The new top standard for modern RPGs. If you're an RPG player and haven't played this yet, you're absolutely missing out.

Spent 3 days farming resources to construct 2 castle. 10/10 would mine and craft again.

A timeless classic of a hat simulator.

Where Bastion was about choices and Transistor was about strength in the face of adversity, Pyre is about relationships and life, about the places that it takes you, and doing whats right. And here you will truly feel the camaraderie among this ragtag band of exiles, all with their own vastly unique personalities, histories, and agendas, but all ultimately in pursuit of the same singular goal.

STORY
Read every bit of dialogue. Really. It would practically be a sin to not do so, to miss any part of it. Because it is within the words where you will find all of the heart and soul of this game. In essence, the overarching plot is simple. You got kicked into purgatory. You want out, and so does a bunch of others. But everything that happens in between will be where this game truly shines. You will quickly come to know about the band and even your adversaries. And ultimately, you will come to form ties with all of them, especially for those who stay with you longer. So when it comes time to choose who stays in your company and who regains their freedom, you will find it harder and harder to decide.

GAMEPLAY
Magic Basketball was not what I expected to enjoy, but this was so much of a twist on the ball game that I absolutely loved it. There is so much potential here even as a PvP game mode: The team building, the various skills and perks, then resource management, all contribute to some amazing matches where you are sitting on the edge of your seat trying to outmanuever your foes. Sure, some of the AI could use work. And the balance is generally a little off too (seriously, how do you even catch a ranked up Fae or Ti'zo?), but they definitely didn't detract from me thoroughly enjoying the 'rites'. That said, as some detractors noted the gameplay does feel a little disconnected from the rest of the game's style, but I don't think its a big enough point to be a dealbreaker.

MUSIC
I mean, its Supergiant. If you haven't heard any of the music from them, do yourself a favor and go check out any of the soundtrack for their 3 games (they uploaded everything on thir Youtube channel). You're welcome.

BUGS & ISSUES?
Had the game tell me a few times now and then that it couldn't save the game, and it did also crash on me when i tried to load the very last checkpoint (to try and send a different person back at the end), but otherwise it's smooth like butter to me.

CONCLUSION
100% you should play it. Unless you hate reading. Or absolutely abhor ball games. Or you can't handle your heart constantly giving you the feels.

It plays in real time so everything takes ages to happen, most of the time the more interesting cards requires premium currency to get permanently, and its not exactly a visual spectacle. But if you can see pass all that, this game in its entirety is one of the most well-designed multiplayer co-op strategy games I have ever played, and because I feel like it here's a somewhat detailed look at the reasons why.

(Do I have to pay?) - TLDR: You can enjoy the game without paying.

Lets get this out of the way first. This is a free game. But like most free games, parts of the features are unavailable unless you go 'Premium'. You get to play both multiplayer and single player modes for free, although in multiplayer the maps you are allowed to join are randomly selected and open to public, while in single player 1 scenario from each of the 6 races' campaigns are available. Special units/heros won't be available at first, but will pop up randomly as you play (more on this later).

In most free games out there you can expect a certain level of microtransactions, and this one is no exception.

If you didn't already instantly recoil from the M word hissing and spitting, then you will be glad to know that you don't actually HAVE to buy anything to enjoy the game. Premium currency (gold coins) are given out based on the number of people you manage to finish a multiplayer game session with (6 players, 6 coins) and how well you did in that session, as well as whenever you finish a singleplayer map (1 per map, maps are repeatable and can present a slightly different challenge every time). Plus, rarer and more interesting and/or powerful cards will appear in both game modes in the game itself, letting you use them immediately and giving you the option to add them to your collection permanently for 1 premium currency each, which you can then use again in all future games.

Simply put, the more you play, the better you play, and the more people you play with, the more interesting and fun the game gets. It's actually a really good way to ease players into the more advanced side of the game.

(Multiplayer) - TLDR: Perfect for busy bees and tabletop gamers

This game is perfect for the modern world of too little free time, requiring maybe 15 mins of attention tops before you can get back to what you were busy with. Even then, it's packed with just the right amount of strategy to keep you fully engaged and planning your every move, discussing and coordinating your actions with your buddies. My group often spend more time strategizing than actually playing, the discussion becoming part of the gameplay and makes it all feel like you are actually commanding an army in real life.

(Single Player) - TLDR: Throws just enough of a curve ball

The single player mode is a whole different beast. Where in multiplayer everything happens in real time, in single player you can fast forward time, but the amount of time is preset unless you adjust it by paying up an ingame resource. This adds another dimension to the game and helps it stand apart from the multiplayer experience, but not so much that you have to relearn everything.

(The Special 'Premium' Stuff) - TLDR: Flavor of the game, free players get them slower

So lets get back to the whole Premium side of this game. To better understand it, here's how it works. At the start of each game, each race in the game starts off with a basic set of unit/hero summoning cards tailored for that map, and you can then throw in more cards of any race to add to your 'deck' that you will bring into the game proper. Where do you get these cards? Either you buy them from a lucky draw choose-1-of-3 style mechanic, or you wait for them to appear ingame as you play and you can 'recruit' them permanently for future games. These cards are really where the flavor of the game is at, with most of the combos-making and synergistic abilities reserved for these rare cards.

Its no surprise that a lot of people get turned off if they dont run into these cards early, so if you are eager to find these then definitely try out single player where you can fast forward time.

(Conclusion) [/b] - TLDR: It's awesome

I've thoroughly enjoyed playing this game so far with my buddies, and I haven't even fully played or talked about every aspect of it! Trust me on this one. If you dont have time to spare for games and/or enjoy tabletop games, grab a few friends, give this a shot. You don't need a computer for this, as you can even play this on it's mobile apps, or in any browser.

All that said, getting the premium access for at least one of you in the group is definitely recommended, as it opens up all the single player campaigns (on top of the free ones), the ability to host multiplayer games, as well as give you a pool of premium currency to kickstart your collection of special units and heroes and doubles the amount of coins that you earn for everything. I got the lifetime premium access, which is, to me, essentially buying the full game for $16 USD ($48 triple pack, got it with 2 other buddies). Definitely worth it!

Neon lights. Cyborgs. Lasers. Explosions. Insane Evil Supervillain. One-man-army Hero. Bad puns.

Cyborg one-man-army hero with lasers fighting against an insane evil supervillain while spitting out bad puns in a world filled with neon lights and explosions.

Oh, also. LASER DRAGON-DINOSAURS.

Yes. Yes you want it.

Hey.

Hey, you okay?
Wake up.

I'm... I'm over here.

... Yeah. Guess I'm stuck like this.
Don't worry. I'm here for you.
I won't let them hurt you again.

Let's go.

DotA players, pro-gaming fans, watch this. It'll be worth every minute of your time.

You want a horror game? Take this. May god bless your poor, ignorant soul.

If you don't know DotA and you're a gamer, you're not a gamer. Awesome multiplayer game, just... ignore the community.