Save Game Sunday Kickday: PYRELLA

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Brave a temple of horrors in utter darkness with only a torch to light your way. Keeping the flame alive takes brains & brawn.”  That’s the pitch for PYRELLA, a dark side scrolling adventure game in the Metroidvania style filled with enemies, traps and puzzles.  But in Pyrella, the true enemy is the darkness itself.  Read on to learn more about this week’s pick for Sunday Kickday.

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I suppose I should start out by explaining what a “Metroidvania” game is, just in case you’ve never heard the term.  A Metroidvania game is a game that fuses traditional platforming game mechanics with leveling and character building aspects usually reserved for RPGs.  Metroidvania style games tend to emphasize free exploration, with progression dependent on gaining new abilities.  In Pyrella, you’re charged with exploring an ancient temple known as Biliku Yasa.

Biliku Yasa was a fount of wisdom and knowledge at the dawn of human civilization.  Tribes from all over the world would send their bravest warriors, known as Pyrella, to the temple with offerings of sacred fire in exchange for enlightened advice from the priests within.  But one day, something terrible happened at Biliku Yasa.  The temple was sealed shut from the inside, the priests having gone mad from a strange dark power.  Burrowing deep beneath the temple, they began to worship black magic, sending bizarre monsters out into the world at night to murder and kidnap victims for their twisted rituals.  As a Pyrella, you must journey to the heart of Biliku Yasa, and redeem the cursed temple with righteous light.

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Fire is your primary weapon and exploration tool in Pyrella, and your only defense against the darkness that permeates the temple.  But your torch is constantly dying, and your only way to stoke the flame is to find Light Goddess altars scattered throughout the temple.  This mechanic, making ample use of dynamic lighting, adds a layer of tension and foreboding to Pyrella’s exploration, and is something unique to the Metroidvania genre.  Beyond her torch, you’ll be able to equip your Pyrella with a wide assortment of weapons and magical attacks, allowing to craft the style of combat that best suits you.  The game is filled with multiple types of enemies, each requiring a different plan of attack.  You’ll face everything from simple lizard henchmen to truly enormous boss creatures.

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Pyrella is being developed by DAPS, which stands for Dog And Pony Studio.  Catchy name, huh?  It’s a three person operation, comprising designer and artist Jim Burner, artist and scripter Joel Casebeer, and programmer Greg WIlliston.  Based out of a garage somewhere in the greater Seattle area, they bring years of experience in the video game industry to Pyrella, and their combined talents shines through in their work.  Check out Pyrella in action in the trailer below.

DAPS is hoping to raise $16,000 in their Kickstarter campaign, and they’re current about a quarter of the way there, with 26 days to go.  If the game looks like something you might be interested in backing, you’ve got plenty of pledge tiers to choose from.

  • $5.00Receive a DRM-free digital copy of the game for PC/Mac/Linux.
  • $15.00Get your name in the credits. – Receive a DRM-free digital copy of the game for PC/Mac/Linux.
  • $30.00Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS deve`loper blog. – Add 1 Pyrella Name to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits. – Receive a DRM-free digital copy of the game for PC/Mac/Linux.
  • $60.00Receive 2 DRM-free digital copies of the game for PC/Mac/Linux. – Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS developer blog. – Add 2 Pyrella Names to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits.
  • $150.00Receive a Pyrella T-Shirt – Receive a Digital Art Book – Receive 2 DRM-free digital copies of the game for PC/Mac/Linux. – Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS developer blog. – Add 2 Pyrella Names to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits.
  • $350.00Appear as a prisoner of Biliku Yasa – Receive a Pyrella T-Shirt and button – Receive a Digital Art Book – Receive 2 DRM-free digital copies of the game for PC/Mac/Linux. – Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS developer blog. – Add 3 Pyrella Names to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits.
  • $700.00Design a Stone Age weapon with the developers – Appear as a prisoner of Biliku Yasa – Receive a Pyrella T-Shirt and button – Receive a Digital Art Book – Receive 3 DRM-free digital copies of the game for PC/Mac/Linux. – Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS developer blog. – Add 4 Pyrella Names to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits.
  • $2000.00Design a Boss with the developers – Design a Stone Age weapon with the developers – Appear as a prisoner of Biliku Yasa – Receive a Pyrella T-Shirt and button – Receive a Digital Art Book – Receive 5 DRM-free digital copies of the game for PC/Mac/Linux. – Receive a digital copy of the soundtrack. – Access the DAPS developer blog. – Add 5 Pyrella Names to the random name generator. – Get your name carved into the Wall of Prophets in the temple. – Get your name in the credits.

If you’re not into the whole Kickstarter thing, you can also support DAPS and Pyrella by voting for the game on Steam Greenlight.  You can also keep track of the game’s progress on the DAPS blog, twitter, and Facebook pages.

So what do you think?  Does Pyrella look like something you might want to play?  Do you have five bucks burning a hole in your pocket?  If you answered yes to either of those questions, or if you’ve always wanted to play a mashup of Alone In the Dark and Price of Persia, why not make this Sunday a Kickday and pledge to support Pyrella?


About the Author: (@Joe_of_the_Dead) Lead Editor, Writer

Joe was born in a time of war. A console war. Two electronic titans were locked in a heated battle for the living rooms of America. Which titans, you ask? Well, the Fairchild Channel F and the Atari 2600 of course. You see, Joe is old. So many of his favorite games tend to be on the older side as well. But that hasn’t stopped him from developing unhealthy obsessions with such modern franchises as Halo and Mass Effect. Just don’t tell him how long it’s been since the original Metroid was released. His aging heart can’t take the shock.

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