Pyre

   I have talked before about how much I enjoyed Bastion and Transistor (I think). Pyre is the third game by 'Super Giant' (the developer of these games) and this is the best one yet. They've only gone and invented their own sport and mixed it with a fantasy RPG. This is not a mix I thought I'd ever see, or would work (if you made this on Game Dev Tycoon it would be crap) but it does, oh it does.

  Firstly, this game isn't Rocket League, which is the first thing I'd be thinking about a video game invented sport (or maybe Mutant league football), it's not a speed fest (although that can come in handy from time to time), it takes thought to play the game, especially s you're only in control of one player at a time. Essentially it boils down to 2 teams of 3 players trying to get a ball in to a Pyre (geddit, like the name of the game). All characters have different abilities and you can choose any mix. I don't want to go in to the rules of the game now, there's a lot to take in, although it's slowly spooned in over time so you never get overwhelmed, and ultimately the sport is fairly easy to understand, but describing all the nuances will take a lot of time, and dull text (though you could argue this is all dull text).
   The actual story in here is based on your character and a group of rogues (not affiliated to the X men) being sent to purgatory for various crimes and having to win games of this sport to return them to the surface world. Over time you meet more characters to add to your party while also losing some characters as you send them off to the world above, just make sure you don't send your star player off at the start because you'll be without them the rest of the game (Jodoriel was my star player (I didn't send her off early though, I'm not an idiot)). The story is deeper than this but that will enter spoiler territory, suffice to say there are multiple endings depending on how many of your squad you rescue and your decision at the end.
   As usual, there's no such thing as a perfect game, and some elements of this story can drag. A lot of the plot is repeated over and over, really drilled in to your head like you're at an internment camp for repetitive storytelling. Some characters really aren't that interesting and the majority of the rival teams don't come across as menacingly as the game seems to want them to.

   Lets talk music though, and just like Sonic Mania before (although Pyre came out a few weeks before that did, but this is the order I'm writing them in) the music is fantastic. Different enemy teams have different songs when you meet them. fitting to their characters as well as other area music like the shop or inside the wagon (what a great time it's been for video game music as of late between these two, Crash and Arms). Music talk moves fairly smoothly on to artistic talk (I recon) and this game looks fantastic. The design of the characters in the still cut scenes is fantastic and the look of the sport is very good as well, with an array of different looking fields in which the games take place, from fiery pits and muddy swamps to gothic sports stadiums and beyond, it looks flippin' great.
   This game truly is special and can stand alongside, and arguably above Transistor and Bastion, this developer keeps getting better and better, I can't wait to see what they do next, but for now, the stars have aligned to create a fantastic game.