When I first started doing these analyses, I knew that one day, I would be analyzing Pyre (short enough, no abbreviation needed…), due to one simple fact: it is so very bizarrely unique.
I would by no means consider myself a super fan of Supergiant Games. Some of their games are fun, others, not so much. But I will say this about the small game dev company, they certainly know how to keep things interesting.
While I am tempted to say that I have never seen a game quite like Pyre, that would not be entirely accurate. What would be accurate to say is that I have never seen the genres Pyre uses combined in such a bizarre way, yet still manages to make it work. While the official designation of the game’s genre is “Action RPG/Sports,” I do not think that is an accurate enough description. I would consider Pyre to be more akin to a point and click visual novel mixed with NBA Jam, sprinkled lightly with RPG elements.
That said, let’s try to analyze this beast.
I mentioned visual novel in my description because the game is very text and lore heavy. It tells a very strange, very unique story of the player, known as the “Reader” (an otherwise nameless, faceless, “mute” entity who is always off screen), who has been exiled from his home for his crime of literacy (you heard me). In this strange world, criminals are cast out of their home (the Commonwealth) by way of a magic river that cannot be traversed back up, this river takes exiles to an inhospitable wasteland known as the “Downside.”
Once cast out, you are rescued from the brink of death by three masked strangers. Because you can read, they see value in you, and bring you along on their journey in their strange wagon.
The three strangers (Hedwyn the human Nomad, Jodariel the [formerly human] Demon, and Rukey Greentail the Cur) explain that they are in possession of a special book. They believe this book will lead them to their salvation, a chance to escape the Downside and return home to the Commonwealth. But since literacy is a crime, none of them can actually read the book. Enter you, the Reader.
Upon reading the book, you discover that there are ancient rites that your new friends can participate in to potentially earn their freedom. You must compete against other teams (or, triumvirates as they are called in this game) to gain a chance at salvation.
If this all sounds very lore heavy, it is. The developers have obviously gone out of their way to create a world with a rich history and full of life. The characters themselves are no mere one dimensional cookie cutter npcs, themselves, either. And it can be a bit overwhelming, especially if this is the kind of thing that doesn’t really appeal to you as a gamer.
Luckily it did appeal to me when I first played it. I scoured every bit of lore revealed to me, read every page of the book (which was revealed slowly, one page at a time), and took advantage of the useful “more info” option when talking with my fellow exiles and adversaries (enemies). I’ll remark on this briefly because I found it a useful tool while navigating this bizarre new world for the first time.
When anyone is talking, certain words or names they say will be highlighted in red. This means it is of some significance. If you hover over the word with the ever present on screen cursor, a small window of information will appear, giving a bit more lore and explanation of the “who” or “what.”
Of course, for those of you who don’t give a lick for story, narrative, or just plain reading of any kind… the Commonwealth would probably welcome your desire for illiteracy with open arms… but I digress. There is an option in the game to be able to skip quickly through any and all talking points, by holding down a single button. Then you can get right to the actual gameplay. Speaking of, let’s get to that now.
When the reader reads from the book for the first time, your friends are transported into a strange world within the book, and an ominous voice welcomes you all, explaining what the rites are and how to perform them (in other words, your taken to the tutorial).
As Reader, you are tasked with “guiding” (controlling) your team of three, or triumvirate, in the rites. Which is, for all intents and purposes, a game similar to three on three basketball.
Instead of a basketball, though, there is a celestial orb. Whichever character is in possession of the orb is the character you control (the other two will always remain stationary). Passing the orb (like a basketball) will turn control over to whoever you passed the orb to (just like in NBA Jam). Unlike basketball, there are no baskets, hoops, or backboards of which to speak. Instead there are two pyres of flame. In order to “score” the orb must be plunged into the enemy triumvirate’s pyre.
This can be accomplished in one of two ways.
Firstly, the exile who has the orb in hand can leap (or simply walk) directly into the pyre. This will douse the enemy pyre’s flames by a set amount. However, the exile who plunged into the flames will be banished (unavailable) for the entirety of the next round until the orb is plunged into one of the two pyres once more.
Secondly, the exile can throw the orb into the pyre. This will keep the exile from banishment, but it is riskier. In order to throw the orb, the exile must remain stationary and charge the throw. The longer the throw is charged, the farther the orb will be thrown (shown by way of an arcing line). Depending on how much the throw is charged will also determine how much damage the orb will cause the adversaries’ pyre.
I mentioned that this is a riskier strategy not only because of the potential for far much less damage, but also the inherit risks of standing still. Such an act during a rite is fraught with peril. For, unlike basketball, the triumvirates have a special weapon at their disposal known as “auras.”
An aura is an energy that surrounds any player in the rite, this is usually shown as a circle on the ground. Should an enemy come into contact with an aura, they will be temporarily banished for a certain period of time (usually no more than a handful of seconds).
The specific ways auras work, and how big they are varies from exile to exile, but their sizes always increase when their aura touches that of a fellow team mate. Which makes for some interesting defensive strategies.
Auras can also be used as an offense. If an exile is not moving, they can charge their aura, and send it out in a blast like a projectile-like weapon. Doing this, naturally has its own risks, though. When casting, the base aura that always surrounds an exile will temporaily disappear, leaving themselves more vulnerable.
Additionally, whosoever is holding the orb has their aura taken away, absorbed by the orb. They cannot attack while holding the orb, either. This makes them the most vulnerable of all. If you haven’t noticed yet, the game thrives on risk/reward balancing, and overall, it works quite well.
To avoid auras, players can jump (distance and height differ by individual exile), as auras are always ground based. One could even jump directly into a pyre completely covered in an enemy aura, unscathed (except the standard banishment during the next round). Although, I will note, that while in the air, your aura will be gone, only to return when you land.
I’ve mentioned a few times that certain aspects of the game differ by character, and that is because each character has their own stats. This is where some of the light RPG elements come into play. The four stats are as follows:
- Glory: the amount of damage an exile can cause to a pyre.
- Quickness: an exile’s base speed (most characters can move faster by way of sprinting and farther by way of jumping [which uses a small stamina meter which refills automatically]).
- Presence: the base size of an exile’s aura.
- Hope: duration in which an exile is banished if hit by an adversary’s aura.
That said, there are some standard rules that can usually be applied to these stats. By default, smaller characters (like the Cur Rukey Greentail) will have smaller auras, and deal less damage to pyres, however, they will usually be much faster. Whereas larger characters (such as the Demon Jodariel) will be much slower, however, their potential for damage and their aura size will be far greater. And then, medium sized characters (like the Nomad Hedwyn) will be rather balanced, having average stats across the board.
This all makes for interesting team building and strategics, as you will acquire more exiles as you play the game (more on that later).
Most all of this is explained quite succinctly in the tutorial, guided by the ever present Voice. He explains the rites, but he also commentates on the game, akin to another Supergiant Game, Bastion. In fact, I believe the Voice is voiced by the same voice actor that did the voice work in Bastion. But I digress.
With the tutorial done, and the game more or less explained, you set out in this horrid new world to perform the rites, so that you and your friends may return home to the Commonwealth.
As you travel, you’ll be treated to a lot of visual novel-style storytelling, peppered with choices on which paths to take to get to your destinations (the rites) and conversations with your fellow exiles. Most of it is just world building juice, as you will always reach your destination (travel is automatic, you simply slick the destination/path of your choice and the wagon will go on its own accord), and your exiles will always participate in the rites. But the choices you make will sometimes lead to things happening. Such as getting a temporary stat boost, or finding an item, etc.
On rare occasion, your downtime will lead to you simply having free time to make use of your vocations, of which there are three to choose from:
- Foraging: search the surrounding area for various items.
- Study: hone your skills as a reading giving small stat boosts to all your allies during the rites.
- Mentor: teach an ally to give them a large chunk of enlightenment (xp).
Of the three, I only ever found mentor to be of any real use. Xp is hard to come by in the game, and given how the game works (I’ll explain what I mean by that later) you’re going to want to take advantage of every single opportunity you can to level up your exiles.
Once you finally reach the site of a rite (a rite site, if you will), you can do some prep work before facing off against an enemy triumvirate.
One option is to visit the “Slugmarket.” This oddly named market is the only “store” you will ever encounter in the game, and it is always present at the rite site. Run by a strange little goblin-like creature called Falcon Ron (and his dad), you have the option of buying various items. Most items come in two different categories: Talismans and stat boosters.
Talismans can be equipped by your exiles (one per character) to give them some sort of passive boost during the rite (move faster, deal more damage, return from exile more quickly, etc.).
And stat boosters will either permanently or temporarily boost the stats of your exiles, or the capabilities of the talismans.
In addition to browsing the shop, players can also enter the wagon. Most of the wagon is just juice. Fun little bits and pieces that add to the game’s world building. You can read from the book, you can occasionally chat with allies, you can also be more constructive and check on the stats of your allies, equip items, and so forth. All of this is done in a very point and click fashion.
Speaking of your allies, let’s just dive into that rabbit hole as quickly and succinctly as possible. There are a total of nine playable characters. I will explain them here in a manner as easy to understand as possible.
- Hedwyn the Nomad: A kind, gentle human. As explained earlier, Hedwyn is the model of balance. He has no major weaknesses, but he has no great strengths either. Average in all things.
- Rukey Greentail the Cur: A talking, rather full of himself dog. He’s small and weak, but very fast. His aura shot is much more narrow but it shoots farther and faster than most.
- Jodariel the Demon: As blunt and intimidating as her appearance would suggest. She is large with an aura to match, powerful, but very slow. Her aura shot is much wider, but travels at a slower pace.
- The Savage stowaway girl (true name unknown): The Savage is similar to the nomad in stats, but moves more erratically. Truth be told, it was always hard for me to see the difference in her from Hedwyn, aside from the fact that she was super annoying…
- Ti’zo the (adorable) Imp: A small horned, bird-like creature. Small yet slow, makes up for it by being able to fly. Burst shot is actually a wide AOE blast that temporarily banishes himself along with any adversaries.
- Sir Gilman the Wyrm-Knight: A bizarre one-eyed snake creature who always wears the armor of a knight. Small, very fast. No aura surrounds him, but instead follows behind him in a trail, like a TRON lightcycle. Capable of exploding the trail and whipping back to the end of the trail with his burst ability.
- Pamitha the Harp: A harpy in everything but almost name. medium size and movement, can fly like Ti’zo. Aura burst causes her to charge with the aura, while doing so, she is shielded momentarily.
- Big Bertrude the Bog Crone: A large, intimidating gorgon-esque creature. Large, capable of leaping incredible disatnces. Aura burst covers a wide conical expanse.
- Volfred Sandalwood the Sap: Think Groot, but much, much more “posh.” Large and extremely slow. Cannot jump but can create a shield around himself. Can cast out a second aura circle around a stationary sapling he creates.
I mention their classes and abilities not only for a potential player’s knowledge, but also for the fact that the enemy triumvirates will have teams formed of all sorts of classes as well, similar to your own. So it’s important to know who your team is and what they can do, so you can anticipate what the enemy team might be capable of.
Speaking of, let’s get on with the actual rites. The rites all play out in similar fashion as to what I have previously described. Two teams of three will battle in an attempt to extinguish the other’s pyre. The only differences that take place during the rites are the triumvirates (different teams will consist of different set ups) and the site of the rite. Each location has a different “playing field” so to speak. Environments, obstacles and layouts will all differ, making for more interesting playgrounds than a standard basketball court.
Most interestingly, though, whether you win or lose a given rite will have no impact on the continuation of the story. Obviously, winning will be better for you in the long run, but losing will not result in a game over, or a try again. The story will progress regardless, making for a most interesting way to tell a narrative in a game. A couple years ago, I actually played through the game, purposefully losing every match, just to see how the game would play out. And I did indeed see it through to the end. Although, the end was hardly a “good” ending.
Simply by participating, your exiles will gain xp. So even if they lose, they’ll still benefit in some way. However, winning will net far more xp, and is obviously the more desired outcome.
When an exile gains enough xp, they will reach certain ranks (levels) which will unlock access to masteries, passive upgrades that can be selected from two different skill trees. Each tree has four masteries. And yet, an exile can only ever reach the rank of five (rank one provides no masteries). Meaning there will be some masteries the exile can never achieve.
I will note, that only those participating in the rites gain xp. And as I said before, you will acquire more characters as you progress. So the decision of who to play and when must always be at the forefront of your mind. Those who do not participate gain “inspiration” (rested xp, for lack of a better term). This means that they will gain double the amount of xp as normal for as much enlightenment they have acquired should they ever actually participate in a rite. This balances the issue slightly, but not enough, in my opinion.
Leveling up also plays a few other important roles.
Once unlocked, the Reader can use the “Beyonder Crystal” to have individual exiles participate in Scribe Trials. These are rather difficult three on one challenges in which the single exile must prevail to unlock a special talisman unique to that character. Trick is, onlt those who are deemed worthy can participate. I’ve taken this to mean only those of a certain rank (usually three or four) can try for the trials.
Xp plays another rather crucial role in this whole shebang: salvation. As I mentioned earlier, the whole point of this quest is to get you and your friends out of the wasteland that is the Downside. But only those who are of a certain rank (again, usually three or four) can achieve the freedom they seek through a final “liberation rite.”
As you play through the game, you will find yourself traveling inexorably North, until you can go no farther, reaching the summit of a great mountain. It is there that it is revealed that you have earned your right to participate in a liberation rite, competing against yet another rival triumvirate. There’s a catch though, only one of your exiles can go free during any single liberation rite. And only if you succeed in the rite.
Success is obviously your goal, and should you prove successful, the exile of your choice is liberated from the Downside and returned to the Commonwealth, absolved of all “crimes” and free to live a new life.
Of course, you’re probably seeing the problem inherit with this system. Once that character achieves their freedom, they are no longer playable, as they are gone for good.
Once a liberation rite is performed, though, the cycle of the rites continue and you travel around the Downside, participating in rites until the time is come for another liberation.
Of course, the game is not as merciful as all of that, though. You soon discover that the rites are soon coming to an end, for good. So choosing who will go and who will stay becomes all the more crucial. Do you keep useful characters which you have trained for so long, or do you send them off to reach the freedom they so desperately desire? Do you train character you dislike only to the bare minimum, simply to get rid of them quickly? And just how many can be free before the rites come to a close and the game ends?
Spoilers alert: In the end three exiles will always remain in the Downside. Whether that three includes you, the Reader, yourself, or not is totally dependent on your own choices. There is no guaranteed “best ending” or a happy ending for all in this game. It’s all just based on your choices. It is all at once a fascinating yet infuriating approach to choice in game design.
As the game continues, liberation rites occur more and more frequently (making that xp gain and team management all the more crucial, should you want to liberate as many of your friends as possible). This is a bit of a mercy, though, as in my opinion, the game can wear a bit thin after a while. After all, at it’s core, the gameplay is that of a sports game. And no matter how fun, sports games always tend to get a little dull and repetitive to me.
That’s not to say the game doesn’t try to liven things up, though. Aside from the fascinating narrative. Eventually Titan Stars will come into play. Completely optional, the titan stars can be activated to increase the difficulty of any given rite in a myriad of cruel and unusual ways. Why would anyone activate these? Well, aside from the sadists, the Titan Stars grant more and more bonus xp. The more you activate, the more you gain… if you win.
In another attempt to liven up the gameplay, the game will introduce “feats of glory.” Again, another optional mechanic thrown into the rites (far too late in the game to be of any real consequence). The feats of glory are challenges that will appear at random during play. If you succeed in the challenge, you’ll get a small amount of money.
This is a decent idea. But its execution somewhat fails. Aside from the fact that it takes a rather long time to show up, my biggest complaint is that the challenges really do appear at random. Halfway through a feat, a small text box will just appear in the upper corner of the screen, telling me to do something. This caught me off guard more than once, and more than once did I completely miss that it was there due to its randomness and subtlety.
But at least they’re trying to liven things up. And perhaps the lateness in which they appear is based on when the devs might have thought the gameplay would start to get a little stale. I’m not sure.
Late or no, though, the end does eventually come, and the player is treated to information overload on what happened to all characters in the game, based on how you performed and what choices you made. This naturally means that there are any number of potential endings. Many of which I still have not, nor will I ever, see. It’s quite the testament to choice in game design, and I applaud Supergiant Games in their attempt to do it. As a designer, I cannot fathom just how much of a headache this all was for them to plan out.
All in all, an interesting game, to say the least. Certainly not a game for everyone. But for those that enjoy lore heavy mystical worlds, or even those that like a good, unique take on the sports genre, it is certainly worth checking out.
