Styx: Master of Shadows is another title I had my eye on when it launched back in 2014 and for reasons unknown I did not get chance to play the game, but thanks to the Games with Gold program this has now changed.
I think because of the stealth aspect this could have been one of the reasons why I stayed away because I am now a great fan of this type of genre, but I have to admit if you want a pure stealth game this one will force you to quickly learn the ropes and this is a good thing once you get past the early frustration!
As the title suggests you play as Styx (the first Goblin) who for his own personal reasons wants to steal the heart of the World Tree (which is enclosed inside the Tower of Akenash). The latter produces Amber which provides Styx with abilities (more about this later), but it also causes him memory loss and a lot of headaches!
It’s the headaches which leads him to inject some humour into the games structure and even the occasional F-bomb is dropped, but it gives him a personality that elevates the title away from the norm. It also disguises the occasional ropey dialogue of the main story and it hides the sub-par graphics.
Stealth is key
Styx is a master of stealth (if you hadn't guessed already) and from the start you are slowly introduced to some his abilities. In fact you are encouraged to quickly take advantage of these as sneaking is required almost immediately in order to locate your knife.
You would expect that once you have the knife the combat would then be presented as an option, but sticking to its stealth roots, combat you will learn should be avoided at all times unless it is absolutely necessary!
This is because combat takes the form of timed parry and attack moves, where you need to press X just before the blade strikes and more often than not this results in death for the first hour of gameplay. Thus it is a little tricky and a tad frustrating until you understand the mechanics!
If you time it right then the option to kill allows for a swift blow, but the cries of the guard, for example, quickly call others to their aid and these are free to hack or throw knives at you during this timed sequence!
As a result in some ways the game forces you away from the combat and into the stealth head on, so as I said at the beginning this is a pure stealth game through-and-through. Though I have to admit you eventually learn to appreciate this, especially as each level is large enough for you to circumvent away from danger and find alternative paths to your goal.
Abilities
Your stealth techniques also advance the more you play, so for example while you start by doing silent kills, you can then learn to hug the walls to get past guards (later perform stealth kills) extinguish torches on walls - to bathe sections in darkness - drag bodies to prevent discovery and even pick up sand so you can throw this on torches remotely. With the latter you can use the sand trick to get past guards while creeping under tables and hiding in cupboards to avoid detection.
You eventually learn to use Amber; this mystical liquid can be used to enhance your stealth abilities. For example you can use it to create clones of yourself that can then be controlled remotely to unlock doors or distract guards long enough for you to make an escape/set-up an ambush.
Amber can also be used to turn you invisible for a short period of time, navigate through the level by spotting hidden marks or spot guards – thus it acts a bit like Batman’s detective mode.
In places the Amber that is being forged – in giant vats – can even be used against the guards to clear entire areas. Thus there is always different ways to get through each level.
Later in the game you learn to throw knives and earn XP which can then be used to upgrade your abilities i.e to improve stealth, combat and so forth. This is why it’s worth getting through the opening stages to really hone your skills.
Guards & Collision Detection
Then again Styx is not all roses. As I said earlier the levels are large and are usually filled with guards, but the AI can be a little hit-and-miss sometimes.
For example I was hiding in a hole in the ground and yet the guard walks past and detects me, he then dances about calling for reinforcements, only to forget I was there seconds later!
Guards will also be alerted to your presence by you knocking into jars (its not very forgiving), so creeping about is key and performing muffled stealth kills is best.
Once a guard is alerted you see a bar at the top of his head, once this goes red he will chase after you and call for reinforcements. My advice is to run, unless it’s only a few guards.
You can also scale walls and fall down ledges, but here the collision detection can also be hit-and-miss. For example sometimes you feel like you will drop down to catch a ledge but then you end up falling onto the floor below and into the path of a guard (alternatively it could be a sheer drop and death!
It does not help that re-load times are a little sluggish, but at least you have the option to save your game at any point and believe me you will want to save often in this rather unforgiving stealth game; which punishes you for the slightest mistake!
Re-play value
The game encourages you to explore each level to collect coins, or later on Relics, which can be viewed in your hideout – this is basically where you can spend those XP points I was talking about earlier. You can also use the hideout to go back into a previously accessed level in order to earn more XP or locate the above Relics that you may have missed earlier.
Summary
Despite the above problems the game’s stealth elements and the character of Styx himself makes you want to persevere with this title. Like I said earlier I am not a fan of stealth games as such and there have been times when the combat has nearly forced me to rage quit, but then I can appreciate that it tries to steer you away from the latter and to some degree it works! So if you love stealth games and missed this title the first time around then I would certainly recommend downloading it before the free Games with Gold period expires!