Pyre

[Strigon]

So, Supergiant's new game, Pyre is out, and it's their first game I've played yet.

Wow.
I love a game with a good story and good characters. The aesthetics and soundtrack were both stellar, too; to the point where I had to start adding some screenshots as my wallpaper, and download the soundtrack as soon as I was done.

Love that game to death, even if the actual "gameplay" is quite light.

Spoiler

Show

So, on my playthrough, I freed Hedwyn, then the Moontouched Girl, who was named Fae, then Rukey, Sir Gilman, Jodariel, let Dalbert go free, and chose to free Ti'zo instead of myself.
I also got Rukey out of debt, which is nice.

The ending, though, was deeply bittersweet. I felt bad for everyone left behind, including those on the other teams. Honestly, I wish there were a way to free everyone.

Very rarely has there been a game where I've longed for more, but don't actually want anything else to follow it up, because the ending wrapped things up perfectly.

How about you guys? Thoughts?

[Amaril]

Just finished it a few minutes ago. I was literally about to make a thread for it when I saw this one.

To anyone checking this who hasn't played the game: do it. Seriously, get it right now and play it. It literally made me cry. I haven't cried in years.

Spoiler

Show

I actually somehow pulled off a perfect run, no rites lost (on standard difficulty, not hard mode or anything). In order, I freed: Hedwyn, Shae, Rukey, Jodariel, Gillman, and Pamitha. I anointed Volfred for the last rite, but ended up letting Oralech go instead--I just couldn't deny him that. Legitimately contemplated throwing the rite against him to let him go, especially with the Voice not-so-subtly hinting at some upcoming twist where surprise, you were the bad guy all along for winning and now everything is screwed for everyone! Really glad the game didn't pull something like that in the end, though I still felt like crap for not being able to let Dalbert and Ignarius go.

Anyway, I'll probably need some emotional recovery time before I dive back in for the versus mode, though I most certainly will--I had a blast with the rites gameplay.

[Strigon]

To anyone checking this who hasn't played the game: do it. Seriously, get it right now and play it. It literally made me cry. I haven't cried in years.

Seconded. I didn't actually cry, but the one-two punch from the epilogue leading right into that end credits song brought me closer than I'd care to admit.
Literally, unless all you care about is gameplay, go buy it. Because the gameplay, I'm sorry, but it can't justify that price point. Everything else, though, makes it a steal.

Also, if you do buy it, and there's a deal for buying the soundtrack version, do it. Don't listen to any of the songs, because they're perfectly timed and you should never ever ever ever ever spoil any of them, but you'll want them by the end.

Have any favourite characters/combos?

[Amaril]

Have any favourite characters/combos?

In terms of pure character, Jodi and Shae have to be my favorites, though I actually found everyone grew on me, even the characters I expected to hate when I first met them. Mechanically, I had some trouble with Ti'zo (not a fan of characters with suicide abilities in most games, and I found his movement awkward), but I thought they did a great job balancing everyone there too. My dream team is probably Jodi on defense, with Rukey and Shae trading off scoring.

[Rising Phoenix]

Just finished it a few minutes ago. I was literally about to make a thread for it when I saw this one.

To anyone checking this who hasn't played the game: do it. Seriously, get it right now and play it. It literally made me cry. I haven't cried in years.
.

Thirded. No seriously. Go buy this game. It's sublime.

And it also made me tear up as well...

Spoiler

Show

I think I got the 'good' ending. I freed Hedwyn, Jodaria, Rukey, Fae, Pamitha, Ti'zo and went for Sir Gilbert for the last one...only for him to free me...and that's when the waterworks began...

As for leaving people behind I didn't mid leaving back the two masterminds, they were old, they new what they were getting in from the beginning. At least that was my justification. As for the rest of the team I only felt sad for a handful of them (basically the only other 'good' guys). Everyone else was worthy of where they ended up in and to be fair the Underside isn't THAT terrible a place. I mean it's harsh, but you can live and thrive even.

My one complaint is that on PC the controls aren't intuitive...I rarely swapped of characters unless the toon I was controlling got killed. But that's a minor complaint...

As for favorite characters: Everyone? Everyone is interesting and has layers. An amazing feat considering the size of the roster...

Spoiler

Show

I now want to do a 'fail' run where I release 'good' oponents on purpose...Just to see what happens

As for team comps: I found everyone effective except Jodaria, I never managed to get a hang of her controls...it's just much easier to use (cheese?) with Pamitha, Ti'zo and the medusa (forget her name right now).

[Strigon]

In terms of pure character, Jodi and Shae have to be my favorites, though I actually found everyone grew on me, even the characters I expected to hate when I first met them. Mechanically, I had some trouble with Ti'zo (not a fan of characters with suicide abilities in most games, and I found his movement awkward), but I thought they did a great job balancing everyone there too. My dream team is probably Jodi on defense, with Rukey and Shae trading off scoring.

As for team comps: I found everyone effective except Jodaria, I never managed to get a hang of her controls...it's just much easier to use (cheese?) with Pamitha, Ti'zo and the medusa (forget her name right now).

Bertrude.

I loved Jodariel. Especially with her abilities, like the one where her stamina regenerates when she banishes an opponent. Double-dash, banish, grab ball, double-dash out. It's glorious.
Then I equipped her with the cursed artifact that lets you keep your aura while holding the ball. At that point, it was just game over; grab ball, double-dash through opponent, regen stamina, double-dash again into their pyre for 30 damage.

Ti'zo was also pretty great, but I agree about not liking his ability. Equip him with his unique item, though, and upgrade it a few times, and he can zip in and out faster than anyone.

Sandalwood was great utility, despite the innumerable times I reached the enemy's pyre, then blinked through it, panicked, blinked back and got banished. That wasn't fun.

Honestly, my dream team would probably be Jodi, Ti'zo and Rukey - specifically, Rukey with the ability that lets him come back from scoring a goal.

[Amaril]

Bertrude.

I loved Jodariel. Especially with her abilities, like the one where her stamina regenerates when she banishes an opponent. Double-dash, banish, grab ball, double-dash out. It's glorious.
Then I equipped her with the cursed artifact that lets you keep your aura while holding the ball. At that point, it was just game over; grab ball, double-dash through opponent, regen stamina, double-dash again into their pyre for 30 damage.

Ti'zo was also pretty great, but I agree about not liking his ability. Equip him with his unique item, though, and upgrade it a few times, and he can zip in and out faster than anyone.

Sandalwood was great utility, despite the innumerable times I reached the enemy's pyre, then blinked through it, panicked, blinked back and got banished. That wasn't fun.

Honestly, my dream team would probably be Jodi, Ti'zo and Rukey - specifically, Rukey with the ability that lets him come back from scoring a goal.

The talon looked like the only one of the cursed talismans that was remotely worth it to me. I still never used it, though, since I found everyone's unique items to be by far the best for them. Ti'zo's is definitely awesome, especially once you max it out so he can zip and flutter forever, but I still didn't find him worth using compared to other offense characters. Especially Rukey and Pamitha, who are just broken with their come-back-after-dunking masteries. I'd still rather have Shae than Pamitha, though, since she's more versatile, and I prefer her aura cast to Pamitha's tackle.

I have to ask, what are your favorite tracks from the OST? Never To Return is one of the best pieces I've ever heard in a game. The first time it started up was the high point of the whole campaign for me. In The Flame deserves points for playing at the absolute perfect moment (protip for newbs: when the minstrel offers to play something, always say yes). Other than that, my remaining top spots have to go to Thrash Pack and Dread Design. Really, it's all fantastic, though.

[The Hellbug]

Okay, just finished this one up. First of all, my gripes: the gameplay of the ballsport is interesting, but the difficulty of the ai opponents doesn't quite ramp up quickly enough to be satisfying for long, and the storytelling of the plot is a miss compared to Supergiant's previous two works.

Next, though, the good (and it was really quite good): the characters, I loved them and the way they interacted to make your party. As perusual, Supergiant nails video and audio design--the game is a treat to see in action. The rest is probably spoiler-y.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Show

Thought the whole situation on win/loss and losing party members throughout the game was really well done. I freed Hedwyn first so I never saw his interactions with other party members, really. However, I still found out by the end that his lover back up top was actually a Harp, and I really wanted to see specifics on his relationship with Jodi so I'm excited to keep him around longer on the next playthrough--I'm actually seriously thinking all-loss might be the most satisfying ending, but I'll have to see. That said, the ending--nailed the bittersweet on that one. Real tears, baby.

All in all, really liked it; glad to have picked it up.

[Rising Phoenix]

Spoiler: Spoiler

Show

Thought the whole situation on win/loss and losing party members throughout the game was really well done. I freed Hedwyn first so I never saw his interactions with other party members, really. However, I still found out by the end that his lover back up top was actually a Harp, and I really wanted to see specifics on his relationship with Jodi so I'm excited to keep him around longer on the next playthrough--I'm actually seriously thinking all-loss might be the most satisfying ending, but I'll have to see. That said, the ending--nailed the bittersweet on that one. Real tears, baby.

All in all, really liked it; glad to have picked it up.

Spoiler

Show

I want to do an all loss ending as well. But it tears at my heart strings. I really don't want to leave anyone behind... Damn you game and your only six opportunities to save someone

[The Hellbug]

Spoiler

Show

I want to do an all loss ending as well. But it tears at my heart strings. I really don't want to leave anyone behind... Damn you game and your only six opportunities to save someone

Spoiler

Show

I'm actually really happy I threw a couple of the ascendancy games. I think it felt better to have the split be 3 go the rest stay.

[Rising Phoenix]

So I just started another playthrough cause I am sucker for misery

Spoiler

Show

Is Shae/Fae/Xae one of the 8 scribes? When you recruit her she says that I am glad to be back with my family and that she's the same age as the wagon which to my understanding has been around for a while?

[Strigon]

The talon looked like the only one of the cursed talismans that was remotely worth it to me. I still never used it, though, since I found everyone's unique items to be by far the best for them. Ti'zo's is definitely awesome, especially once you max it out so he can zip and flutter forever, but I still didn't find him worth using compared to other offense characters. Especially Rukey and Pamitha, who are just broken with their come-back-after-dunking masteries. I'd still rather have Shae than Pamitha, though, since she's more versatile, and I prefer her aura cast to Pamitha's tackle.

I have to ask, what are your favorite tracks from the OST? Never To Return is one of the best pieces I've ever heard in a game. The first time it started up was the high point of the whole campaign for me. In The Flame deserves points for playing at the absolute perfect moment (protip for newbs: when the minstrel offers to play something, always say yes). Other than that, my remaining top spots have to go to Thrash Pack and Dread Design. Really, it's all fantastic, though.

I used the cursed items, just because I thought there might be an easter egg, or extra dialogue for having all three. Then I tried for using all 3 at once. Then I tried using all 3 with all titan stars on.
I was sure there was something, okay?

As for my favourite tracks? Tough call.
Not many soundtracks are good listening on their own, just by the nature of trying to complement a scene rather than have all your attention be on them. Having said that, all the vocal tracks are top-notch pieces of work. My absolute favourite is Bound Together, in particular my own variation customized to my ending, which I titled "Song of the Nightwings" on my library.
Other than that, Thrash Pack and Dread Design, like you said, are great. I also really like New Union and Knights of the Sea.

Spoiler

Show

Is Shae/Fae/Xae one of the 8 scribes? When you recruit her she says that I am glad to be back with my family and that she's the same age as the wagon which to my understanding has been around for a while?

Spoiler

Show

I... don't think so?
My headcanon is that you become the new scribes and all live happily ever after, thank you very much.
Bu t

[Rising Phoenix]

As for my favourite tracks? Tough call.
Not many soundtracks are good listening on their own, just by the nature of trying to complement a scene rather than have all your attention be on them. Having said that, all the vocal tracks are top-notch pieces of work. My absolute favourite is Bound Together, in particular my own variation customized to my ending, which I titled "Song of the Nightwings" on my library.
Other than that, Thrash Pack and Dread Design, like you said, are great. I also really like New Union and Knights of the Sea.

Spoiler

Show

I... don't think so?
My headcanon is that you become the new scribes and all live happily ever after, thank you very much.
Bu t

Spoiler

Show

lol fair enough

How did you customize bound together?

Spoiler

Show

Also Never to return does have variations depending on who you are fighting e.g. If you are fighting the crazy bog dweller they will say something about the witch

The above, however, is not available is the complete OST :/

On the above...

[Strigon]

How did you customize bound together?

The end credits song isn't the same as the one in the soundtrack.

Spoiler

Show

Based on whether the character was set free, "(S)he stayed true to the end" is replaced by either some variation of "(S)he has found his/her way home", or "(S)he remained to the end".
Also, some of the lines are different. For example, my quote for Rukey wasn't "Small in size, but vast in commitment", it was "Has proved his worth and returned to his family, by the grace of The Scribes."

It plays during the credits, and I just recorded it. You should have an autosave just before the last Rite, so if you want to hear yours again it should be there.

Edit: Also, the singers sometimes switch. Like, the guy will sing some of the girl's lines, and vice versa.

[NeoVid]

This quickly became my favorite of Supergiant's games, which is saying something. I want to jump right back into the game, but I'm also reluctant to replay it, since I got a really good ending on my first playthrough, and I'm already suspecting just how bad the bad endings could get...

[Raz_Fox]

I would sell my immortal soul for a Ti'zo plushie.

Also, let me tell you, if you're cavalier with the Titan Stars during liberation rites, lose them repeatedly, and then keep anointing the same players for Liberation out of the hope that this time, this time you'll win- well, their growing despair will mirror and intensify your own, that's all I'm saying. Poor Jodi.

[Rising Phoenix]

I would sell my immortal soul for a Ti'zo plushie.

Me too...especially if it chirps like him...

Also, let me tell you, if you're cavalier with the Titan Stars during liberation rites, lose them repeatedly, and then keep anointing the same players for Liberation out of the hope that this time, this time you'll win- well, their growing despair will mirror and intensify your own, that's all I'm saying. Poor Jodi.

I am discovering this in my second playthrough the hard way....

[Amaril]

The Titan Stars just really didn't seem worth it to me. As long as you rotate your lineup, you'll never be short of enlightenment even without them. The only time I touched them was using Yslach for the sidequest with Udmildhe.

[Strigon]

The Titan Stars just really didn't seem worth it to me. As long as you rotate your lineup, you'll never be short of enlightenment even without them. The only time I touched them was using Yslach for the sidequest with Udmildhe.

Ditto.
I remember the first time I tried them, I was super confident in my ability, and I chose 3 Titan Stars at once.
I remember thinking to myself, "Three Titan Stars! I'll hit max level in no time!"
Then I got an achievement for winning, and I my hopes were further stoked.
All for a measly 9% increase in enlightenment. Honestly, it was just insulting. Invoke all Titan Stars, make the game a real challenge, and you get 50% increase. It should double your enlightenment, at the very least!

[Beeliever]

I would sell my immortal soul for a Ti'zo plushie.

Oh my god yes. Ti'zo is adorable.