LTTP: Supergiant Games' Pyre

[LossAversion]

I loved Bastion.Transistor is one of my favorite games of all time.

It took me over five months to pick up Pyre and when I finally did pick it up, I got it on sale for half the regular price. I actually feel guilty about this. I knew about Pyre, I was excited to pick it up, and I wanted to support Supergiant Games. I simply had too many games to play and not enough time to play them all, let alone add any more to my backlog. I could have almost guaranteed myself that I would love Pyre before I played it and I would have been right.

Pyre is fantastic. The music and the visuals are both predictably incredible, the characters are all really interesting, and the game is fun as hell. It's a unique combination of a "choose your own adventure" game and an arcade sports game. The story and the world of Pyre are both enchanting. It's all good stuff.

I have to admit though, that I'm a little worried for Supergiant's future. They are one of the best developers working today as far as I'm concerned. I fear that too many people have skipped Pyre like I initially did because of the crazy year that 2017 was for gaming. From what I can gather, Pyre was not as financially successful as either of Supergiant's previous games. This is such a shame and I can only hope that it was successful enough to keep this wonderful studio going. Bastion and Transistor were both very different games from one another but I feel like Supergiant had a much easier time communicating what those games were all about when compared to Pyre.

If you've been sleeping on Pyre, I highly recommend that you stop hitting that snooze button.

 

[Poobik THE Hare]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

Pyre is pretty damn underrated, honestly one of my favourite games of the year and definitely the best written Supergiant game by far. I really hope they continue to branch to explore creative gameplay mixes like they did here because it really gives Pyre a unique flavour compared to Bastion and Transistor.

 

[Fuu]

Although I absolutely love Bastion and Transistor (bought the latter on release week), I also left Pyre for a later date. It was a combination of something about it not being as immediately appealling as the preceding two and the fact that I was less into gaming at the time.

I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I finally get to it. I hope it sold enough for them though. Do we have any numbers on how it did?

 

[janusff]

Yeah Pyre is a delightful little game. Music is really on point as well as the overall vibe of the game. Rites are great too. There's a lot of reading to do but if you stick with it it's great.

I also share your concern about the studio finances. I hope Pyre sold decently but I can totally see a lot of folks skipping the game. Perhaps turned off a bit by how different it is. But they made the rigth choice mixing it up. If they would've come out with another game that was similar to Transistor and Bastion, I could see folks being a bit put out by it. Anyway I highly recommend it. Great title.

 

[Thores]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

Hi I literally had the opposite experience as you.

Bastion was a big disappointment to me and could not hold my attention, Transistor was more intriguing but I again did not play it for very long, and I LOVED Pyre. It is without a doubt one of my games of the year. I'd recommend it to anyone with even a slight interest in visual novels or RPGs.

 

[Portmanteau]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

Why do you feel like it's a bad game? That's a pretty objective statement, especially for a game that has ended up on a lot of end of the year lists.

I think Supergiant has gotten better. Pyre is miles better than Bastion.

 

[Deleted member 14377]

Pyre is genuinely one of my favorite games of all time and my GOTY for 2017. The writing, the characters and fantastic gameplay are so great. I absolutely cannot wait to see what they attempt next and I hope the sales don't deter them from continuing to take chances and push genres.

 

[Fuu]

Why do you feel like it's a bad game? That's a pretty objective statement, especially for a game that has ended up on a lot of end of the year lists.

I think Supergiant has gotten better. Pyre is miles better than Bastion.

Click to shrink...

Transistor does take a little while to get going mechanically. I can see someone who only played it for 30 minutes not liking it.

 

[Deliro]

Funny, I got it too on sale and finished it just 2 hours ago. I loved Bastion, never got around to play Transistor and I thoroughly enjoyed Pyre.
I thought gameplay was kinda meh with the game heavily favoring offense, but everything else was great. Some of the best written character I've seen in any game combined with a charming artstyle, great soundtrack and a story that kept me on my toes the whole way through make sure that I won't forget Pyre anytime soon.
Shame that many people are really harsh nowadays and they call a game trash if it's not 100% to their liking.
Even more so because love oozes out of every inch of Pyre and you feel that the people who worked on it really cared

 

[Deleted member 437]

I skipped pyre because the gameplay looks completely uninteresting to me. Like some 3v3 basketball game.

Everything else looks amazing, and I loved bastion and transistor. But this one was a complete miss for me.

 

[LossAversion]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

I respect your opinion but I couldn't disagree more.

Pyre is pretty damn underrated, honestly one of my favourite games of the year and definitely the best written Supergiant game by far. I really hope they continue to branch to explore creative gameplay mixes like they did here because it really gives Pyre a unique flavour compared to Bastion and Transistor.

Click to shrink...

I'm really enjoying the story and the characters in Pyre. Everything about Transistor speaks to the core of my being and I think that is the best world that Supergiant has crafted. I haven't finished Pyre yet though and I can definitely see it having the best narrative they've put together so far.

Although I absolutely love Bastion and Transistor (bought the latter on release week), I also left Pyre for a later date. It was a combination of something about it not being as immediately appealling as the preceding two and the fact that I was less into gaming at the time.

I'm sure I'll enjoy it when I finally get to it. I hope it sold enough for them though. Do we have any numbers on how it did?

Click to shrink...

I'm sure you'll love it when you get around to it! I'm also curious if there are any solid figures available on Pyre. I really do hope that it was successful for them even if it underperformed relative to their other titles.

 

[Poutine Runner 2049]

Pyre is bar none the most overlooked game of 2017. The story, writing, artstyle and music are all phenomenal. I could spend paragraphs writing about this game but instead I'll link to a LTTP write-up I did last week if you don't mind (which was also overlooked just like the game)

https://www.resetera.com/threads/lt...tarry-night-under-the-moonlight.14134/#footer

At 50% off Pyre is a damn steal. I hope more people give it a chance.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I have a hard time deciding between Transistor and Pyre as to which game is Supergiant's best. Either way, Pyre is incredible and everyone should play it. Fantastic world building, lore, and storytelling. The gameplay is also very unique and engaging, can't recommend it enough. One of my favorites this year.

Oh yeah, and the art and music is fantastic as always.

 

[sackboy97]

I'm really enjoying the story and the characters in Pyre. Everything about Transistor speaks to the core of my being and I think that is the best world that Supergiant has crafted. I haven't finished Pyre yet though and I can definitely see it having the best narrative they've put together so far.

Click to shrink...

Honestly, I consider Transistor among my all time favourite games. I love the story, the world and the gameplay; because of this I was a bit wary of Pyre at first, but I ended up loving it a lot. Many people I think didn't even give it a chance unfortunately, but it has wonderful characters and world, and the gameplay is actually pretty great (and a lot of fun in the versus mode with a friend as well).

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I skipped pyre because the gameplay looks completely uninteresting to me. Like some 3v3 basketball game.

Everything else looks amazing, and I loved bastion and transistor. But this one was a complete miss for me.

Click to shrink...

You should buy it. I was wary of the gameplay, none of what I saw looked interesting in the least to me, but I bought it anyway because I loved Supergiant's other games. Ended up loving the gameplay, it's fantastic. Just think of it as a realtime RPG battle system, there is a ton of strategy and skill involved in the gameplay. Every character plays differently and has their own suite of abilities, your team comp can totally change up the matches.

At least give it a try, even if the gameplay isn't for you the story, characters, art and music are amazing.

 

[Aniki]

Great game. Finished it just yesterday. If i would play it again, then i would make some different choices. Didn't get to see all the dialog, for the characters i cared most about. Would have liked to learn more about the Commonwealth, seemed like it was a complicated place to live in. Thought most characters were interesting and i was happy that some found their way home. Loved the OST, very varied and different from stuff i usually hear. I was always excited to meet the different teams again, so i could hear their themes again. Transistor is still my favorite game from them, though.

 

[LossAversion]

Honestly, I consider Transistor among my all time favourite games. I love the story, the world and the gameplay; because of this I was a bit wary of Pyre at first, but I ended up loving it a lot. Many people I think didn't even give it a chance unfortunately, but it has wonderful characters and world, and the gameplay is actually pretty great (and a lot of fun in the versus mode with a friend as well).

Click to shrink...

I get that way with my favorite movies and music as well. For example, my favorite movie is Spirited Away. I'm always wary of watching a Studio Ghibli movie that I haven't seen yet because I love Spirited Away so much and I don't want to be disappointed. I always end up loving the other movies even if I still love Spirited Away the most. I don't really understand the psychology behind that attitude... I certainly won't hesitate to dive into Supergiant's next game!

Also, I had the Transistor theme on my PS4 for the longest time. I'm excited to pick this baby up soon. They make some of the best themes on the PS4, for sure. It'll also make me feel a little better to give Supergiant some extra support after getting Pyre for half off.

 

[chanman]

Didn't really care for Bastion but did like Transistor but I see it is still on sale so I might give it a try at that price because it seems like magical football to me which sounds pretty cool to me.

 

[Manu]

It really is an amazing game. My favorite Supergiant game is still Transistor but Pyre was really really good too.

And that OST too, damn. Darren Korb can do no wrong.

 

[LossAversion]

Wow, Pyre is still on sale for $10 but Transistor is on sale for $5 right now... if you haven't played that game yet, you'd be committing a robbery at that price.

 

[P A Z]

I enjoyed Pyre for the first 5-6 hours but then the Rites twist happened.

Spoiler

The twist being that you don't beat the game when you complete the liberation Rite, you just send one of your party away and repeat this 7x.

That was fine the first 2-3x I did it with Jodariel, Rukey and Fae but the game then kept adding new characters that I didn't take to in dialogue or in the Rites.

The game obviously doesn't let you send just anyone away either, so I was left unable to finish the game or keep playing a game I don't enjoy.

That just killed Pyre for me.

 

[Jack Scofield]

I started playing this game a few days ago and I'm loving it. Probably the most amazing thing to me is the fictional language! I thought it was gibberish at first, but when one of the characters spoke one line in English, I was like, "wait a minute, that's the same voice actor as the 'gibberish' voice." That's when I finally put two and two together, haha.

This game, Destiny, and Bloodborne prove that I'm an absolute sucker for lore snippets in games. It makes everything feel so much more "real," in a way.

 

[smuguire]

Transistor is the worst game of theirs for me, and I liked Pyre the most. So what I gather from this thread is people like all of their games.

crazy shit

 

[Strings]

I would have loved it if it was a couple of hours shorter. As is, I just sorta liked it, since the final act really dragged for me.

 

[the_kaotek1]

I grabbed it in the recent sale and I concur, it's a fantastic game that I wish I'd bought earlier (it was on my radar long before release)

I liked it so much it got a spot in my GOTY list.

 

[noyram23]

Yup I love the game and thankfully I didn't listen to a member here who discourage me when it was up for sale. This game is beautiful especially on an OLED tv, It's a shame it doesn't have HDR though. The basketball rpg has the perfect gameplay loop and I agree with everyone that it has the best narrative out of all Supergiant games.

With their artstyle and rpg chops I would love if Supergiant take a stab on a FF Tactics or Tactics Ogre inspired game or even better Square handing them both IP.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

I've seen a lot of discussions about people who loved or hated the battle system, but when I had my chance to play this for three hours I was mostly disappointed with everything that comes around that, actually.
I really didn't like the linear structure with occasional "narrative forks" that still hardly let you interact with anything.

 

[Poutine Runner 2049]

I've seen a lot of discussions about people who loved or hated the battle system, but when I had my chance to play this for three hours I was mostly disappointed with everything that comes around that, actually.
I really didn't like the linear structure with occasional "narrative forks" that still hardly let you interact with anything.

Click to shrink...

There's a narrative twist about 5 hours into the game which turns everything on its head. Without giving too much away, the decisions you make will be crucial to how the game ends.

 

[Deleted member 16657]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

Unfortunately I had the same experience. Really loved Bastion, thought Transistor was fairly good, but dropped Pyre after a bit. Just didn't like the gameplay system at all.

I respect Supergiant as a dev immensely and am always willing to give their games a chance though.

 

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico]

There's a narrative twist about 5 hours into the game which turns everything on its head. Without giving too much away, the decisions you make will be crucial to how the game ends.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, but my problem with it isn't really about "liking the narrative" or "having plot twists". I simply didn't like the gameplay loop of "Pick one of two possible destinations, go there, play a battle, go to the 'caravan screen' and click once on every thing available to read flavor text before picking the destination".

Battle system aside it felt more like an extremely limited librogame rather than a videogame.

 

[Deleted member 36578]

I picked Pyre up on Steam about month ago because I wanted to play through it before the end of the year. I played for a bit over a hour and put it down because it didn't grab me at all. I did enjoy Bastion and Transistor but Pyre is a different beast. I like the world of it, but dislike the point and click road trip set up. The meat of the game being this pseudo sports game didn't excite me either. I definitely need to keep playing and give it more of a shot but with other priorities it's tough to go back to when I was so disinterested in it.

 

[Young Liar]

I also didn't care much for Bastion but ended up loving Pyre. No doubt that Bastion has an amazing aesthetic and soundtrack, but I just never found the combat to be that interesting nor the story to be engaging. Pyre gets all those elements perfectly.

I should get around to playing Transistor someday. My disappointment with Bastion after hearing all the praise it got led me to just not bother with Transistor. Now that I have such a fondness for Pyre, I'm willing to give Transistor a go.

 

[LossAversion]

I also didn't care much for Bastion but ended up loving Pyre. No doubt that Bastion has an amazing aesthetic and soundtrack, but I just never found the combat to be that interesting nor the story to be engaging. Pyre gets all those elements perfectly.

I should get around to playing Transistor someday. My disappointment with Bastion after hearing all the praise it got led me to just not bother with Transistor. Now that I have such a fondness for Pyre, I'm willing to give Transistor a go.

Click to shrink...

I feel like Transistor's gameplay is the perfect balance between Bastion's more action-oriented pace and Pyre's more tactical vibe.

I love strategy games so being able to plan out your attacks in Transistor is a blast for me. The nice thing about the game is that it lets you choose how you want to play. The world and the soundtrack of Transistor are definitely my favorites from Supergiant.

 

[Colfari]

Loved Transistor, also bought Bastion last year I think but didn't really play it that much (too many games!), Pyre is still in my cart since it's half off at the moment. I have seen reports (Digital Foundry and others) about performance problems and bugs (crashes, etc.), that's why I haven't bought it yet (same with Edith Finch), was it patched? Couldn't find anything online about it. I'm on PS4 Pro.

 

[LossAversion]

Loved Transistor, also bought Bastion last year I think but didn't really play it that much (too many games!), Pyre is still in my cart since it's half off at the moment. I have seen reports (Digital Foundry and others) about performance problems and bugs (crashes, etc.), that's why I haven't bought it yet (same with Edith Finch), was it patched? Couldn't find anything online about it. I'm on PS4 Pro.

Click to shrink...

I'm on regular PS4 and I haven't run across any performance issues or bugs. I have had one crash though in about 12 hours of playtime. The Pro version might have more issues for some reason, but I don't see why it would!

 

[Deleted member 31817]

I haven't finished Pyre yet which is telling since once I started Bastion and Transistor I kept playing.... I don't like how Pyre is basically a text adventure and how you don't actually interact/move around in the game world, I don't like how there's some noticeable stuttering on PS4 for combat, I like the idea of the gameplay but in reality it isn't as fun as it should be and it's also very very repetitive. Art and music are good but it's by far the weakest Supergiant game imo.

 

[Saoshyant]

I got it on sale for half the regular price. I actually feel guilty about this.

Click to shrink...

For you and anyone who feel similarly, just buy copies for your friends. It will be like you paid full price and, in the process, you are spreading the game which gets more people talking about it, which gets more people to eventually buy it. If you want to support Supergiant, no joke, this is the way to do it.

 

[element252]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

Was not really feeling Transistor at first neither, but if you give it at least an hour or 90 minutes it does start to get much better and becomes more enthralling the longer you play it.

 

[Batatina]

I just couldn't connect with Pyre, the battles were just not fun at all to me, I just wanted to get through them as fast as possible because I just didn't connect with that gameplay. Ended up dropping the game because it was so unpleasant. I'm not a sports game fan so that might be part of it.

 

[hydruxo]

For me Bastion is a stunning game in most all ways and a big thanks to the team for giving original buyers on 360 a cheaper price when it came to Xbox.

On playing Transistor for the first time I gave up after around 30 mins, just did nothing for me and so disappointing after Bastion.

Pyre continued in the same direction as Transistor in that it's a worse game than those before it and will mean that while I continue to enjoy Bastion, I'll most likely never buy another game by these guys.

It really is a bad game.

Click to shrink...

You're welcome to your opinion, but Pyre is not a bad game by any stretch of the imagination lmao. There's a difference between not enjoying a game and it being bad. You said you played Transistor for 30 min and gave up, so how long did you play Pyre? 15 minutes? 30 minutes is hardly enough time to even get used to the game itself, much less form much of an opinion on it.

 

[Slixshot]

My personal GOTY. Greatest Soundtrack this gen. A hidden gem from last year.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

For you and anyone who feel similarly, just buy copies for your friends. It will be like you paid full price and, in the process, you are spreading the game which gets more people talking about it, which gets more people to eventually buy it. If you want to support Supergiant, no joke, this is the way to do it.

Click to shrink...

That or buy the soundtrack, it's only $10 and it is phenomenal

 

[Saoshyant]

That or buy the soundtrack, it's only $10 and it is phenomenal

Click to shrink...

whynotboth.gif :)

Not trying to be a shill for Supergiant, but I do want to see more games from them in the future.

 

[Deleted member 11413]

whynotboth.gif :)

Not trying to be a shill for Supergiant, but I do want to see more games from them in the future.

Click to shrink...

I wouldn't worry about that, I'm sure Pyre will end up selling well.

 

[shaneo632]

Played it for a few hours and then started to find it reaaaaaaally repetitive.

 

[Weston]

Absolutely loved this game. At first, I was worried the gameplay would get old. The matches were a little too easy at first so I really didn't have to think too hard about anything. The further I got into the game the more interesting gameplay became. Especially once I got to know the different classes and started turning on Titan stars. The AI is smart. They'll throw the ball at you and then run you over. They'll push two chacters at once by passing quickly between them. Once you unlock the Titan star that makes enemies more intelligent, I suggest leaving it on. By the time I got to the end of the game I felt like there was still a lot for me to learn. I'm looking forward to playing true nightwing mode.

 

[Colfari]

Went ahead and bought it, having a blast so far, runs without any issues, looks and sounds stunning. Great characters,

Spoiler

loved the bit with Rukey and the question about hismoustache, he received +1 hope afterwards.

Hope it continues in the same vein.

 

[ultra bawl]

Finally started playing this after picking it up recently and it's fantastic so far - great concept, great art direction, fun gameplay loop.

But I'm now watching my boyfriend play it and he's getting a lot of really unacceptable FPS drops during rites and it's genuinely maddening to watch. I'm not usually one to moan about this kind of thing but in a game like this it's disappointing. (This is on a vanilla PS4)

 

[Legacy]

If Pyre comes out on the Switch, I'll buy it. Looks really interesting to me