Styx: Master of Shadows

1. Gereminus

   Oct 11, 2014

   10

   Finally a revive of the stealth genre. With only little imperfections here and there it's an unforgetable ride. No nursing, lots of freedom,Finally a revive of the stealth genre. With only little imperfections here and there it's an unforgetable ride. No nursing, lots of freedom, outstanding level (or should I say - world) and sound design, solid graphics*.
   
   Controls:
   Smooth, precise, no automation allowing a great deal of freedom of movement. People complaining about it are usually accustomed to Assassin's Creed type of aids or plainly didn't grasp the introductory tutorial of Styx. After few hours I'm looking like a Quasimodo returning from a ballet lessons!
   Good camera movement BTW. I've never seen a serious clipping or obstruction problems with it.
   
   Story/world:
   Mature fantasy world with interesting, original twists. Again, mature and non-trivial!
   
   AI:
   A little bit short-sighted and quickly dropping the hunt for you if you manage to run away after being detected but aside from it. A solid work.
   
   Game mechanics:
   Like a well-selected orchestra!
   Initially I thought that some elements I've seen in the trailer are misplaced and that I won't use them. So wrong. Everything has its place and purpose and everything has its limitations, avoiding boredom and making a specific item too commonly used during gameplay. A stealthy run through a guard-crawling level on the highest difficulty level will leave you thinking you're a god :) It's all hard work, patience, planning and execution all put together.
   
   Good representation of Styx's limitations. A jump 15 meters down and you're a goner. It's not anime...
   
   Audio:
   One of the biggest selling points of the game. Apart from repetitive dialogues of the guards that is. The soundtrack should be sold separately! Well done and, as with the story and world design, a great deal of originality.
   
   * very well optimised! Radeon 6850 allows for perfectly smooth maxed-out gameplay at 1080p.… Expand

   • 19 of 25 users found this helpful
2. Swamp_Thing

   Nov 6, 2016

   9

   Immensely satisfying when you understand the mechanics. He climbs by finding real paths and hopping up real objects rather than magicallyImmensely satisfying when you understand the mechanics. He climbs by finding real paths and hopping up real objects rather than magically spider-manning up any surface and some people don't get that, others don't like that. If you drop off a high spot 100 feet above the ground you will die. 50 feet still die.
   
   He kills by stealth, he doesn't scrap with armoured swordsmen twice his size as they can chop him up. It is the opposite of the empowerment fantasy of Shadows of Mordor, there you can race straight at enemies facing you and still qualify as a stealth kill, fun but not stealth at all. Here knock over a mop, chair or bucker while you are just behind someone and that's that over. If you see how that makes success more rewarding then try it, if not then it's not for you. Which would be a shame as the level design is beautiful, hugely vertical, multi layer, multi path, a proper lovingly crafted playground. Also a fantasy game that feels like a distinct place and atmosphere all it's own.
   
   The only thing that has really felt like Tenchu 1 and 2 did in the day. Though now the poison rice ball is goblin bile spat in the drinking water, and if they have been just slightly put on alert once but spotted nothing they won't be stupid enough to risk eating or drinking food that could have been tampered with ever.
   (Oh and don't forget to save as you go as doing half an enormous maze of death and then missing a jump is a harsh reminder to press a button :) )… Expand

   • 2 of 2 users found this helpful
4. KingVerity

   Oct 9, 2014

   9

   I am not normally a stealth game type person. I normally get bored and crave something more, the latest "Thief" game is a good example inI am not normally a stealth game type person. I normally get bored and crave something more, the latest "Thief" game is a good example in which this has happened to me. For some reason, with Styx: Master of Shadows, I can't stop playing.
   
   Pros: You get to be a Goblin assassin. The best kind of assassin.
   Expansive and creative level design offers a multitude of paths for your creative enjoyment.
   The controls work well and I have had no problem with "ledge detection" like other people have stated.
   Movement animations are nimble and feel right. Kill animations make you feel powerful and gritty.
   Beautiful graphics especially the lighting and main character, Styx.
   Good story and a cool way of telling it as far as I'm concerned.
   
   Cons: Sub par voice acting. I really feel like this is the only thing keeping it from a 10/10 to me. If I had to rate the voice acting it would be a 6/10, not horrible but it could have been better.
   
   All in all, this is a great game for about 25$. I've enjoyed it more than most games I've bought this year for over twice that price.… Expand

   • 16 of 19 users found this helpful
5. Yury_Vashurin

   Nov 13, 2019

   8

   A game with brilliant ideas which are unfortunately not so properly realized and an unexpectedly great psychological story which at first lookA game with brilliant ideas which are unfortunately not so properly realized and an unexpectedly great psychological story which at first look kinda stereotipical and not so intriguing - until you complete the mission number five. This makes the plot twist very unexpected and astonishing, but at the same time a lot of people were drawn off because of this, unable to find anything worth their attention at the beginning of the game. Fortunately, I wasn't among those people and thus I enjoyed the plot at full. The protagonist and the antagonist both are very well written characters with understandable motivation.
   If you started to play this game and find it boring, I recommend you to endure just until the end of the fifth mission - it'll be worth it, I assure you :)… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. FGM

   Dec 19, 2016

   7

   Thief 1 without a bow and with a wimpy goblin. Huge levels reminded me of Blades of Darkness, still it gets old after few hours at best, andThief 1 without a bow and with a wimpy goblin. Huge levels reminded me of Blades of Darkness, still it gets old after few hours at best, and minimalistic RPG elements, together with Relics Collection (1 relic each level) are hardly enough to keep you going. Plays alright on a gamepad but is lacking a tiny bit in edge detection department. Gameplay is slow and repetitive, with a slow, dull story, fights consist mostly from dodging and parrying as you can't really attack the big stupid humans. Character are alright, but definitely not from a catwalk.The best part of this game is the level design and some scenery from time to time. I'll give it 7 but it's 6.5 really. Especially that it came out recently and not around 2005-10. I couldn't bring myself to complete the whole story.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. rodericrinehart

   Jul 8, 2015

   5

   Really found it tedious and boring. It is old-school stealth, which I knew going in, but I guess I just enjoy modern action-stealth far more -Really found it tedious and boring. It is old-school stealth, which I knew going in, but I guess I just enjoy modern action-stealth far more - like Shadow of Mordor and Dishonored. My god are the graphics bad, even for a "half price" game. The textures look like they are a decade old and there is SO much darkness and lack of color in the game it is just pretty ugly to look at. The controls are not great and it is difficult to get him to do what you want every time, which is paramount in a game where you can get insta-killed.… Expand

   • 0 of 3 users found this helpful
8. Zipfer

   Jan 6, 2016

   0

   This game is ok for 2002 year. If you like stupid checkpoints and look on the same scenes again and again. This game for you
   bad bad bad badThis game is ok for 2002 year. If you like stupid checkpoints and look on the same scenes again and again. This game for you
   bad bad bad bad bad bad bad… Expand

   • 1 of 5 users found this helpful

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