Pyre
2017
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- indie
- visual novel
- action
- fantasy
- single player
- multiplayer
The story
A party-based RPG/visual novel/sports game hybrid wherein the player, dubbed the Reader for their literacy by the group of scavengers who discovers them, is sent in exile to a lawless wasteland called the Downside and has to lead their ever-growing party of misfits to locations wherein many similar parties compete in Rites in order to attain freedom and be absolved of their crimes.
What it’s like
Painted, hand-drawn artwork with soft washes of color and loose, expressive brushwork gives the world a storybook softness, while the spaces themselves stay abstract and bleached: wide, dusky landscapes under pale, hazy skies, with glowing embers and drifting smoke adding warmth to otherwise quiet scenes. The soundtrack leans on swelling strings, percussion, and sparse, mournful melodies that rise during the sports-like Rites and fall back into hushed exploration. Its vibe is wistful and bittersweet, a blend of camaraderie and quiet longing, best suited to a late evening alone or a long unhurried session. The pace alternates between talkative, text-driven conversations around a campfire and fast, rhythmic matches played in a top-down, arena-style view, with the party growing and reshaping as the story unfolds. Emotionally it follows a band of outcasts slowly forming bonds, with an undercurrent of guilt and the weight of what each member is willing to give up for freedom. Violence is present but stylized and not graphic, with fights that feel more like competitive contests than gore, and occasional dark themes of exile and punishment. It suits players who enjoy character-driven stories, branching dialogue, and team-building in a melancholy, gently epic world.
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