Out of all of Supergiant’s games, I feel like Pyre is the odd duck out. Bastion, Transistor, and Hades - all fit nicely into the action-RPG genre (as well as all being absolute bangers) but Pyre is something else entirely. Sure it also has action-RPG elements, but also is a story-rich visual novel and sports game? And they not only work together but also compliment each other?? It’s a magical wizardry mix of genres that still feels fresh today, even though it’s been five years since it released. It’s story following a group of ethereal exiles playing fantasy sports ball in mystical purgatory isn’t half bad too (by which I mean it’s amazing).
The rules of the sport are simple - two teams are placed at opposite ends of a pitch each with a flame (the titular pyre) they must protect. An energy ball appears on the map and the two teams must grab the ball and dunk it into the opponent’s flame until that flame has been snuffed out. Each character has a special ability, movement feels good, and when you pull off a combo you feel fantastic.
]]>Comb your hair, spray that perfume and suit up for a night of high culture, readers - the third edition of the Game Music Festival is underway. Starting last night, you can already tune into a full evening of orchestral rearrangement of scores from Bastion, Transistor, Pyre and Hades, with Larian Studios picking up the mic tonight for a more high-fantasy swing at the concert scene.
]]>Ah, religion. I know this is a topic we all have trouble agreeing on. But fear not, humble practitioner of a good pray, I am not here to squint angrily at your favourite book of life advice. I’m only here for the videogame religions. The ones that are very, very, very, very bad. You know, the gun-loving cults and the xenophobic people-burners. The (mostly) fictional religions that involve an uncommon volume of murder. Step this way, sprinkle yourself with some of my 100% genuine oil of the almighty, and peruse the 9 most dodgy religions in games.
]]>You’re a good person, reader, and I will always believe in you, no matter what. No, not you. The person behind you. No, to the left of... No, the other person. The one in the green-- No, you, with the... NO. The person BEHIND you, I said. The person with-- Oh great they’ve walked off now. This whole thing has been a waste of time. My only friend among you is gone because we’re several sentences into this intro and none of you can understand how pointing works. I hope you’re all happy. Here’s your god damned podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show.
Honestly.
]]>The old quote is wrong: neither death nor taxes are, it seems to me, as terrifyingly certain as the Steam Summer Sale. Yes, once more we can add to the heap that is our backlog by buying games for, what, five quid, on average? But there are so many to choose from that it's easy to get flustered, so who better than the staff of RPS to hand-pick the best ones for your consideration (rhetorical question; do not answer)?
Check out the full list below for a mix of games that should suit all pockets and tastes.
]]>Sit down at the boiling pot, stranger. Let me tell you a tale. A sordid tale, full of fascinating lands and captivating characters. A story of wonder and flame, strangeness and warmth. Would you like to hear it? Great. Just play this rubbish cover shooter for a half hour. I’ll start the introduction when you hit the first checkpoint.
Welcome to the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show. This week we’re discussing some great stories that come packaged with terrible games.
]]>Hello chum! Sit down and have a nice glass of water and a pack of Bombay mix. That's how we greet our closest friends on the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show. This week, best pals John and Brendan discuss how friendship is handled in videogames, and what characters felt most like close buddies. John felt a kinship with Alistair from Dragon Age: Origins, and sees Lydia from Skyrim as Wilson the football from Castaway. Whereas Brendan felt a habitual closeness to the undead woman in Dark Souls who sold him poisonous arrows. Takes all sorts, really.
]]>Pyre [official site], the sportsdunking new RPG from the studio behind Bastion and Transistor, has added a tough new difficulty mode in its 'True Nightwing' update. Unlocked after completing the main campaign, the new mode is "reminiscent of an 'Ironman' mode in other games" according to developers Supergiant Games. In short, it launches you right into the full experience with everything unlocked and no reloading from checkpoint or restarting sportsfights.
]]>How many times have you played as The Hero of the Revolution? Where you get to lead the charge against an evil government, backed by a rag-tag rebel group, as a rough, gruff outsider. You’re the one who drives the action, at the head of every important rebel action - it’s your guts and your guns that will win glory for the revolution. You’re the face of change, in that you literally show up on all the WANTED posters. The rebels cheer for you when you walk close. Everyone assures you history will remember your name.
Pyre’s not that game. You’re just a hero of the revolution, no capital letters, and certainly no glory. No one will remember your face, much less your name.
Extensive spoilers for Pyre follow.
]]>Well even if the Sun won't shine, the Steam Charts can still spread brightness into our lives. By some manner of wondrous majjicks, this week's chart doesn't even include H1Z1, Fallout 4, nor The Witcher 3! I barely even know what to do with myself. I'm dizzy! Come, join the celebration.
]]>A purgatorial fantasy sport is not the direction I expected Supergiant Games, creators of Bastion and Transistor, to go with their next game. Then again, expectations seem increasingly useless when it comes to a studio such as this. Pyre [official site] is set in a world where literacy is banned and punishable by exile – banishment to a dangerous land called the Downside, cut off from the home realm of the Commonwealth. This underworld is where you find yourself. But you soon make new friends and, to earn your freedom, you start to compete in a quasi-religious tournament of orb-throwing and goal-scoring.
The sport of Pyreball itself has caused me to curse and sigh many times, but I can’t accuse it of being uninventive. That goes double for the story of this band of exile-sinners, told through visual novel-style interjections and dialogue choices. It’s a great story. One I often wish didn’t have fantasy netball clinging to it.
]]>What's that unsettling white noise coming from the other room? Oh no, it's the 10th episode of the RPS podcast, the Electronic Wireless Show. This week, the gang are talking about horror in games (but not necessarily "horror games"). Adam and Brendan are terrified by the depths of Subnautica, which doesn't frighten Pip in the slightest.
But we also like playing non-scary things. Brendan has been competing in the purgatorial fantasy sport of Pyre, and Adam has been catching fish and watching tranquil sunsets in Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles. Meanwhile, Pip has been dating dads in the gay suburban utopia of Dream Daddy. There's also reader questions, in which we return to the subject of horror, and experience the shrill scream of a truly terrifying beast...
]]>Pyre [official site], the new party-based basketballing RPG from Bastion and Transistor developers Supergiant Games, is now out. Our boy Brendy set himself ablaze in his fervor to finish it and tell us all Wot He Thinks, which was evidently foolish. We'll find out his assessment after he's released from the burn ward so, for now, here's a reminder that Pyre is now out.
]]>Pyre [official site], the party-based RPG from the creators of Bastion and Transistor, is out next week, and there's a fiery new trailer out to celebrate the launch. You control a party of exiles trying to escape from a pretty purgatory by taking part in ancient competitions, called Rites, which are 3v3 real-time arena battles. You've got to extinguish the other team's pyre (hence the name) while keeping yours alight.
The hand-painted art style shown in the trailer trailer is absolutely stunning. It's no surprise, really, given Supergiant Games' past efforts.
]]>Supergiant Games, the makers of Bastion and Transistor, have announced they'll launch Pyre [official site] on July 25th. Their next game is a party-based RPG adventuring through purgatory in an ancient competition to escape. Ooh the colours of that place! I don't know why you'd want to leave somewhere so pretty but the journey involves a lot of three-on-three battles to extinguish the enemy's pyre while defending yours. Hence the name of the game. Here, you can see a bit of how combat works in this trailer from December:
]]>As Old Father Time grabs his sickle and prepares to take ailing 2016 around the back of the barn for a big sleep, we're looking to the future. The mewling pup that goes by the name 2017 will come into the world soon and we must prepare ourselves for its arrival. Here at RPS, our preparations come in the form of this enormous preview feature, which contains details on more than a hundred of the exciting games that are coming our way over the next twelve months. 2016 was a good one - in the world of games at least - but, ever the optimists, we're hoping next year will be even better.
]]>So... 2016. (FX: 'Urrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh....') It's not been the greatest of years, from just about every celebrity you might have loved deciding to peg it, to America electing the Curious Orange. As far as RPGs go, it's also been fairly quiet, thanks to lots of stuff deciding to stay in the oven for a few more months. That's not to say we've had nothing, not least Early Access versions of many of these games. Awards are coming later this month! But in terms of big, BIG, BIG releases, it's been kinda quiet. Next year though? Whoooo-boy, do we have a lot of awesome stuff on the way. Here are some of my picks for the games I'm most excited to get my hands on in 2017.
]]>Supergiant Games, the folks behind Bastion and Transistor, today announced their third game - Pyre [official site]. They call it a "party-based RPG", telling a story about a group of exiles trying to complete tasks that might just let them be absolved and return home. Pyre is due in 2017 and SuperGiant don't have too much to say about it right now, but have a gander at this here pretty announcement trailer:
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