Pyre

Pyre shares different aspects with Bastion and Transistor, starting first of all from the love of narration, which in this case is put on display with a similar approach to a visual novel, where you read a lot and sometimes make very emotional choices that involve teammates, enemies and countless characters that you will meet during the adventure. An adventure that, at least in terms of performance and style, resembles those of Fire Emblem, so to speak. The intricate events of the story of Pyre put us in the shoes of an exile known as Reader (coincidentally!) In an imaginary world halfway between fantasy and the mystical, discovering a complex and multifaceted lore, but always intriguing from to explore.

Our goal, without ending in the unhealthy spoiler practice, which in this case would be really harmful for your gaming experience, is to put up a team to compete in tests with a sporty flavor, rituals, which are basically the only way to cross the border, the Downside, and gain forgiveness to return to the Commonwealth by advancing in the main map purgatory. The field, therefore, is nothing but the background of a continuous battle in which it is possible to understand and exploit the skills and characteristics of your teammates, as well as those of your opponents.

Peculiarities that will reflect your path and your choices, obviously dictating your preferences among the members of the party (the characters recruited by the end of the adventure are eight, all very different from each other and able to generate interactions with opponents very close to the MOBA style) and altering the ending of the game. Furthermore, depending on the opponents and the arenas that you will find yourself in front of, you will obviously have to adapt your playing style, for example by forming a team capable of defending and, at the same time, using a fast character to entrust the task of marking how many more points in the shortest possible time. An alternative that in some cases could favor victory over the choice of a more homogeneous team or in a situation where the enemy AI should prove more offensive than usual.

To support the games there is a fairly simple idea of gameplay, but unfortunately very little intuitive in the execution. Blame for an unnecessarily complex and cumbersome control system, which does not allow the game to free itself from that patina between the serious and the tedious that surrounds the entire production. Yes, because after all the rituals are nothing more than a fantasy interpretation of a three-on-three basketball game, where the characters also face each other by hitting each other with special attacks and defend themselves, who more, who less well, thanks to the auras that surround them. A real-time game system that prefers the strategy that perhaps would have been better to entrust to a turn-based formula and which, by force of circumstances, ends up restricting even more the slice of the public to whom the title will appeal: Pyre is not certainly a game for everyone and the developers, while inserting a Versus mode locally, have not done much to try to make it attractive to a wider and less demanding slice of players.

In addition to the narrative aspect, the graphic style is also an aspect that Pyre shares with the other Supergiant Games games. Despite having an original aesthetic and its own precise character, the latest effort of the San Francisco software house is very close, in terms of taste and sensations it brings, to what was seen in Bastion first and then Transistors. The colors and visual style of Pyre are stunning and are part of a classy artistic direction, which mixes the dreamlike of the settings with the expressiveness of the character design, with the liveliness of the ritual arenas to close a truly impressive circle.

A general aesthetic picture that is put in the foreground by PlayStation 4 Pro, which is able to natively turn the title in 4K, enhancing its qualities and immersing the player in his beauty. The soundtrack and audio signed by Darren Korb, the same composer of Bastion and Transistor, packs everything on the instrumental and vocal notes to which the Californian developers have accustomed us, between the vibrant main theme and the aggressive electric guitars of the rituals that they seem to come out directly from the 80s.

MODUS OPERANDI
I played Pyre on PlayStation 4 Pro thanks to a download code from the PlayStation Store provided by the developers. My test took place with a 4K TV, on which I did not notice any technical imperfections, on the contrary: the title flows smoothly and smoothly at the native 4K resolution and at 60fps. A scenario that quietly approaches the best configurations of the title on PC and improves significantly as much as possible on standard PS4, a version still anchored at 1080p and 60fps. Currently the game is not localized in Italian and is completely in English.

Fortunately, not everyone thinks that's bad. A diverse group of outcasts could use this rare ability and with our help they want to leave their exile behind and return to the Commonwealth in glory.

Colorful mix of genres

Thanks to his visual novel genes, Pyre has a strong text focus , which helps to better understand the unusual and original world. That the game is well written and never degenerates into an exposure apocalypse helps a lot. Nevertheless, Pyre is not for the reading lazy. The game tells its story of the struggle for freedom through conversations and entries in the "Book of Rites", a book in which we learn everything about the world of Pyre and its inhabitants.

Pyre does not use the usual fantasy drawer with dwarves, orcs and elves, but instead donates creative character design and exciting figures that we want to learn more about. There are, for example, the dog-like cur, the worm-like wyrm knight, the crones that are reminiscent of aging Medusa or the cute imps that look like a cute version of demonic birds.

Our party - the Nightwings - consists of representatives of each race, which we can see as a kind of class at the same time. In addition to their appearance and their backgrounds, they differ in their skills. Harpies like Pamitha are fast and, thanks to their wings, can fly over chasms and enemies, while the Wyrm Knights can jump far and catapult themselves over greater distances. The classes are well balanced, the biggest difference is in the way they move, which is a factor not to be underestimated on the battlefield.

When magic meets handball

In Pyre there is (at least at first glance) only one way to escape exile: by qualifying in so-called rites , a quasi-religious rite. This is a kind of team sport in which three people (a so-called triumvirate) compete against each other on two sides. The aim is to extinguish the fire (the eponymous Pyre, i.e. pyre) of the other team with the Celestial Orb before their own flames go out. The whole thing works like a kind of fantasy handball on an isometric battlefield. Instead of jerseys, however, the participants wear robes and masks, and instead of sporty finesse they use magic. And instead of gates there is the pyre to be extinguished.

Choices play a big part in Pyre. It starts with the choice of who is allowed into the arena. Each character and race comes with its own strengths and weaknesses. As a demon, Jodariel has a heavier build and a larger aura - a kind of protective shield - than other characters, but also moves more slowly. However, it is worth it if it creates such pressure waves with one jump that it knocks the opponents back. Curs like Rukey and Wyrms like Sir Gilman are small and fast and therefore manage to avoid enemies and catapult themselves into enemy fire, but their auras are also smaller.

The aura is important because it serves as a protective shield that can send the opponent in possession of the orb into time out. If our team has the orb (i.e. the ball), the corresponding character temporarily loses its aura and is therefore much more vulnerable. At the push of a button we switch back and forth between the figures, because only one person per team is allowed to move.

Sometimes characters simply don't want to or can't go into battle. For example, because you and another character are not green, because they have been through previous fights and need a break, or because they do not consider themselves worthy.

Consequences & the nemesis system

It is exciting to see how the various decisions in Pyre affect. As usual in visual novels, the focus outside of the fighting is on conversation. On minimally animated screens, we can shape our own character by choosing our background story or influencing the relationship with the companions. For example, if we tell an insecure Rukey that his mustache is not as chic as he thinks, he will not take it positively and lose hope, which will affect his speed of return after being exiled in the next fight.

No less exciting is the fact that we ourselves decide which characters disappear from the game . If we win one of the special rites, then one of our companions is allowed to leave the exile. Who, that's in our hands - provided the candidates have already proven themselves worthy. Only experienced Nightwings with a certain level are allowed to return to the Commonwealth. So we have to decide whether we want to give a friendly character freedom, but permanently lose a valued friend and fighter, or whether we want to get rid of a pain in the ass.

The highlight of the matter: In order to get rid of unloved characters, we still have to play with them sufficiently beforehand, because otherwise they have not qualified for freedom. Pyre's mechanics force us to play with all characters and even release our favorites at some point. A farewell that is not always easy, not just in terms of play.

Instead, the characters either mourn the defeat or are happy about the victory until they meet again at some point. Because in Pyre we always compete against the same groups, almost like in the real Bundesliga. And just like in real team sports, the teams change with every match and get stronger. For example, because they were inspired by their victory or motivated by their defeat. Or through new, better team members.

Wonderful diversity

While the Nemesis system is quite exciting, it cannot prevent boredom later in the game. Our opponents are a wild mixture of creatures and personalities, but a little more variety would not have hurt in the end. It doesn't help that our main opponent is perhaps the palest figure we encounter in exile.

And as beautiful as the hand-painted backgrounds and characters are, at some point we saw all of the battlefields. The developers try to keep the look of Pyre fresh through different seasons, but with only ten arenas, the variety is still limited. In addition, the obstacles that appear on the field differ almost exclusively in appearance. Be it thorny tendrils, a chasm or mysterious signs on the ground that cannot be crossed - in the end they are all just different blockages.

Nice, nice, Pyre

Pyre is beautiful. Or better: Pyre is breathtakingly beautiful . Thanks to the many loving details, the hand-painted fantasy world is bursting with atmosphere, and even if we complain about the lack of variety in the level design, it's hard to get tired of Pyre.

The wonderful graphics go hand in hand with atmospheric lighting effects as well as a fantastic sound design and soundtrack and create such an atmospheric complete package as we now expect from Supergiant Games. Even if you don't know who developed Pyre, you will recognize the visual signature of the makers of Transistor and Bastion. And that is an achievement that not every developer can achieve by far.

The fans of the indie scene from Supergiant Games don't like recycling ideas. They debuted a fairy-tale post-apocalyptic hack'n'slash, after which they released a cyberpunk action RPG. Now, after a few years of waiting, they served the hungry fans another production, which can be described as ... Well, what is it anyway? And does the problem with an unambiguous definition of the genre affect the reception of the game and may it disappoint the target audience?

Pyre will surely be of interest to those players whose previous works by the studio, Bastion and Transistor , captivated with the perfect composition of an engaging, emotionally engaging story, hand-painted graphics and perfectly matched music and action - including the first title of an uninhibited, dynamic fight with hordes of enemies, in the latter to strategically plan subsequent activities in the active pause mode. Indeed, most of these climate-building elements can also be found in Pyre , but in terms of gameplay, the game is set into hitherto unexplored waters. Quick, sports matches with the "ball" and "goals" in the lead role interspersed with story inserts like in a visual novel game? And an extensive story dealing with important and sublime matters ? Supergiant Games, you have my attention!

The ball is one and the heaps are two

Hardly anyone would like to live in exile and it is no different with the members of our merry gang. Expelled from their country for various offenses, they are poor in a inhospitable land resembling purgatory. Until fate smiles at them when it turns out that return to the bosom of society is at hand - you just have to fight it in a series of skirmishes with other outcasts.

These clashes are truly mystical. Teams of three fighters fight for a celestial ball, which they must then shove into a burning pile of opponents - and so on, until they are completely extinguished. The participants of this rite do their best to achieve the goal and prevent competitors from winning. In addition to jumping, dodging, sprinting, and in some cases also flying, they also use powerful auras that can temporarily remove opponents from the battlefield. The key to success is proper coordination of the actions of all three players.

Fortunately, the player who knows the art of reading, an activity that has been banned for centuries in our country of origin, stands in the way of a group of unfortunates called Nightwings (and here comes the first suggestion that the place we all want to return to is a bit shady). By studying the secret book during the game, we get to know the arcana of rituals in which we lead our team to battle , learn more about the races and factions inhabiting the world, as well as explore the history of our homeland and the place of our exile.

Liberation by exposure

The world we travel is as captivating as it is dangerous. The stars lead us (quite literally - because they indicate successive points on the route of our journey) to gloomy, bubbling swamps, to a fairy-tale but terrifying forest, or straight into the hot desert sands dotted with huge skeletons . The battlefields reflect this diversity and are crafted down to the smallest detail. Usually, we will also find elements to diversify the game that correspond to the nature of the opposing faction. For example, enth-like creatures make the forest surrounding the battlefield grow, reducing it significantly.

Our team initially consists of three exiles, but soon - as a result of more or less bizarre circumstances - more beings join its ranks. We gradually discover their past - from anonymous "enemies of the motherland" united by chance by a common goal, they turn into multidimensional characters with their own history, the guilt to which they "owe" their current situation, and motivation to return.

Players who remember the phenomenal narrator who accompanied us in previous games of the studio may not have a similar solution in Pyre . This time, a lot of reading awaits us, as our companions "talk" a lot in the text windows as in a classic RPG against the background of static boards reminiscent of the visual novel genre or the Fire Emblem series . We can also hear them - each character says a line from time to time in a fictional language. It's true, I miss the narrator, but somewhere along the way we forget about it, because personalized styles of speech, tone of voice, as well as a few poses and reactions of hand-painted characters are enough to make our companions of misery very real .

As a result, it's getting harder and harder to part with characters when it comes time to decide who's going to go slow. Creators with true perfidy force us to take into account various factors. The heroes with the highest level of enlightenment (the local equivalent of experience), i.e. those we play most often and eagerly, have a chance for liberation. More than once, I have had internal battles: as a player, I wanted to keep a character in my team as long as possible that suited my playstyle, but as a dedicated Nightwings member, I wanted to give freedom to those who deserved it most - my favorites. In addition to the emotional load of such decisions, you can also feel their impact on the later game. It gets a lot harder when we have to play characters whose speed or movement does not match our favorite strategy so far guaranteed success. Well, nobody said the road to freedom is simple.

In a healthy body, healthy mind

The difficulty in classifying the Pyre 's genre reflects the fluctuating pace of the game perfectly. On the one hand, we have the heart of the game, i.e. dynamic matches that sometimes effectively raise the pressure . Congratulations in the spirit of particularly successful plays (even the usually unfavorable match commentator known as the Voice is kindly surprised that we did quite, quite this time) and we get pissed when the opponent knocks out after a well-coordinated sequence of moves. us a ball right next to your stack (read: goals). And when you are only five points short of winning - that's just the source of frustration! Immediately, however, a change of pace awaits us, and with it a moment of well-deserved rest, when you can cool down the emotions a bit.

Pyre between matches is primarily a visual and fictional experience. We pack our belongings, jump into the worn-out car and keep going where the stars will show us. Along the way, we admire the hand-painted views and the painstaking care with which a multiracial and diverse world has been made while listening to a great soundtrack, but we also have some more specific things to do.

It often happens that one of the companions has something on his heart and wants to talk - he will be waiting for us in the car (note here - it is a pity that the game has not been translated into Polish, because those who do not know English very well will bounce back) . The pause between matches is also a great opportunity to review our characters' statistics, enlightenment levels, skills and talismans, as well as try out new squads as part of casual training matches against, um ... a team of mystical exiles trapped forever in a secret ball.

Is the constant jumping between these two poles of the game tiresome? No, because the story that we discover layer by layer could easily serve as the basis for a novel from the young adult trend (i.e. youth literature, usually in fantasy climates) and would be great to read. It's a lot of fun to get to know new characters and factions, because they are colorful and well-written. Our paths cross, inter alia, with a pretentious ent, a haunted follower of a local counterpart Cthulhu or an anarchist punk dog (sentenced to exile for nothing but urinating at the monument to a respected judge). The relations between the characters go beyond the plot and often find their final, not necessarily positive, on the battlefield . Sometimes we feel sorry for our enemies ...