Word broke last week that SuperGiant has a new game up their sleeve, Pyre, and that the game would be a playable demo at PAX East 2016:
SuperGiant Games is the development team behind popular indie titles, Bastion and Transistor. Their latest installment, Pyre, pushes the game’s mechanics a bit further by offering a 3-character “team”-based gameplay. Pyre’s gameplay pits players against another computer-controlled team of three. The objective is to take an orb and place the orb in the other team’s pyre. Each of the three characters on the team, Jodariel, Rukey, and Hedwyn, all have different characteristics that impact play. For example, Rukey is quick an agile, but scores fewer points when the ball reaches the pyre compared to if the bulky and slow Jodariel scores. The different players also have different area-of-impact defense moves, which can make a character like Jodariel very useful one defense.
The characters having different features adds a unique dynamic in the game, with players having to think a few moves ahead of their opponent based off of where each character archetype will be. Who will be the one to score? Who will be at my pyre to defend? These are critical elements to the game that add more strategy and planning compared to other SuperGiant games of the past.
By far, the most interesting aspect of the gameplay is the concept of winning and losing. With Pyre “there is no more ‘try until you win’ type of thinking”, said Writer & Designer Greg Kasavin. What is at stake for these characters matters a lot in the game, so the outcome of winning or losing a match has an impact on the story.
What struck us most was the artistic direction in Pyre. The design team has really outdone themselves. The warm colors pop like no other game out there. At times during the demo, you could not help yourself to just stop and appreciate the detail. We saw darker tones in Transistor, so it is exciting to see the art take a different direction in Pyre.
According to the development team, Pyre will likely see a 2017 release and will be available for PC and PS4 at launch.
Gamenomics & Comicology 