In the middle of the initial trio is Hedwyn, while not as fast Rukey, is still agile.īut the real diversity of all the races is how they perform in competition. One the other end of the spectrum you have Jodariel, a huge demon girl, that it while slow moving is excellent for defense. Truth be told I have scored more than my far share with him but Pyre is about balance. For instance players might be keen on just focusing on Rukey Greentail due to his fast speed. That is just a few of the races found within Pyre and they all have different skills. Pyre’s world is comprised of several races from humans like the nomads to more exotic ones like demons, tree folk known as Saps and flying Harps. While that’s a pretty straight forward concept there is more to Pyre’s gameplay than that. You take control of the triumvirate of the Nightwings as you race to pick up an orb in the middle of the playfield and dunk it in the opposing side’s fiery signal. Your character, Reader, doesn’t actually join in the Rites but merely facilitates the action. At first you only have the three characters you first meet to compete with but as you go you’ll unlock more to your roster. Among the best way to define Pyre’s combat is either akin to Destiny’s Rift or on a basic level a game of 3-on-3 basketball. Unlike most RPGs, Pyre’s main gameplay is unique in the fact that there is no real direct conflict. This is abundantly clear almost from the start when you engage in a mock battle of sorts. These items when equipped will give characters special abilities like one that gives a normally slow character like Jodariel1 an increase in movement speed. Taking different paths along the way can net you different rewards to aid you along away including incredibly useful talismans. You play more of an observer from an almost fourth wall perspective as you make decisions like which paths to take when the rest of the troops are at odds. This is especially true since unlike Supergiant’s other titles you aren’t really the main focus of this story this time. Each character has their own story and want for freedom that you will learn as you interact with them which is really interesting. Those that compete and win in the final Rite can gain their freedom and rejoin the Commonwealth with another of their choosing.

These Rites are competitions that are not a means for glory but for freedom. Your journey as it is revealed is to lead others to places where the Rites take place. This makes you uniquely qualified to not only read special tomes but the evening stars as well as you embark on your journey with your rescuers. No matter your choice when your first asked if you can read you are thrust into the role of Reader. It seems that chief amongst these crimes in the Commonwealth is the ability to read, which may or may not be the cause of the main character’s exiles. This unforgiving landscape is home to all that have been exiled from the shining Commonwealth for crimes against their rules. When the story starts you are found left to die in banishment in the Downside. But before I get into its actual combat, I should cover the reason for it in the first place in Pyre’s seeming oppressive world. Sure there are sports games that feature RPG elements like Sony’s signature sports franchise but the reverse is far less common in the gaming market. Pyre isn’t just any RPG though as it combines classic RPG elements with sports of all things. So it only seems natural for them to continue that trend with their latest release Pyre available now for PC. Take developer Supergiant Games, an indie studio with 2 solid RPG based titles in under their belts. Even if that something new takes tried and true gameplay mechanics from different genres and puts them together to create something different and special. If there is one thing that I’ve learned over the years of playing and reviewing games is that there is always something new that surprises me.

Pyre switch