Styx: Shards of Darkness

1. GameCritic121

   Mar 17, 2017

   10

   Don't be scared off by less-than-stellar reviews, it's a pure stealth game; scrubs are going to rate it poorly just because they're bad at it.Don't be scared off by less-than-stellar reviews, it's a pure stealth game; scrubs are going to rate it poorly just because they're bad at it. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Some of the powers carry over, some didn't, and there are new ones as well, including a crafting system. If you're a stealth fan, buy both Styx games.… Expand

   • 4 of 7 users found this helpful
2. Dusenedezi

   Aug 5, 2017

   10

   Excelent game. 10/10!!! Worth every penny. Great graphics and good story. Excelent stealth mechanics and responds well to commands. IExcelent game. 10/10!!! Worth every penny. Great graphics and good story. Excelent stealth mechanics and responds well to commands. I recommend it to everyone!… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
4. SteveHolme

   Jun 6, 2018

   10

   Styx (and Cynaide Studios, the developer) both seem to have experienced a huge boost in self-esteem! I am still baffled about the positiveStyx (and Cynaide Studios, the developer) both seem to have experienced a huge boost in self-esteem! I am still baffled about the positive changes and addition to the already outstanding first game! I expected to play a game with more advanced graphics or something, but man, the developers took ingredients from my other beloved games (Classic Splinter Cell, Thief and Dishonred), added their own flavour and baked me an outstanding cake, named "Styx: SoD". Or just Styx 2.
   
   It's not like the great first game. I tried to play it right after it, literally on the same day I finished Styx. But man, I had to take a break for 2 days because this is Styx in Turbo: The developers went crazy in all departments. Yes, it has some of the known flaws, but else, this studio shows how great they can be at all aspects what I loved about the first game.
   
   You either like or hate him. But I friggin do love our killer goblin, and these two games easily count as one of the best video games of my life, that's for sure.… Expand

   • 1 of 1 users found this helpful
5. Geralt123

   Mar 16, 2021

   8

   This game is a hidden gem. It is for everyone who loves Stealth games. Gameplay is fun, graphics are done with love, music fits in perfectly.This game is a hidden gem. It is for everyone who loves Stealth games. Gameplay is fun, graphics are done with love, music fits in perfectly. I also like Styx, the Goblin although he is quite sarcastic and rough. You have some small skill trees so gameplay stays interesting.
   
   This is a rather short game, but very good!… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
6. sft

   Dec 29, 2021

   8

   8.25/10 • The green goblin.
   
   Good-looking, well-crafted game. Funny and entertaining throughout, despite some minor irritations.

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. SuperkenGaming

   Mar 14, 2017

   7

   Styx Shards of Darkness
   More of a Half Step than a Sequel
   Shards of Darkness is the Sequel to Master of Shadows… But with its own selfStyx Shards of Darkness
   More of a Half Step than a Sequel
   Shards of Darkness is the Sequel to Master of Shadows…
   But with its own self contained story, so you don’t need to play any of the past games to be able to hop right in…
   This is more of Master of Shadows, but at the same time almost completely different…
   Theres are 9 missions total here.. but these missions are half the length of the first game..
   Taking me anywhere from an hr to an hr and a half to complete… the game took me about 12 hours to complete…
   But its much less about mastering the shadows here…
   All of the basic assassinations you had to unlock in the past game are unlocked from the start with a new set of skills to master…
   And while Shards of Darkness Improves in many areas Master of Shadows struggled… It also fails in areas Master of Shadows had down perfect…
   Much like the last game, Shards of Darkness puts you in an open level with a dagger and some potions, and its up to you to make to the different task locations and then make it back to your hide out…
   But things are much more casual and straight forward this time…
   You still have your sand to throw at torches, but they never felt useful here…
   You now also have to gather materials to craft items and potions instead of refill at base..
   Sounds like a good idea… but materials are way to rare here.. really testing your stealth skills..
   Im horrible at stealth, so I found it to be a bit annoying…
   And you can call in a clone, but gone are the clone puzzles and distracting.. and because of that the clone turns into a consumable skill like turning invisable…
   This time however youre able to create or become a perfect clone in an online co op mode…
   As a perfect clone you have all of your skills and items, but you cant pary in combat and you die in one hit… and if either you or your partner dies you can brign the other back to life by sacrificing half of your health….
   And speaking of combat, they somehow managed to make it worse…
   They got rid of the auto locking which is great.. youre free to run which was the thing that held the original games experience down so much… but because of this.. .parrying can be awakward, as youll a lot of the time be too close to parry while the enemy can still damage you…pretty annoying…
   But don’t worry.. besides the first few levels.. pretty much every enemy is invulnerable….
   So youre not gonna be needing those darggers too much…
   The game over all and the levels here at first feel polished and a nice change of pace…
   But by level 3 you realze they all look and feel the same…
   They feel like a broom closet compared to the shoe closet master of shadows was…
   Theyre small and compact and feel copy and paste rather than hand crafted and grand …
   They even went as far as reusing levels for 3 of the final missions.
   A massive disappointment, as the level design was one of my favorite things about this series…
   Its still fun though.. sneaking through vents..
   Dealing with new annoying enemies like dwarves that can smell you.. making hiding useless…
   Plus theyre invulnerable… even worse…
   And some of your favorite annoying enemies making a return like the beatles that spit at you.. thankfully youre able to kill them like regular guards this time…
   And the mission structure has improved greatly… they’ll have you retracing your steps as youre running around to sabotage or assassinate a target…
   it isn’t just getting from point a to b..
   there are even some boss battles in here.. that if youre wondering if theyre as bad as the maste of shadows ends boss..im pleased to say that these 2 boss battles were 2 of the most memorable moments in the game…
   And of coruse the jokes and game rfereences are all over here both in game and at your death screen…
   Which is another improvmement.. load times… they still need work but are miles better than they were…
   Sahrds of Darkness is a mixed bag of emotions.. I love the change in combat, the fact that we have real skills available from the start, improved mission structure, less grindy story,faster load times, better bosses, but the forced do not get detected sections of the game, the lack of materials to actually craft with the crafting system, the amount of invulnerable enemeies, the tiny repetitive maps…
   it stops this game from surpassing the first…
   It felt more of a rush through stealth game than a calculating, pick your targets, take them out one by one, im goblin batman, like I came to love from the original game…
   I was doing more avoiding enemies and the world than I was engaging with it…
   I give Styx: Shards of Darkness
   a 7/10… Expand

   • 6 of 11 users found this helpful
8. Mehrshad_MB

   Sep 6, 2021

   6

   Styx Shards of Darkness is a pretty good stealth game undoubtedly, but not the best in series in my book. The game had impressive visual andStyx Shards of Darkness is a pretty good stealth game undoubtedly, but not the best in series in my book. The game had impressive visual and graphics improvements and the design of environment was astonishing in almost every single mission. Gladly the AI got a lot better compared to Styx Master of Shadows.
   The gameplay and mechanics were literally copy and pasted from Styx Master of Shadow!
   The story was good but just when it started to get better, there was 'credits' and...THE END! I really wasn't expecting the game to end just when it was in its peak.
   Also a minor thing that, the 'death' cutscenes were good idea but not in a game like this where players die hundreds of times and have to hear the same sentences all over again.
   In conclusion, Styx Shards of Darkness is a good stealth game with only little improvements compared to earlier games in series.
   (September 2021)… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful

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