle".

Now, here's the wrench 🔧 in this whole thing. The more you play with a certain character the more of their story you unlock. So, more often than not you will play with a suboptimal configuration just to unlock a specific story beat. 😬 This is great design, as it develops the rites without actually, factually developing them. (not sure if that makes any sense but you know how we do here 🤣)

One of the many cool features of this game (I swear Pyre has like a million cool little stuff that just elevate it past mediocrity and into greatness) is that the game takes into account each time you lose a match. 😵 And just keep going with that loss in mind.

This is tremendous on so many levels. Supergiant will go on to perfect this 'no end-state' clause even further in Hades. But the fact that they managed to intigrate it here as well is pretty awesome and smart.

And yes, thanks for asking, but the world and characters are of course amazing. Supergiant's writing chops have never slouched and if this game had weaker writing it wouldn't be half the game it turned out to be.

We talked about the smart way the end-states work in this game. Buuuut, let's elaboraaaateee. 😎

🥇 CULMINATION 🥇

So when I said this game takes into account all your actions (I didn't use those exact words, minds you, but take my word for it 😁) - it does❗️ 👀👀👀

Music has always been a cornerstone in Supergiant games, and Pyre is no different. The madmen actually decided to create a system where a custom song gets played during your credits - like, actually made based on your actions and decisions. 😱 This is cool on so many levels, chief of which is how unnecessary it really was. 😅 Evident by how little this feature is talked about relative to how awesome it is.

If you watch that noClip doc I linked above, you will see that this was no mean feat. The team had to really struggle to figure out how to accomplish this. I mean... making a procedural song for each player? That takes some balls, ladies. 😉 // that wasn't meant to come off weird, why did that come off weird?

In addition, because of the many different endings, this game is super replayable. Another of Supergiant's design pillars you might say. If you get steeped in this game's lore (which you most likely will) the final acts of this game is all the payoff you could've asked for and more.

The more I write about the more I wanna play a different route I've been meaning to for some time. 😅 Think I might just go and do that. 😌

As an aside before we finish. SG did everything they could to make this game as accommodating as possible. I adore the hyperlink system they used in this, and I think more visual novel type games need to incorporate the system. (I know Obsidian do for all their newer games)

Not saying this is anything new or groundbreaking, but the QoL features in this game made it way more playable for me than it otherwise would be. So kudos on that front. 👏👏👏

🏆 LEGACY 🏆

Hey look! The trophy emoji actually fits in perfectly this time! I should talk about sports games more. 😁

Unfortunately, this game will go down in the annals of history as just another niche title. The years haven't been kind to it, seeing as how all the people that wanted to paly it- have. I mean, the appeal of it is so crazy. Think about it. A person that loves sports managers/simulators while also being a huge fantasy nerd, AND a visual novel lover. (most of the dialogue is transmitted in VN form)

I can't think of a single person that fits that bill. 😅

So you always have to make a sacrifice to immerse yourself in this game. Hence why most people that love it, are not willing to die on a hill for it. Cuz, you know, they understand. 🙃

I'd call it a success. They pulled it off, it was semi-successful, and that's all you can ask for for something this niche. Remember, Pyre nearly buried SG because they didn't recoup their investment. Thankfully, Hades did that in spades. 😁

Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙

And so we come to the end of our Supergiant journey. 😭 Sad, I know.

Honestly I have no idea what I'll write about next, but I'll think of something. 😅 I've played a lot of good games in my team so we'll figure out something.

Final note: this game rules 👑. You should try it! If nothing else, than for its novelty. Cause I guarantee you haven't played anything like this before.

Hope everyone enjoyed reading, I always appreciated your feedback. 😌

Cheers! 🍻

👊 Follow me on my HIVE blog 👊

Have a great start to your week! 😉