There are few companies in gaming who have a truly legendary track record. Even if you focus on very specific years, it's unlikely you will find a game company where you can look at them and go "every single one of these is excellent". This is just how things tend to work, it's very difficult for a singular game company to have a run like, say, the Beatles did. There are too many hands in the cookie jar for any one company or even any one team to have a perfect run. Even famously good runs, like Rare's 90s run, have their Goldeneyes in there, y'know? But one company I would say has a legendary run is Supergiant.
Supergiant Games was founded in 2009, around the birth of indie gaming as a proper industry. Initially founded by former EA employees, particularly people who had worked on the Command & Conquer series, Supergiant would go on to create some of the greatest indie games of all time, with their first title, the action-adventure/twin stick shooter Bastion, being a revolutionary game in the space. Supergiant would keep up the momentum onto their second game, Transistor, which was equally lauded and is actually a couple people I know's favorite game of all time. And, of course, there is Hades, one of the greatest games of all time, my second favorite game of all time, and a game that really showed how you could use the roguelike structure in narrative storytelling to create a meaningful and engaging story. And that's to say nothing of Hades II, the sequel that manages to be just as good if not better than its predecessor. Supergiant truly had a legendary run of games, getting better with each game they developed until they created the greatest duology in gaming history. Hades, however, was their fourth game. So what happened to their third?
A Masterpiece That Failed
A Quick, Spoiler-Free Review
Since the following review/essay will have major spoilers and I know some people aren't cool with that, I figured I would give just a very brief review of Pyre before we get too into it. Pyre is one of the best games I've ever played. I actually looked up my list of the top 50 games I've ever played and counted, Pyre is the 9th best RPG I have ever played at this time. From the moment I first experienced the game's unique blend of sports game elements and RPG design ideals, I was hooked. It's one of the most wonderfully unique games I've ever played and I was hooked with it from basically moment one. The fact that the story, characters, world, and music were all amazing was just the icing on the cake. Pyre is often considered Supergiant's worst game, or at the very least their most forgettable, and I don't really concur with that assessment personally but even if I did, saying what is the worst Supergiant game is like saying what the worst Beatles album is. The "worst" is still absolutely amazing. It's very likely Pyre will be my 2026 GOTY and I can't be mad about that. 9.8/10
What is Pyre?
Pyre is Supergiant's oft forgotten and incredibly unique third game. Released in 2017 for PC and PS4, and later in the same year for iOS, Pyre sees Supergiant taking their action-role playing chops and their general aesthetic into a brand new world, the world of Downside. Downside was, at one point, a massive unsettled land of harsh environments. Deserts, rough seas, icy mountains, poisonous swamps, etc. It's a hostile wasteland, one where survival is a struggle and where distrust is rampant. It's a world where very few settlements have been able to pop up, with most of its residents choosing to wander in small groups, hunting and scavenging to survive. It is also, most notably, a prison.
Downside exists as a dumping ground for a powerful collective of nations known only as "the Commonwealth". The Commonwealth arose as a political power filling the vacuum left behind by a massive empire after they deposed their Emperor. Said Emperor ended up exiled to the Downside, one of its first residents. This is the purpose of Downside to the Commonwealth, it is a place to keep their prisoners. Everything from petty thieves to war criminals, they end up in the Downside. And especially the enemies of the Commonwealth populate the land. It's a prison that no one is meant to leave, no matter how big or how small the crime. Most residents have been here for years, if not decades, slowly being warped and corrupted into demons if they spend too long here.
This is where the player inserts. The player plays as an insert character that is, in the canon, called "the Reader". Reading is one of the many things outlawed in the Commonwealth, and the Reader, unfortunately, got caught knowing how to read. But what is outlawed in the Commonwealth is valued in Downside. The Reader is picked up by a band of masked wanderers, known across the land as "the Nightwings". The Nightwings, quickly reveal themselves to be a trio of wanderers who have long since been looking for a reader, someone who can read the ancient tomes of Downside. See, there is a way to free yourself from Downside. An ancient ritual, known as the Liberation Rites, that allow the people who perform them to battle for their freedom. The only catch is that they require a Reader, as to initiate the Rites, to find where they even take place, you must be able to read the Ancient Tomes.
So an alliance is formed. The Reader will aid the Nightwings in their rituals, and in turn, the Nightwings will battle in the Rites to obtain their freedom. All the while, attempting to contact their mysterious benefactor, a man who has asked this group to find individuals worthy to wear the masks and cloaks of the Nightwings, seeking some higher goal. They must conduct the Rites, do combat with the denizens of Downside, seek out new friends, and work towards their freedom. But for what purpose were they brought together? And can they truly all be granted their hard won freedom, as the leader of the Nightwings claims?
The Rites
But what, pray tell, do the Rites constitute? The Rites are the "battles" of this game. Think like a more traditional JRPG, you have long overworld sections and then you have encounters that take place in specialized battlefields. These arenas are where the Rites are conducted. The reader chooses three of the available Nightwings to take part in the Rites, and your opposition also has a trio on their side. These trios are called "triumvirates" and every party member in your triumvirate has their own stats, advantages, and disadvantages.
The goal of the Rites is thus: each triumvirate starts on their own side of the arena, the Nightwings starting on the left and their opponents starting on the right. Both triumvirates begin by surrounding a goal, the eponymous pyre, a flame that they must protect. A large piece of space rock, a "celestial orb", falls from the sky into the center of the arena, and this is the battle. Both triumvirates are attempting to get the orb into their opponent's pyre, which will snuff out the flame by a certain percentage. They can do this by either tossing the orb into the pyre, or by bringing into the pyre directly. The latter option deals more damage to the flame, but incapacitates the person who did it for a round. The first triumvirate to make the others' pyre reach 0 completes the Rite and gets that much closer to their eventual liberation.
The catch to this is that the player can only play as one character at a time. The characters cannot move on their own and instead must be swapped between intentionally to move them into a good offensive or defensive position. The player naturally starts as whichever member is in the center position or, if they are out of commission for this round, the position to the south of the Pyre. On defense, you are able to chase your opponents and/or attack them utilizing your aura to make them drop the orb, the aura can either be used as an area of effect shield which the enemies walk into and die, or be weaponized as a magic attack, allowing you to toss your aura at others. While on offense you have no defensive options and must pass the orb between your party to try and push through the enemy's defenses, utilizing your movement options like dashing and jumping, which cost your stamina meter to enact, to exploit weaknesses and push forward. Any player that gets incapacitated in an individual run will respawn after a certain number of seconds back at your pyre, assuming they aren't out for the round. The composition of your triumvirate is, therefore, incredibly important as every party member has strengths and weaknesses against certain matchups.
If you are attempting to imagine what this plays like, you may think of a specific style of gameplay: basketball. This is not incorrect. Supergiant's third game is unique in that its "combat" takes primarily notes from sports games. Specifically basketball but soccer and hockey definitely also have heavy influences on the gameplay. Pyre is, essentially, a basketball RPG, attempting to combine classic ARPG ideals with the base gameplay of basketball. It is one of the most unique ideas I've ever seen implemented into an RPG, and it works surprisingly well. If you know anything about Pyre, you probably knew that it had something to do with sports, but until you play it, you probably would not be aware to what extent.
This is probably the most divisive part about Pyre, and is likely the contributing factor to why it isn't as remembered as Supergiant's other games. This kind of hybrid RPG/Sports gameplay, while ensuring the game will be unique, also means that its core gameplay loop isn't going to gel with a lot of people. Even just saying I was playing Pyre had people respond saying "I really wanted to get into Pyre because I love the characters and worldbuilding but I can't do the sport". It's a massive swing that can isolate people. That being said, I adore it. From the moment I first played it, I LOVED Pyre's gameplay. I excitedly talked about it and I still adore how wonderful Pyre is to play. I'm just saying, it's probably why Pyre is not as remembered as the others. But this isn't why it "failed". We'll get into why it failed at the end.
The Nightwings
Given that this is both a sports game AND a party centric RPG, we should probably meet our team. The party actually does have a lot of bearing on this game, both what it does well and what it ultimately fails at doing, so it's definitely important to go over them. Especially since a lot of the gameplay is built around them, around learning more about their characters and seeing how they interact, how they grow as a team. The game is as much, if not more, about what happens between the games as it is what happens during them. So, let's meet the roster:
- Hedwyn, The Free Spirit - Hedwyn is the first of the Nightwings you will meet, and their de facto leader. Your first interaction with him is literally him deciding to nurse you back to health on just a hunch that you might be the person his band has been searching for, which tells you a lot about him. He is as close to a typical RPG protagonist as you are going to get within this context; he's kind and jovial despite the harshness of the environment, he's a wise leader, a good judge of character, and extremely loyal. Among the first conversations you will have with Hedwyn is him passionately promising your freedom, as well as the freedom of his compatriots, despite not knowing if such a reality is even possible. However, Hedwyn tends to be cagey about his past, waving off the question when the Reader asks what he did to end up in Downside and seemingly only telling you because he can no longer keep it a secret. He needs to tell someone, lest it eat at him. Lest he never return to the surface to make it right. Lest he never reunite with the love he sacrificed everything for, the love he now hardly dares speak of due to him knowing how some people in the party will react. During the Rites, Hedwyn serves as your all-arounder. He doesn't necessarily excel at any quality, he's not overly strong nor overly fast, but he's a solid player both offensively and defensively, being especially good at controlling the middle until an opening presents itself, wherein he can grab the ball and pass it to a speedier party member.
- Jodariel, The Fallen Soldier - Jodariel is the muscle of the Nightwings, and its most cautious voice. She has been down here and Downside longer than most, so long in fact that she has begun the process of transforming into a demon. Jodariel is rough and cynical, which comes from her past as being an important member of the Commonwealth military. She wears her baggage like a coat of arms and carries deep personal grudges. As such, you would do wise not to cross her. But her rough exterior belies a heart that, while hardened by her years of service and her long time surviving in the Downside, cares deeply. Jodariel is incredibly loyal to Hedwyn, having known him from before they were both down here, and trusts his judgement implicitly. Even if she doesn't always agree with the strays he insists on picking up. And she does, truly, care about the team and their end goal of freeing them. She's just stubborn and unyielding, the harsh wasteland having turned her harsh too. Her old scars also run deep, especially in her prejudices, which comes to a head in the late game as there are just some people she refuses to be on a team with. During the Rites, Jodariel takes on a decidedly defensive role. She has a wide defensive capability, due to her large size and powerful attacks, and is usually enough to guard the Pyre on her own. However, she is slow moving, making her offensive capabilities exceedingly limited. It is usually unjustified for her to do a push all the way into the opponent's pyre, as smaller, faster units can very easily overtake the giant demoness. But if you do get Jodariel in there, you are rewarded handsomely, as Jodariel can cut the number of rounds you need to snuff out the pyre in half.
- Rukey Greentail, the Fast Talker - The third and final of the original Nightwings who you join, Rukey is the team's comic relief. As his descriptor would probably tell you, Rukey is a fast talking swindler, a sarcastic thief, an opportunistic cur. Literally, that's his race, the Curs, a race of sapient anthropomorphic dog/weasel people who are native to the Commonwealth. Rukey has connections, both in the Commonwealth and in Downside, and as such he has allowed the Nightwings an opportunity to not just simply survive down here. He manages to find them coin too. Rukey seems rough around the edges at first glance, he is after all a literal thief whose loyalty to the Nightwings seems like it could break at any second. If there is a fight on the team in the early days, it was probably started by or revolves around Rukey. But you quickly come to understand him when you see Rukey's most treasured possession: a picture of his mom. He has something he's fighting for, something that makes him need to get back above ground. The team isn't sure what he'll do once he gets there, mind, but he has a reason to maintain good terms with them, and they get much out of his involvement. During the Rites, Rukey takes on the role as your most offensive player. Due to Rukey's small size and nimble feet, he is one of, if not THE most effective party members at getting the ball in the pyre. A lot of what he can learn to do is even built around making him more effective at just pushing the ball through an enemy's defensive line. Because of this, however, Rukey is the least powerful party member by far. The average damage output for most other party members is 20, Jodariel is 30, Rukey is 15. Reliance on Rukey will extend the game and give your opponent more opportunities to catch up.
- Vagabond, The Moontouched - The first party member to join the Nightwings after the initial party is formed, the Vagabond has no true name. When you meet her, she has already been driven half-mad, seemingly caused by her extended period of time wandering the Downside alone. If she ever had a real name, she has forgotten it, claiming that her name was one that rhymed with "Gray". It is unknown if this was a thing she was actually called, however, or if people in the time before she got here were just referring to the color of her hair. The party fills in the blanks, naming her one of the many names that rhyme with "gray" (mine was Shae). Shae is a deeply religious individual, to the point of fanaticism. She is fascinated by the stories of the Eight Scribes, the individuals who settled Downside, slayed it's monsters, and made the place somewhat habitable. She seems to have some sort of prophetic connection to them, hearing their voices and attempting to follow their guidance. Despite her odd behavior, she is desperate to fit in among the group, aiding them on their quest for liberation and willingly choosing to potentially sacrifice herself early on to attacking monsters just to earn the honor of belonging. During the Rites, Shae can, at first, appear like a secondary all-arounder. Their character models seem near identical at first, just with some animation differences. However, you pretty quickly find out that Shae is meant to be more unpredictable. Her movement is much better, with her being able to bound across the arena in a couple leaps. This makes her very effective on offense, closing into the pyre very quickly. However, she has a wind-up to do literally anything, often leaving her vulnerable and allowing enemies to close in. She's very risky to use, but very powerful.
- Ti'zo, The Little Watcher - Ti'zo is a silly little guy. The second party member to join the Nightwings, Ti'zo is an Imp, the native species of Downside. More specifically he is a hyper-intelligent "Drive-imp", an already intelligent imp who has been utilized by those exiled in the Downside for accomplishing tasks. In this case, as their name would imply, powering the team's wagon. Ti'zo is one of the rare imps who is intelligent enough to gain sapience, being able to make decisions and communicate with the others, albeit in growls and purrs which the group comes to understand. Ti'zo, at first, seems like he's going to be the agent of chaos in the group. I mean he is literally a tiny monster, an absolute gremlin. But you quickly come to realize that Ti'zo is an absolute sweetheart, a complete good bean. He's considerably older than he looks, having been with the Nightwings since the time before any of the current Nightwings were part of the roster, but he behaves like an adorable child. Ti'zo wants the simple pleasures in life, he wants to fish and wants to help his friends. He is also always watching, always gathering information for the Nightwings' mysterious benefactor. Despite being a native resident of Downside, he wishes to be free of it just simply because no imp has ever seen the other side. It's his dream to reach the Commonwealth, to be the first imp to make it to where all his friends came from. During the Rites, Tizo is a small, fast character who has a play style entirely different from the previous four. Ti'zo can briefly take to the skies, flying over obstacles and enemies that fail to block him. He's naturally very slow, but can take short, rapid hops, giving him deceptive speed and agility. But where Ti'zo shines the most is in his crowd control. Ti'zo's main attack is a massive AoE attack which knocks him out but also knocks out anyone caught in it. He's super effective for decimating teams, allowing other team members free openings. And as he gets upgraded, he can even lay down warp points where he explodes, allowing for some more sneaky play.
- Tariq, the Lone Minstrel - Tariq is not technically part of the party. He is incapable of performing the Rites for reasons we'll get into when we discuss the story, and is mostly there as a spy for the Nightwings' mysterious benefactor. He is, however, a tried and true member of the Nightwings, having been with them since the journey's beginning and choosing to fight for the entire team against his employer when we finally meet with him. Before we even properly meet Tariq, the Nightwings know of him, as he has been living in their wagon for some time. Tariq had, at the beginning of the story, been asleep in the corner of the wagon. The original trio knew of him, but did not know who he was or if he was even alive. They were requested by their informant to not wake him or move him, however, and so he stayed. Shortly after the first Rite was performed, though, he awakens and disappears into the night, and that's when we meet him proper. Tariq is mysterious. From your earliest interactions, you can tell that there is something ancient and ethereal about him. The kind of mystique of someone who has been alive for centuries and knows secrets that he cannot tell. He feels disconnected from the Nightwings because of this, an immortal traveling with them and observing them. But he is also soft spoken and kind, a musician through and through. While he obviously knows not of the Nightwings struggles personally, nor could he aid them if he did, he considers them all to be friends. And as mentioned, he defies his employer later on by fighting for the Nightwings, in particular the Reader whom their employer had always assumed would leave the party once the Nightwings reunited with him. While Tariq cannot participate in the Rites, he still brings a lot to the party, as being a minstrel, he serves as the game's in-game jukebox. And yes, he's Darren Korb, so you get to hear that hauntingly beautiful voice.
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| I couldn't find a transparent image of Sandra, sorry. |
Sandra the Unseeing, the Expelled Teacher - Much like Tariq, Sandra is not technically one of the Nightwings. She cannot participate in the Rites, nor does she really interact with much of the party as the travel the land. The only person she can, and honestly chooses to, talk to is the Reader, only communicating with the others when it's time for their trials. However, Sandra is still an important part of this team and a crucial piece of the Nightwings' quest for victory. Sandra enters the story shortly after Tariq does, with Tariq asking to talk to the Reader about the Nightwings' quest. Tariq points the reader to a mysterious crystal orb that he has placed on their desk, and asks them to communicate with it. It is here that the Reader meets Sandra the Unseeing, a wraith that inhabits the orb with an unknown number of Wraiths. Sandra is a prisoner within a prison. Centuries ago, during the time of the Eight Scribes, Sandra was an assassin of the Sisters of the Arch. She, along with her sisters, willingly chose to come down to Downside in a quest to assassinate the exiled Emperor. The sisters instead found a changed man, peacefully guiding his followers with wisdom and integrity. Not believing his change of heart was genuine, the Sisters made an attempt on the former Emperor's life, a goal in which they failed. The Eight Scribes imprisoned them within the Crystal, where they will serve out eternity aiding those who wish to undergo the liberation rites. Sandra is pessimistic and cynical, but has a certain humor about her. She has seen many people come and go in her time, and finds them all to be selfish and stubborn. Not that she can talk, for every dig she makes at others, she makes three at herself. Clearly trying to find something to laugh about in her eternity as a ghost in an orb. Or maybe she's just simply gone mad. While she is incapable of directly assisting in the Rites, Sandra allows the player a safe space to test team compositions and strategies, performing practice games with them using her team, the Beyonders, the ghostly remnants of her Sisters. More importantly, though, whenever a character has completed a certain number of matches and gained a certain level of experience, they can be summoned by Sandra to participate in a trial. The trial is a 1v3, the character in question against a full team of Beyonders, and the prize for winning it is twofold. One, they receive a special upgrade that allows them to perform better in the Rites. And two, they are considered eligible for Liberation from Downside, having served their penitence and reached enlightenment.
- Bertrude, the Serpent Queen - Bertrude is a bizarre party member. Introduced sixth of the potential party, she does not join said party until much later on. Bertrude is a crone, a race of reclusive swamp-dwelling witches who are more reptilian than human. They have human faces, snakes for hair, snake bodies, and large horns sprouting from their heads. And Bertrude is the oldest, the meanest and the most reclusive. A fact that leads her to becoming the de facto queen of the serpents. As previously stated, she doesn't join the party when you first meet her, instead acting like she would rather strike down the party right there then help them. She only aids them on their quest initially to repay a debt she owes their informant, preparing their wagon to be sea-worthy as they must cross the rough seas to continue on with the Rites. After doing so, you sail off, and it seems like you'll never see Bertrude again. Once you meet up with your informant, however, Bertrude decides to leave her marshland home and join up with the party as one of the Nightwings. Being part of the team does little to change her mood though. She's still mean and cold, making few friends and a lot of enemies both in the party and outside of it. However, there is a softness to her, if you're willing to listen. Even the Serpent Queen has wants, both in Downside and out of it. During the Rites, Bertrude is a large and aggressive player. Like most of the other large players, Bertrude's offensive capabilities are very limited, though she can be surprisingly quick when she needs to be. But defensively, she is a monster. Her entire kit is specced into being an aggressive defender, assaulting the opponents in a way that will leave psychic damage. She kind of plays dirty, which fits her nature. Her main attack is her cast, which fans out in front of her in a bunch of lines, pinning opponents pretty effectively while forcing those who aren't pinned into predictable movements. And instead of a jump, Bertrude pounces, slamming on top of enemies to end them in one fell swoop. She's crazy good at her role, and it's no wonder they block her from you for most of the game.
- Sir Gillman, the Honor Seeker - Sir Gillman is the only party member featured in Pyre who was once part of another team before defecting to your side. Gillman is of the wyrms, a race of sea serpents whose culture is a hierarchical military society modeled after medieval knights. Gillman first appears as a player for the Pyrehearts, the fifth of the Triumvirates you battle in this game (and in my opinion, the most difficult). He quickly defects to your side, however, finding his team's conduct both during the Rites and after they've finished to be dishonorable and unsportsmanlike. After aiding the Nightwings in crossing the wyrm ocean, he joins their party, bringing his bombastic personality and deep sense of honor with him. Gillman seems like a cartoon at first, a character built for comic relief first and foremost. His obsession with medieval honor is to the levels of farce at some points and the rest of the party is as bemused by him as frustrated with him at basically all times. But he cares deeply for the party, and believes that due to his history with the dishonorable Pyrehearts, he has redemption he needs to seek. He even demands not to be involved in the Liberation Rite because he simply does not believe he has earned the right to return to the real world, willingly giving up his potentially only chance at freedom for the sake of his honor. He also has a massive crush on Jodariel. Don't we all? During the Rites, Gillman is one of, if not THE best offensive party members in the game. Gillman is small and agile, being naturally faster than most other party members and having the ability to swim at high speeds on top of that. He excels at weaving in and out of the opponent's range, and his high agility means that usually when Gillman has the ball, he's scoring. He is, however, way more shakey defensively. Gillman has an incredibly unique defensive movement, wherein his aura traces a path and then he snaps back to the start of that path, slicing whatever is in his way. It's a neat move, but it's super situational and requires your opponent to really play into Gillman, which isn't always ideal. Still, he's a great scorer, and has a high likelihood of becoming a mainstay once you learn him.
- Pamitha Theyn, the Guilty Sister - Pamitha is the final of the Nightwings to join you before the endgame, and is the team's most contentious member. Pamitha is a "Harp", a race of bird-people who have long been at war with the Commonwealth and whom all the party have a history with. Pamitha originally joins the party as a one-off, the group is about to do battle with the Harps team, the Essence, as a way to talk to her sister. Her sister being the infamous Tamitha Theyn, a powerful and ruthless Harp general and one of the most hated people in the Commonwealth. Being unsuccesful in this goal, Pamitha decides to remain with the Nightwings and see their quest to its natural conclusion, aiding them however she can despite their suspicions of her. Pamitha is aloof and witty, she seems to understand that her very presence makes other people angry and she chooses to simply not let that impact her. However, as her title would imply, she's clearly harboring a lot of guilt over the destruction of the relationship with her sister. She betrayed her people back when they were both topside, believing that a peaceful resolution between the Harps and the Commonwealth could be found. But seeing her sister be clipped and exiled deeply affected her, and her guilt over what she had done got her sent here too. She now hopes to seek her sister's forgiveness, though this seems unlikely given Tamitha's deep-seeded hatred and her slow transformation into becoming a demon. During the Rites, Pamitha is a powerful offensive player, if not a bit of a one trick pony. Pamitha's main thing is that, as a Harp, she can fly. The Harp strategy in the Rites is heavily built off of their aerial mobility, when they are flying no traditional attacks can hit them. The defense has to simply rely on blocking them by jumping into them before they can make their way into the goal. Pamitha is no different, having the ability to soar above the arena and very easily get the ball into the opposing pyre if their defense doesn't work. This is kind of the only thing she can do though, as she has basically nothing for defense, with even her minor defensive options being more effective at getting her mobile than providing any defense. Sometimes she makes the match easy, sometimes she makes the match difficult.
The Worldbuilding
Having now met our roster and, thus, most of the races that appear with Pyre, I want to talk about its worldbuilding. I just want to be clear to start that I'm not necessarily going to talk about any individual piece of worldbuilding so much as the mechanisms of worldbuilding Pyre uses that make it so effective. Pyre does so much work to make both the Downside and the Commonwealth feel real. A pretty major way this works is that Pyre takes place pretty recently after a major historical event, i.e. the war between the Commonwealth and the Harps. Placing this game within a decade of a massive, paradigm shifting event gives the game a launching off point to explore the history of the Commonwealth, and by extension, the history of Downside. The fact that basically the entire cast has some connection to this war, in particular Hedwyn, Jodariel, and Pamitha who all served in it and whose actions in the war got them sent down here, also gives you a good basis to get into the history of Pyre.
The primary thing moving the plot forward, the Book of Rites, is central in this deep worldbuilding. The Book of Rites is the tool through which the Reader charts the Nightwings' course, using the stars to prophesize where the next Rites will be taking place. It is also a history book that reveals itself as you progress within the story. The book was written by the Eight Scribes nearly a millennia ago, and is filled with the history and mythology of themselves, the Rites, and the land of Downside. As you progress in the story, the book will become filled with firsthand accounts to the origin of the Eight Scribes, the history of the Rites, observations on the world of Downside, just generally anything the Scribes found noteworthy. This filling is also context sensitive, meaning as you travel around the land and encounter the sights and sounds of Downside, you will learn about the history and the Scribes' thoughts on them. And as it passes through the Reader's hands, they begin adding to it, adding their own quest to the book. Establishing the Nightwings as an important part of the history of Downside.
Another interesting method that Pyre uses to communicate the history of this world is through the character "Sandra the Unseeing". Sandra is also someone who has had firsthand experience with the history of the world. Centuries ago, Sandra was an assassin who was working for the Commonwealth. What had happened is that the Commonwealth expelled the fallen Emperor into Downside and then decided that he was better off dead, and so kept sending people to deal with them, only for them to become the now wise and redeemed emperor's followers. So Sandra was sent in to finally end the Emperor. She fails at this goal, and the Scribes punish her for her attempt on their holy leader's life by imprisoning her in an orb, to spend eternity aiding people in their holy rituals. Because Sandra has been imprisoned for centuries, however, she has a lot of first hand knowledge of the history and mythology of the world, and with no one else to talk to, she's happy to tell the Reader of her past and all the oddities she's seen.
The game's usage of hyperlinks in the text is also a novel way it communicates its worldbuilding. As you communicate with the characters and make your way through the story, occasionally the game will highlight words in the text. If you move your cursor over them, it will give you additional information on the word, i.e. insight into what the Commonwealth is or information on who the characters are. This is both a handy tool to catch players up if they haven't played Pyre in a while and are restarting from an older save, but within these text blurbs are quotes from characters about the topic in question. Not only does this better give insight into the characters and their relationships with one another, a thing I love, but it also serves the worldbuilding. You get snide remarks and minor insights on history, on politics, on geography, etc. It's so seamless but it adds so much.
But, in my opinion, the best part of the worldbuilding is that Pyre has its own languages. All the lines in this game are fully voiced, but the actual voice acting is entirely in made-up languages native to the world. It's no secret that a world having its own language is a massive boon to worldbuilding, and the fact that every character in Pyre natively speaks a made-up language really pushes it over the edge. It also adds to the mystique of certain characters, as while characters like Tariq speak in this made-up language, they sing in English, which adds to their otherworldly qualities. The worldbuilding in Pyre is truly superb, I've seen people even say "I can't really do the sports thing but I fell in love with the worldbuilding of Pyre".
The Music
Being a Supergiant game, you can probably imagine what the music sounds like. One of Supergiant's founders had the incredible fortune of being childhood friends with one Darren Korb, now one of the greatest video game composers of all time. The experimental multi-instrumentalist has both created a coherent sound, which makes the Supergiant games all feel unified, while also creating such unique scores for each of their games. Bastion and Hades both are immediately identifiable as "the Supergiant sound" but they have incredibly different sounds in practice. As Natalie Clayton from Rock Paper Shotgun put it:
Studio composer Darren Korb has an extremely playful, unique approach to genre, from Bastion's acoustic trip-hop to Hades' Ancient Greek metal riffs.
Pyre is possibly Korb's most varied soundtrack thus far. Because Pyre is a game where you will be regularly facing interesting and entirely unique characters, Korb really goes all out with the composition, developing unique themes for every character and opposing team that perfectly encapsulate their often drastically different vibes. For instance, the theme of the punk rock inspired team, the Dissidents, is a wild metal track that is both really intimidating and really fun, communicating that the team is both really hard and wild, but also in it for the love of the game. The theme of the Essence is a very low key flamenco track that sounds very pretty and just a bit sinister, but also very conflicted, as the core conflict with the Essence is Pamitha's own feelings about her sister. The theme of the Chastity is a classical inspired tune that sounds very pretty but also very empty, implying their leader, Manley Tinderstuff's, darker, sycophantic nature. And there are so many more amazing tracks in this game, it's a masterful soundtrack.
That being said, I could definitely see why this soundtrack might be a negative to some people. While it does work on an individual level, Pyre's OST somewhat fails to give the game a coherent identity. It is a game where every song is a stylistically unique, incredibly well done masterpiece that says a lot about that individual character or character(s), but I could also see and somewhat agree with the argument that it doesn't come together that well. Pyre's sonic identity is definitely weaker than Hades or Bastion. But I think it's genius, the worst Korb soundtrack is still a masterpiece. And honestly, of the Korbs, I kind of vibe with this one the most just to listen to. It might be my favorite despite its flaws.
The Plot
People who have played Pyre will have noticed I kept one of the Nightwings off my rundown. This was not an error, I instead did not want to talk about the final of the Nightwings until I got to discussing the story. But his presence has been known, because he is the Nightwings' mysterious informer and Tariq's employer. The one, the only, Volfred Sandalwood, the Plan Maker. For posterity, during the Rites, Volfred is an entirely defensive player. In the same way that Pamitha or Gillman are built almost exclusively for offensive pushes, Volfred is built exclusively for defense, being able to effectively block all flying enemies with their shield and producing a dummy which creates a small aura zone around itself, allowing you an extra body to help protect the Pyre.
Volfred Sandalwood, and the History of the Nightwings
Volfred Sandalwood is the last of the Nightwings to join the party, an eccentric sapient tree from a race known as the "Saps". Volfred was a history professor back in the Commonwealth, a mild-mannered, kindly man teaching the young minds of the Commonwealth. But Volfred was always, at heart, a revolutionary. By night, he was a radical, having built his own illegal printing press, he devoted his life to bringing literacy to the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, inevitably, tracked down the operation, destroying his printing press and eventually trying him Insurrection, exiling him to the Downside. Volfred ended up in a very similar situation to the Reader originally, a wanderer in the harsh Wasteland, starving and overheated. And much like the Reader, he was found by the Nightwings. Not ours, though. Those who came before.
The original Nightwings roster was very different. Ti'zo was still there, the imp who wishes to find his place in the world beyond, but the other players were Brighton, the first to be freed, Erisa, a woman who has long since passed, and their leader Oralech, the original captain of the Nightwings and a man who Volfred found kinship with. The Nightwings set their sights on freedom, seeking to perform the Liberation as many times as it took for them all to be freed. After a successful run, however, things went wrong. Upon another successful season, Oralech, who was set to gain his freedom, was betrayed by Erisa. Erisa pushed him off the mountain bridging the two worlds, and attempted to claim his spot. This angered the Scribes' agents, who tossed her into a pool of stars on the mountainside, and closed off the bridge between realms. Without a team, and having lost the man who he called brother, Volfred retreated into the impenetrable forests of Downside, wherein he would hide.
But Volfred was not simply trying to live out the remainder of his Exile. He was plotting. Volfred was always a revolutionary, after all. Having now participated in the Rites, Volfred sees the whole system as contemptable. An oppressive oligarchy controls everything in the other world, down to the point where their citizens aren't allowed to learn to read, and anything that they don't like is labeled insurrection. And the punishment for said crime, is to send them to a world that, up until the last couple centuries, was the home of massive ancient monsters whose corpses now litter the wasteland. No, this wasn't right. Volfred needed to do something about it. And to do so, he would need to assemble a team. A team who would not be corruptible by the promise a full pardon brings. A team of individuals from all cultures, races, and backgrounds, united by a common goal to participate in the Rites, not simply for their freedom, but for what being free would mean. A team of...
The New Nightwings, and the Revolution
The New Nightwings meet Volfred before their penultimate Rite. It is seemingly the first time any of them have ever met the Sap, even Hedwyn, who was given this task, seems to have never seen him in person. After some awkward introductions, Volfred sends this assembled team off to participate in their penultimate Rite. And then he reveals the truth about why he has gathered them all here. Volfred wants to start an uprising. He wants to put an end to the Commonwealth. He wants a revolution.
Volfred explains that the New Nightwings were specifically created for this goal. Hedwyn was chosen because he is an ideal leader, an ideal revolutionary, and through his sound judgement, the others soon followed. While he understands that they may not be particularly happy with this outcome, who would be knowing you were a first round draft pick because a washed up player wanted to overthrow the government, he hopes they will still aid him on his quest. The goal is simple: complete the Liberation Rites, send the group back one-by-one, obtain their pardons, and then get to work. Meet with Volfred's contacts. Begin sewing the seeds of mistrust. Whispers of revolution. And send coded messages back to Downside, detailing the progress. Volfred is even keeping track, using his connections to surmise how close the revolution is to succeeding. Each successful Rite leads to more allies on the surface, more people whispering revolution. The progress may be slow, it may seem impossible, but the thing they have is time.
The Liberation
`There is, however, a reason why the plan is slow going. I've alluded to this fact in the past, but liberation is not as simple as "you win and your party goes free". When you reach the final Rite, the actual Liberation Rite, you are met by their judge and their guardian, the Minstrel Celeste. Celeste asks you to anoint one of your players, one who has undergone their trial with Sandra already and reached enlightenment already, who shall lead the team in this final Rite. If you succeed, that player will be freed from the Downside, granted their pardon. Fail, and that person shall remain in Downside, maybe forever.
This is something none of the party knew until they arrived at the Mountain. And it's not something that the party takes particularly well. Hedwyn in particular feels like he was lied to, that he has been making promises he is now unable to keep due to his lack of info. That it might be impossible for the party to all leave together. But they unfortunately have little recourse in this revelation, the Rites don't change just because someone is upset about it. So the Nightwings agree to play Volfred's game, to continue participating in the Rites until everyone is freed or, at least, everyone has an opportunity to be freed. And in exchange, they will fight his revolution when they get out, as tempting as it is to return to their ordinary lives.
However, there is something else about Liberation that Volfred reveals here, something that puts everything into perspective. See, the Nightwings are a necessary component for the final liberation ritual to take place. They are appointed by the Scribes themselves and the other triumvirates in Downside can only win their freedom by beating the Nightwings on the mountain. Throughout the journey, the other teams have not been kind to the Nightwings. Some act in reverence, others in contempt, but no one greets their opponents in kindness. It is here that all clicks into place. When Volfred disbanded the Nightwings many years ago, when he went into hiding to formulate his master plan, he doomed all citizens of Downside to an endless exile. Their only shot at freedom, taken away forever. Liberation an impossibility. The Nightwings aren't just there to gain their own freedom, they must be there to grant said freedom to others. As an aside, I kind of find this plot point hilarious in the context that this is a basketball game. Like imagine if when Jordan retired in 93, the NBA was just like "welp, guess we can't hold the championships until he gets back".
The Reader, an Unexpected Variable
From the moment that Volfred meets the Reader, he acts a little weird around them in particular. There's a kind of caution surrounding the Reader, only assuaged by Tariq assuring Volfred that the Reader is okay to remain. There seems to have been the assumption on Volfred's part that the Reader either would leave upon conducting the Rites, or would have already left after charting the stars for the Nightwings. As such, their continued presence, their importance to the Nightwings, has put him on the backfoot, a variable he did not expect and one he seems a bit irritated to have to contend with. But, with all of the Nightwings insisting the Reader is part of the team, he has no choice but to bring them in on the plan. Besides, upon reflection, he requires their assistance anyways as he is ineligible to be the Reader as he was in the past if he is to also join the team and conduct the Rites.
After their initial meeting however, Volfred pulls the Reader aside to talk. He first apologizes for his behavior, realizing that the Reader does not know why Volfred is taken aback by their continued presence as nobody would've been there to tell them. Volfred quickly explains the truth: the Reader is stuck. As they are the one to conduct the Rites, they cannot participate in them. And as such, they can never rightfully earn their freedom. Volfred has been kind of cold to the Reader because he assumed the Reader knew and that, once the Nightwings reunited with their benefactor, the Reader would move on. After all, without much of a reason to fight, since they're never going to obtain their freedom, there's not really a reason for the Reader to stay on.
The Reader assures Volfred, however, that they want to see this through. That even if they might never be free of Downside, they want to help their friends achieve their freedom. This quest is more to them now than just a personal quest. While it may be hard, losing a friend forever, this is bigger than just them possibly getting free. And who knows, maybe in their long term quest to free everyone, they can find a way for the Reader to get free. With their intentions confirmed, Volfred welcomes them into the Nightwings, and starts the team on their plan. It may take years for the Rites to happen, years for everyone to get free. But all they can do is wait. Like I said previously, they got time. The revolution can come whenever they're ready. The odds are in their favor.
Making Difficult Choices
The most important part about Pyre, however, is that Pyre is a game about difficult choices. From the outset, you are forced to make choices in Pyre. Many of the choices you make are minor in the grand scheme of things. You are choosing to essentially hang out with one character or another, Visual Novel style, during breaks between the Rites. Following Rukey's lead to pick up and deliver a package or hanging out with Jodariel and going mushroom picking. Going fishing with Ti'zo or praying with Shae. Taking a spa day with Sir Gillman or looking over the crystalline mountainside with Hedwyn. Tiny choices that don't seem to matter much, maybe you'll find some nice loot or maybe not. But, they matter. They matter because you're forming bonds with these characters.
The most beautiful, but also the most cruel trick Pyre plays is that the only way for a character to be eligible for their own Liberation is if you care about them. The characters you get to know the best, who you grow the most attachment too, they're the ones who get to go free. Every liberation is you deciding which one of your best friends you may never see again. Sending these characters you love off to a future that may be better for them, but one where you cannot follow. To save them is to suffer heartbreak yourself. To end your story with them. It's a bittersweet feeling every time, and one that leads to hard choices. To you having to ask yourself "is my story with this person truly concluded".
But then, you also have to consider the plan. Releasing the Nightwings is for the greater good. It would ensure that this system doesn't continue, that a government that operate on oppression and imprisonment gets overturned. Hypothetically at least. Can you really make the selfish choice there, just because you don't personally feel like your journey with the others is over? Is a potential for a better world worth your own heartbreak? It's not a question with an easy answer. For as much as we would like to believe we would choose the greater good, we also wouldn't want our friends, our family, to be lost forever to us for that good. And the Reader is tasked with that impossible decision, the responsibility of fighting for this world is on the player.
But what of the other Triumvirates? The game initially just paints them as opponents, people who we are having to battle for our freedom. Often people who despise the Nightwings in turn, feel as though they are the villains of this whole ordeal. But in a way, aren't they? The Nightwings have to be present, it is a divine order. The freedom of anyone in Downside is entirely dependent on their existence. Their disappearance doomed many and their sudden reappearance and subsequent domination in the Rites is to those same people a repetition of a horrid cycle. In the first of the Liberations, you battle a team who has literally been lying in wait for the Nightwings to return. A team that features the Nightwings' greatest enemy, the demon Ignarius. A powerful competitor and someone who has long been waiting for his chance. And yet, as he begins losing, it starts to really hit you for the first time what losing a Liberation means to these people, why they fight so hard and resent their opponents so deeply. This is their only chance at freedom. The deck is stacked against them, and they have one shot to gain something that seems to be handed to their opponents on a silver platter.
Which is yet another hard choice. The freedom of any of your friends dooms another to a life in Downside. I won't pretend that the people you face are always pleasant, or that they haven't earned their punishment necessarily. But at the same time, these are people, prisoners of an unjust system that has cast them into exile as a punishment for any crime at all. They are like you, people who just want a chance to reclaim a life that was stolen from them. Maybe their intentions aren't as noble as yours, but is it right to keep them imprisoned just because you're working for the greater good? Would it not be a kindness to let them out? And, whether it is or not, is it convenient for you to believe that it might be, so you have justification for not losing your friends?
This is where Pyre truly shines. Pyre is an incredibly deep, rich RPG where every question you ask is only answered by more questions. You have to make difficult choices, choices that might not be good for you, your party members, the prisoners of Downside, or even the world. It's the kind of game where you sit there after beating it a bit empty, but in the best way. You don't have good or evil choices, it's just your choices, what you think is best. What your personal morality tells you to do. It's truly amazing, and I'm so happy to have played it finally. Supergiant don't miss but, for me at least, this is a massive hit.
So How Does it Fail?
You have probably been awaiting the other shoe to drop on this. I have spent this entire blog post praising this game endlessly, reaffirming that it is one of my favorite games of all time and explaining why that is. The name of the article is "A Masterpiece that Failed", and it does so in more ways than just being Supergiant's weirdest and, by extension, most divisive game. I, obviously, adore Pyre. It has rapidly found its place on my favorite games of all time list and it's a game I haven't been able to stop thinking about since I played it. However, there are some things about Pyre that just clearly do not work, criticisms to be leveled against the work that are more than valid. And it is in these ways that Pyre's failure becomes apparent.
Pyre begins right as it ends. The part where Volfred Sandalwood finally talks to the team and tells them what is going on is one of the last events to take place before the first Liberation. Because of this, it can seem like the game is both starting and ending at the same time. That the actual story is inserted right when the game's narrative arc that we have been following ends. A revolution may be starting, but for one of the party members, the game is ending. And honestly it is not an unrealistic expectation that the player too finds their ending with the first Liberation. That the weight of the task ahead of them is too much and that they feel satisfied with performing the Liberation at all.
This is compounded with the fact that the game gets considerably more difficult after the initial Rites. After you complete the first Rites and have your story laid out in front of you, the game adopts more of a sports game structure, with the Rites entering into different "seasons" where the player chooses their matches and after so many, another Liberation is ready for them to participate. This is where the bulk of the game lies, completing these seasons and either liberating your party or failing, some of them, at which point you enter another season. However, with each season, your opponents get tougher, implementing better strategies and utilizing powerful equipment that gives them buffs. I have had a number of people mention when I told them I was playing Pyre that they really loved it but could not do the sport part of it effectively, and likely got pushed out of the game before reaching an "ending" because the game became insurmountable for them after only a couple of seasons.
But should they even reach a proper ending, the game problems still rear their head. Pyre is meant to be a very open-ended RPG, where your choices lead to different outcomes in the end. It's a game with a lot of nuanced character interactions that a player is unlikely to ever see. The majority of players just are done with a game once it's finished, if they even make it that far. Thanks to the rise of achievements, we know the majority of players are likely to stop playing a game ~5 hours,, with massive drop-offs after you get out of the tutorial. To experience everything that Pyre wants you to experience, you would need potentially dozens, if not hundreds of playthroughs. Which isn't particularly helped by the fact that one character will ascend early on, regardless of how well you get to know them. That character's relationships, thoughts, feelings, etc. are gone, and it's before the story even begins.
For as much as I love Pyre, it is unavoidable how much this game struggles to accomplish its goals in the end. It's too ambitious, trying to be too much game for what it is and, moreover, what its players expect. I still believe it to be a work of genius, but it is a messy work, one that has this core issue that, even if you can look past as I do, you cannot truly avoid. Pyre can accomplish great things, if you want to give it the opportunity to find itself, but on its own, without a level of nurturing from the player? It is lacking. It's like looking at an unfinished Van Gogh. You see the masterwork, but also know it can never truly be what it was destined to be.
Rising From the Ashes
But in truth? Pyre needed to fail. Pyre's faults are, undoubtedly, major. Some may say the game completely fails to accomplish its goal and therefore deserves its reputation as Supergiant's forgotten middle child. But Pyre is insanely important. And it is important for the ways it fails. Pyre has a strong legacy, one that would create one of the greatest video games of all time. Pyre's ideas would not be abandoned by Supergiant, even if they came up short within Pyre. Instead, they would find their way into Supergiant's fourth title, Hades.
Hades is one of the most important games ever made. Roguelikes had been a genre that was taking off for quite some time before Hades' release, I'd imagine like half the indie games you'd have heard of during the 2010s were roguelikes, but Hades broke new ground by proving the genre could be used to tell nuanced, compelling stories with large casts of instantly endearing characters. Roguelikes had largely been very arcadey affairs before this, focusing heavily on the gameplay loop and ensuring players could quickly get back into runs. Hades was a showcase in how the genre could be used for storytelling, how the gameplay loop could be a tool to push a narrative forward. How the endless deaths, the failures of the player, could be leveraged to build up character relationships and learn more about the world. And it has Pyre to thank for this.
See, the problem with how Pyre handles its open ended narrative is that players are not given the opportunity to properly experience all the nuances of said narrative because the game is always moving forward. It is a game that wants you to always be pushing forward, to always be making the difficult decisions that you have to make for the plot to play out. But it is also a game that wants you to spend as much time as possible with these characters, with this world, learning about their lives and forming these bonds. It is a game at war with itself.
It is from this problem that Hades' narrative ideology was born. The open-ended narrative with a massive focus on character interaction didn't necessarily come together for Pyre, but in Hades, it finally found its place. Hades' focus being on dying, that rather than the narrative moving forward via success but rather failure, allows them to accomplish their goals much better. Having the plot occur in between the runs, whether they are successful or not, leads to and, moreover, encourages the player to explore the interactions between the characters. Follow their individual questlines. By putting failure at the forefront, they created something truly magical, a game that reinvented the roguelike, soared Supergiant to superstardom, and became lauded as one of the greatest games of all time. And none of it would've been possible, if Pyre had not failed.
Pyre is a masterpiece. And Pyre is also a tragedy. It's a game that has so much love put into it, so much depth. It's one of the greatest RPGs of all time. It's also a mess, that fails in a pretty major way. But it needed to fail. A timeline where Pyre succeeds is a timeline where we might not get Hades, and Hades is Supergiant's most important game. In a way, I mourn what Pyre could've been. But then I also would never wish for it to be so. It's a game with a messy, complicated, but important legacy, and I love it to death. It's very important to me already, it holds a spot on my short list of the best games of all time. And there is just simply no other way to describe it, but as a masterpiece that failed.
