Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 15 - The Final Part

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 15, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

With all the games i play in Backlog Conquering, i don't set out to finish them. the goal is simply to play them. there were moments whilst playing through this game where i thought about putting it down and moving on. but ultimately, there was a certain something that kept me going. 

For this video, we continue on from Part 14, https://youtu.be/kWi1d_O_Ruk, about to start our sixth Liberation Rites. It went really well, it was maybe my best win since the first time we did it. through that i was able to send Tae back to the Commonwealth. But it was clear that there would only be one more Liberation Rite left.

I liked how the game, through the characters, tried to reduce the pressure on me. But the twist as to who we'd be up against was a little obvious. that final rite was perhaps the best i performed. i tried as hard as i could with who was left in my team. But the twists weren't over! when the rite was finished, the game changed the Liberation Rite rules and did it in a believable way that felt natural to the game we played. this meant, tho, that i wasn't able to send back to the Commonwealth who i had originally selected.

And the story tells the end. throughout the game there's some amazing art and beautiful visuals, and yet it told the end via text. the story of the end that i got was good, but it lacked the fanfare that some cool art would bring to it. we do get to read what happened with every character in the game. but again, the game kinda fumbles as the most disappointing story we're told is that of our character.  the credit sequence is cool and has a nice song.

In the end, it's strange that whilst the game is able to tell such an interesting story with such unique characters, that it should continuously stumble when it came to the story of the main character does hurt it. the main character, the character you control, becomes the weakest part of the game and as the rest of the story is so strong, it really does stick out. that's kinda the review of the game. it's a game with some high points, but it's low points stick out so much in contrast. But i am glad i played it.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 14 - Winning The Fifth Liberation Rites, Getting to the Sixth

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 14, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

In part 13, https://youtu.be/Znj2rtF1pHU, we started by doing the fourth Liberation Rites and loosing. we did a couple more rites before ending it at the start of the Fifth Liberation Rites.

My main goal was to win the fifth Liberation Rites and to send Ti'zo to the Commonwealth. I thought that by sending a creature that the Commonwealth hadn't seen before, it would benefit the plan. I won the game, i sent him to the Commonwealth, but it would be much later into the video until we heard if i had been successful. Turns out i was, tho not quite in the way i expected. but i'll take it!

Much like the previous video, things are happening faster than before. but i have also noticed that some things seem to be slowing down. for example, the amount of rites needed to be completed before getting to the Liberation Rites is reducing and making the game faster, but the social elements of the game also seem to be reduced. so one part of the game is getting faster, but the social side is slowing down. it is possible that the choices i've made have contributed to how the social aspect of the game is playing out.

I finished the video at the Sixth Liberation Rites. but i don't really know who to send back. it's starting to sound like there will only be this and one more Liberation Rite. i got a trophy for sending three people back to the Commonwealth so a part of me believes i've reached the minimum needed for a "good" ending. but i'd like to give it a go. so i have some time to think about who i want to send back, and perhaps more importantly why i think sending them back is a good move.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 13 - Getting to the Fifth Liberation Rites

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 13, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

In part 12, https://youtu.be/vL8df1PrWoQ, i got to the fourth Liberation Rites so this video starts with it. and i lost! I was doing OK but then the opposing team got a health bonus near the end and i didn't. 

With that loss, this video turned once more into getting to the next Liberation Rites, the fifth ones. whilst playing against other teams was difficult, i was surprised that i managed to win all the Rites. There weren't too many big story bombshells this week and i avoided reading the book in this video, too. But there were some interesting developments regarding certain characters, for example we now know who's been speaking to us and can understand the tone they use.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 12 - Getting to the Fourth Liberation Rites

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 12, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

Even tho this video ended up over an hour long, not too much actually happened. one reason why this was longer than expected was because of technical trouble i was having with my PS4 where the game would freeze for long periods of time. this video is actually the second time i tried to record this as the first time crashed my PS4 due to an issue like this.

As for the game itself, perhaps the most surprising thing was how quickly the fourth Liberation Rites started. i think i completed two rites before it was in the stars. I'm not fully sure who i want to try and send back, but i think it'll be Ti'Zo. the game is doing well at establishing relationships between characters to such a degree that it's possible to come up with reasons to not send many of them back to the commonwealth.

It's the story that's kept me playing the game. the rite aspect has been a little tedious at time and in this video i say that i would've liked easier rites so that i could've got to the story easier. but thinking back, i would've missed out on the story due to the result of the rites. it's quite possible that i was never meant to win all the rites. whilst probably possible, the game has never seemed to have punished me for losing. the one aspect i still don't understand is the reason for crashing into other team's wagons. other than annoying them, it doesn't seem to serve a purpose.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 11 - Breaking a Losing Streak

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 11, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

Today's video has two big highlights. firstly, i finally won a game again. in part 10, https://youtu.be/a1AfjDxkSyQ, i chose to lose a ritual but didn't win afterwards. Today's video started the same with 2 more losses before i finally managed to win in the Liberation Ritual. it was such a relief to finally win again. i can't say for sure either way if it's down to the game lowering the difficulty or my own skills improving, i'm just glad i've stopped losing.

The other big highlight is perhaps the revelation that the rituals are coming to an end. one of my concerns was that we would have to do the whole thing over and over again until we were down to a final 3. but it's been revealed that there aren't many Liberation Rituals left. tho we don't know for sure, my guess would be 2 or 3. The thing to think about is, not only are we not able to save all our team members, there maybe enemy team members we have to consider.

it could be argued the surprise return of a familiar face could also be a big surprise, but that's yet to fully play out.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 10 - Choosing to Lose And Losing

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 10, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

This is a bit of a strange video. The title kinda gives it away. it finally happened, a story plot point i've been expecting to happen finally did and it was handled well.

I've been expecting the game to give us the twist that maybe, sometimes, it's best to not win and let the other team win. in this case it was the Liberation Rite and the opposing team was the only team where i was unsure about their "leader". You see, their leader seemed the most unhinged and most set on revenge. i was concerned as to what she would do, so when the game suggested on letting her win i thought about it for a second or two and kinda agreed. i felt that things would be less dangerous if she was gone than if she stayed.

However, the second Rite i did i lost all on my own. the Rites had been getting more difficult and the Liberation Rite was difficult, too. But i performed poorly and probably put out the wrong team. i couldn't keep up with them, nor could i control my own team good enough. choosing a titan was probably the wrong move, too. 

There will be a part 11, i'm interested in using a new character we got on our team. but my enthusiasm is starting to wean. 

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 9 - Getting to the Second Liberation Rites

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 9, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

it's been a while since part 8, https://youtu.be/sKA3UN479eU, and in that episode the world opened up and we got a lot of lore. in this video, there continued to be more lore of the world being revealed, but importantly we got some nice little story extra's which helped focus the experience back to the rites.

The rite games were still fun and definitely more difficult than the first time through to the Liberation Rites. i did win all the games i played, but they weren't exactly convincing wins. this meant that by the end of this video we are once again ready to take on the Liberation Rites. i have decided that i want Ti'zo to be the next one to leave. i feel like he's spent the longest, and maybe roughest, time in the Downside and he seemed interested in the Commonwealth. in the next video, part 10, we'll see if i can win it. 

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 8 - The Rites Restart

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 8, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

In part 7, https://youtu.be/eskzF0QYvGE, we said goodbye to Hedwyn as he was liberated back to the Commonwealth. This video shows the aftermath, and is maybe one of the slower videos in this series.

There is more lore revealed in this video than maybe in the previous 7 combined! we get soo many pages for the Book of Rites, too. some of the game's mechanics also change, like being given a choice of which Rite to take on. There's also a fun upgrade for our Wagon.

But, story wise, whilst it's interesting learning more about the world, it isn't fun knowing that we have to do the same thing over and over again. There will be a part 9, but i am a little concerned as to how the story will progress from now on.

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - Part 7 - A Win and a Goodbye

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 7, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4.

You can watch Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6 by clicking on the links. they'll take you to the YouTube Videos.

In part 6, https://youtu.be/06I8FfLbh1Q, we had the plot twist that all of us weren't getting out together. So this video shows the ramifications of such news. This is a more story driven part so i do recommend that you watch the last couple of videos so you're familiar with it.

As this part deals mostly with the story, not too much happens. We do the final Rite and it's one of the best matches i've played so far. the AI team feels well balanced and even tho i win, it feels like a well deserved win. And with that win, we do say goodbye to a character.

But this does leave me with many questions throughout this part and i do have a few guesses as to what could happen next. 

Backlog Conquering - Pyre - The First Fifty Minutes

Welcome to Backlog Conquering.

Today's video is part 1, of playing Pyre on PlayStation 4

With Eat Them! finished, i wasn't sure what to play next. my backlog is huge so i could pick anything. but i wasn't feeling any of the games i was thinking about. then i came across Pyre and  felt like it was what i wanted to play.

Going in i knew some things about the game. when it came out it was a huge release. many of the podcasts i was listening to had a lot to say about the game as, at the time, reviews and feelings for it where typically either hot or cold.

It was universally accepted that the music is amazing, and so far i would agree. the one thing that did surprise me were the interactions with your team. It felt somewhat like a Persona game, where interactions with other characters can have positive outcomes. 

The story is also really quite interesting. i don't know what the over arching storyline of the game is, nor do i know how it ends ... assuming it does. I'm already curious where it will go so there will be a part 2. it's too early to say if it'll be a game i finish, but i feel like there'll be another 2 or 3 parts at least.