This game is not easy. I wound up having to go back and start over at the “normal” difficulty level, despite Styx: Master Of Shadows being a game within a genre I am somewhat good at. Styx is a “stealth action” game, meaning there’s a lot of time spent avoiding others by hiding in shadows, around corners and generally avoiding detection. It isn’t a “pure” stealth game in that there are times when you absolutely have to kill. It is possible to get through the game with a low body count, but after trying for a couple of hours I gave up on that tactic.
Styx is a fun game to play. Frustrating, but fun. Players take on the role of the titular “hero” – a goblin infiltrating a human stronghold to go after the Tree Of Life or World Tree (or some such trope) which is tended to by Elves. The game seems to be having some fun with the standard fantasy racial stereotypes. There are the abilities of Styx which are the normal hiding and backstabbing and killing silently, but the main gimmick (for lack of a better term) is the Amber, a substance that Styx uses and it flows from the mystical tree. This Amber allows Styx to, among other things, see things (literally) different as well as make a duplicate of himself to use as a decoy.
If you play like me you’ll get through the game in about 30 hours. Maybe 25. And the story line will be confusing for the first couple of hours or so due to… well, I’m not going to spoil it. When you do play the game just roll with the story as it is presented to you. There’s a fair bit of humor in the game, as Styx is a grumpy sort of person and is rather sarcastic.
Greater success sin the game comes from the use of stealth. The combat is mostly defensive and it doesn’t take a lot to get killed. Stealth kills are much more effective and the preferred method of dispatching the enemies. If you can sneak past them, that’s good too, and that will often require a fair amount of patience. Styx: Master Of Shadows is not your typical action game and should not be approached as such.
As with other stealth games players need to be aware of their surroundings. This means not only hiding in the shadows and around corners but also taking care not to make much noise. Enemies are pretty aware even in the lower difficulty settings. And players can’t walk into a room, inadvertently alert the guards then dive into a chest or other typical hiding place.
The game offers up some items to seek out and collect as well. I wish I had the patience (and time) to go through and collect all the coins. Then there are the skill points players earn that can be used to upgrade Styx and either give him new abilities or make the ones he already has stronger. Don’t think of this as any sort of RPG though. Styx: Master Of Shadows isn’t trying to bridge a bunch of different genres, merely doing one in a way that hasn’t been done in a while.
I was concerned the game would not feel “natural” with the PlayStation 4 controller, and thankfully that did not prove to be the case. While it may not be on anybody’s list for Game Of The Year, Styx: Master Of Shadows offers up a solid chunk of gameplay for the price. With a nice open world to explore and an emphasis on real stealth, this is a game that rewards the patient player with a fair amount of fun.