I would say that Pyre is a rather underrated gem from Supergiants, although it has very positive reviews on Steam. I believe that many players missed an important info about Pyre. It's a visual novel in the first place, heavily concentrated on lore, characters and story. The action in sports like battles is just a secondary element. I was also surprised by it being a visual novel, but I wasn't disappointed. Right on the contrary. I have fallen in love.

This game is very complex and everything in it has its purpose. There is a meaning to how the story unfolds, what exact information you learn, what characters you meet… maybe you won't be able to see it during your first playthrough, but the end should make it clear and eventually all the other playthroughs… because there is still a lot to see and I will come back many times for sure.

I don't want to spoil you the story, because it's truly amazing and filled with plot twists which always force me to change my plan… I can say that we get exiled to the Downside, a horrid place without any means of returning, meant for the worst criminals, delinquents and offenders of the Commonwealth. There, on wide empty plains, we are found lost, alone and almost broken by a trio of other exiles, each one of them different in species, size, personality and with different motivation in their hearts. They make us an offer, because there is a way out of this place, although it's not commonly known… not that we can exactly decline as that would mean our, probably quick, demise in the Downside wilderness. We accept and offer them our skills then, namely reading as it was banned a long time ago in the Commonwealth, because only the Reader can uncover the secrets hidden in the Book of Rites… book that holds the information on how can one obtain their freedom… and even something more.
We board their old wagon, which had seen better times a lifetime ago, and following the stars we set on an adventure looking for other suitable exiles to be able to unite and to fight for a better future not just for us, but for all the others.

Rites are the action parts of the game. I would describe it as a mix of basketball and American football. There are three players on each side, the main goal is to grab a ball and toss it into enemy fire. Winner is the one who extinguishes the opponent's fire first. Fights are short, fast paced and if you are not careful you can lose in a blink of an eye (especially on a harder difficulty). As you progress through the story you recruit new characters into your “squad", each have a different cast of abilities and more importantly also behave completely differently on the field. You are always given an opportunity to try them out, but it can be a challenge to master them properly. The ones who participate in the fight gain enlightenment (a lot of experience), those who are on the bench gain inspiration (next time they participate in the fight they level up faster). And here comes the catch. The ultimate goal is to get free, but only one can leave this place once he is deemed worthy and you are going to choose which one it is, from the three most enlightened. You will send away one of your exiles, never to return. So the one you play most with, your best one will be gone and you have to play with the others… never forget that.
This concept adds another level of immersion, because you are now torn apart by the choice waiting for you. Will you allow them freedom or will you deny it? But you and your crew aren't the only one seeking their freedom, there are others you have to fight with and yet again they all have different desires and motivations to go back. Nothing is easy and maybe sacrificing your own freedom to offer them chance for their own may be the stars will.

The cast of the characters you meet in the game is big and pretty diverse. Their personalities are excellently portrayed and all of them are very much likable, some of them have written deeply into my heart. There is no standard voice acting as no one is speaking in English, except for The Voice (tiptop Logan Cunningham), instead they have an "extra new" language. And they only speak in short lines, few words, sights… but that's all you need. It's so amazing, it fits the characters so much. I wouldn't want it any other way. You can also open info about all of the characters in the game, learn about their past… and in the end even about their future.

In addition to a great story and characters we have bright, vivid, colorful graphics full of tiny details, it's a joy to look at. Next thing that is creating a great fitting atmosphere throughout the whole game is the soundtrack, which is exceptional! Darren Korb is truly ingenious. His music is full of emotions and perfectly captures every situation and character. I really like the soundtrack in Alan Wake, especially the songs which tell the story plot, I have found it very clever. Darren Korb, and the Supergiants, simply brought it to perfection, because their storytelling songs bring me goosebumps every time I hear them.

As is usual with other Supergiants games each character has a skill challenge, which will grant you artifact designed right for them. You can also make fights harder by enabling disadvantages against yourself in the form of better stats for your adversaries and worse stats for your triumvirate. After completing the main story you can test your skills against others in multiplayer or just against a CPU, that's also fun.

I can wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who loves great compelling stories with beautiful visuals and soundtrack; you won't be disappointed. Be prepared that you are going to read, do not skip or rush through it, the story is the important thing, not the action.
There is only one thing I find unsatisfactory about the game - I would love to be able to romance one of the characters. ^^

I would say that [i]Pyre[/i] is a rather underrated gem from [i]Supergiants[/i], although it has very positive reviews on Steam. I believe that many players missed an important info about [i]Pyre[/i]. It's a visual novel in the first place, heavily concentrated on lore, characters and story. The action in sports like battles is just a secondary element. I was also surprised by it being a visual novel, but I wasn't disappointed. Right on the contrary. I have fallen in love. This game is very complex and everything in it has its purpose. There is a meaning to how the story unfolds, what exact information you learn, what characters you meet… maybe you won't be able to see it during your first playthrough, but the end should make it clear and eventually all the other playthroughs… because there is still a lot to see and I will come back many times for sure. I don't want to spoil you the story, because it's truly amazing and filled with plot twists which always force me to change my plan… I can say that we get exiled to the Downside, a horrid place without any means of returning, meant for the worst criminals, delinquents and offenders of the Commonwealth. There, on wide empty plains, we are found lost, alone and almost broken by a trio of other exiles, each one of them different in species, size, personality and with different motivation in their hearts. They make us an offer, because there is a way out of this place, although it's not commonly known… not that we can exactly decline as that would mean our, probably quick, demise in the Downside wilderness. We accept and offer them our skills then, namely reading as it was banned a long time ago in the Commonwealth, because only the Reader can uncover the secrets hidden in [i]the Book of Rite[/i]s… book that holds the information on how can one obtain their freedom… and even something more. We board their old wagon, which had seen better times a lifetime ago, and following the stars we set on an adventure looking for other suitable exiles to be able to unite and to fight for a better future not just for us, but for all the others. [i]Rites[/i] are the action parts of the game. I would describe it as a mix of basketball and American football. There are three players on each side, the main goal is to grab a ball and toss it into enemy fire. Winner is the one who extinguishes the opponent's fire first. Fights are short, fast paced and if you are not careful you can lose in a blink of an eye (especially on a harder difficulty). As you progress through the story you recruit new characters into your “squad", each have a different cast of abilities and more importantly also behave completely differently on the field. You are always given an opportunity to try them out, but it can be a challenge to master them properly. The ones who participate in the fight gain enlightenment (a lot of experience), those who are on the bench gain inspiration (next time they participate in the fight they level up faster). And here comes the catch. The ultimate goal is to get free, but only one can leave this place once he is deemed worthy and [b]you[/b] are going to choose which one it is, from the three most enlightened. [b]You[/b] will send away one of your exiles, never to return. So the one you play most with, your best one will be gone and you [b]have[/b] to play with the others… never forget that. This concept adds another level of immersion, because you are now torn apart by the choice waiting for you. Will you allow them freedom or will you deny it? But you and your crew aren't the only one seeking their freedom, there are others you have to fight with and yet again they all have different desires and motivations to go back. Nothing is easy and maybe sacrificing your own freedom to offer them chance for their own may be the stars will. The cast of the characters you meet in the game is big and pretty diverse. Their personalities are excellently portrayed and all of them are very much likable, some of them have written deeply into my heart. There is no standard voice acting as no one is speaking in English, except for [i]The Voice[/i] (tiptop Logan Cunningham), instead they have an "extra new" language. And they only speak in short lines, few words, sights… but that's all you need. It's so amazing, it fits the characters so much. I wouldn't want it any other way. You can also open info about all of the characters in the game, learn about their past… and in the end even about their future. In addition to a great story and characters we have bright, vivid, colorful graphics full of tiny details, it's a joy to look at. Next thing that is creating a great fitting atmosphere throughout the whole game is the soundtrack, which is exceptional! Darren Korb is truly ingenious. His music is full of emotions and perfectly captures every situation and character. I really like the soundtrack in [i]Alan Wake[/i], especially the songs which tell the story plot, I have found it very clever. Darren Korb, and the [i]Supergiants[/i], simply brought it to perfection, because their storytelling songs bring me goosebumps every time I hear them. As is usual with other [i]Supergiants[/i] games each character has a skill challenge, which will grant you artifact designed right for them. You can also make fights harder by enabling disadvantages against yourself in the form of better stats for your adversaries and worse stats for your triumvirate. After completing the main story you can test your skills against others in multiplayer or just against a CPU, that's also fun. I can wholeheartedly recommend this game to anyone who loves great compelling stories with beautiful visuals and soundtrack; you won't be disappointed. Be prepared that you are going to read, do not skip or rush through it, the story is the important thing, not the action. There is only one thing I find unsatisfactory about the game - I would love to be able to romance one of the characters. ^^