Styx: Master of Shadows

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 336 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 192 out of 336
  2. Mixed: 87 out of 336
  3. Negative: 57 out of 336

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  1. GoodMorningAss
    Jan 27, 2020
    0
    This game has nothing good to offer. Horrible stealth, terrible combat and a climbing mechanic that doesn't even work . The story is also very bad. There are plenty of indie and triple A games that have much better stealth than this game. Do yourself a favor and avoid this game.
  2. psylife
    Dec 20, 2015
    0
    After 25 years of gaming it is quite easy to identify amateur's work. If you ever read this comment, you the person(s) responsible, ask yourself how it is possible to release a product when its most basic mechanics do not work. I gave up for two main reasons.
    1. The game decided to get rid of my save file, which is worrying should I have chosen to invest longer periods of time in this    After 25 years of gaming it is quite easy to identify amateur's work. If you ever read this comment, you the person(s) responsible, ask yourself how it is possible to release a product when its most basic mechanics do not work. I gave up for two main reasons.
    1. The game decided to get rid of my save file, which is worrying should I have chosen to invest longer periods of time in this game.
    2. The platforming is atrocious. It doesn't work. You try to jump and grab a ledge and you are lucky if it actually does what you intended it to do.    … Expand
  3. mugen_is_here
    Jan 5, 2016
    4
    Sorry to say this but I didn't like this game. I can see a lot of positive reviews but most of them don't seem to have played much.

    The jumping mechanics are broken on the PC version. You click jump and there's a pretty decent lag after which he will jump. Meanwhile the jump momentum is weird as hell. There is a standing jump which is higher with lesser distance and a running jump which    Sorry to say this but I didn't like this game. I can see a lot of positive reviews but most of them don't seem to have played much.

    The jumping mechanics are broken on the PC version. You click jump and there's a pretty decent lag after which he will jump. Meanwhile the jump momentum is weird as hell. There is a standing jump which is higher with lesser distance and a running jump which hardly has any height but an okay distance. All this is fine until you come to know that when you jump you need to land at an exact spot. You need to leave the forward key mid-air. Failing to do that you will overshoot the platform. If you leave it too early you will reach too early and fall down. You need to jump+W. Time W just right.

    Graphics are good in teh sense you can stop and admire what is it. But the color combination makes everything camouflage. Just check a YouTube gameplay video to see it for yourself.

    As for the stealth mechanics. I foundthem horrible. There are too many flaws. The sudden camera turns when you get caught (thus making invisibility useless), the guards being faster than you, colliding into items, not being able to see the camera properly, clumsy jumps - all these combined up made for a bad experience.

    Summary: Try out a demo first (haven't checked whether it's available or not). If you're okay with clumsy controls and don't mind F5+F9 every 1-2 mins then go ahead with this game.    … Expand
  4. Cooncrate
    May 22, 2016
    4
    This game has nothing good to offer. Horrible stealth, terrible combat and a climbing mechanic that doesn't even work . The story is also very bad. There are plenty of indie and triple A games that have much better stealth than this game. Do yourself a favor and avoid this game.
  5. MadJaples
    Feb 2, 2015
    4
    This is hardly an original concept. I don't suppose anyone happens to remember Thief?
    Well, this is generally Thief, with a goblin.
    Aside from the fact it has one of the worst fight mechanics I've seen in any game for a very long time, the whole thing is monstrously cliched. Apart from the story there seems to have been very little imaginative or at least original thought put into this.    This is hardly an original concept. I don't suppose anyone happens to remember Thief?
    Well, this is generally Thief, with a goblin.
    Aside from the fact it has one of the worst fight mechanics I've seen in any game for a very long time, the whole thing is monstrously cliched. Apart from the story there seems to have been very little imaginative or at least original thought put into this.
    This is one I would go to on a rainy day when there really isn't anything else worth doing, but I wouldn't play this on a regular basis, preferring Thief to this one any day of the week!    … Expand
  6. BSim500
    May 12, 2016
    4
    This is a stealth game based as a prequel to "Of Orcs & Men". Stealth mechanics are generally good but with occasionally glitchy controls. Graphics aren't bleeding edge but they're well optimized and certainly more than good enough. Sound & voice acting are good. There are often multiple pathways / options to complete your route. This is also one of the few games in recent times to have aThis is a stealth game based as a prequel to "Of Orcs & Men". Stealth mechanics are generally good but with occasionally glitchy controls. Graphics aren't bleeding edge but they're well optimized and certainly more than good enough. Sound & voice acting are good. There are often multiple pathways / options to complete your route. This is also one of the few games in recent times to have a decent optional quicksave system instead of just the dumbed down hyper-consolized "checkpoint only" system, so another +1 for that.

    I'd give it 8.5/10, unfortunately it gets downgraded to a 5 due to a common serious game-breaking bug that's still unfixed +18 months after being acknowledged. If you replay missions (which you're encouraged to do by the nature of the game design), you can end up stuck and unable to proceed. There's a large thread on the Steam forums on this topic. In fact there are several other highly annoying bugs that appear to be unfixed and abandoned by the developers. Eg, Renaissance 1/4's end of sub-mission cutscene sometimes doesn't trigger leaving you stuck and unable to move forward, some chars get stuck after their conversation ends leaving a cluster of 3-5 enemies standing in one spot, enemies will sometimes walk off ledges and get stuck standing on nothing in mid-air, enemy alert states randomly jump one state higher than when you saved upon loading a game, etc. It's a shame because if they patched this stuff properly, I'd give it a much higher score.    … Expand
  7. Ted_Tris
    Dec 31, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros:
    Stealth
    World
    Hero

    Cons:
    Trash ai
    Trash physical models and proxies.
    Trash fight system
    Obsolete graphic
    Primitive animation and animation system
    Evil level design
    Primitive game design.
    Each levels 70% in stuffing...... therefore long long long gamplay

    Bad game.    … Expand
  8. VoxPaladin
    Oct 10, 2014
    1
    A terrible, low budget stealth game that disguises itself as being polished and of high quality.

    Firstly, the graphics are running on Unreal Engine 3 which already look terrible, muddy and washed out, only to be hampered by flat textures and poor graphical implementation of most of the existing tech available. A notable example is how Anisotropic Filtering doesn't change regardless    A terrible, low budget stealth game that disguises itself as being polished and of high quality.

    Firstly, the graphics are running on Unreal Engine 3 which already look terrible, muddy and washed out, only to be hampered by flat textures and poor graphical implementation of most of the existing tech available.

    A notable example is how Anisotropic Filtering doesn't change regardless of which setting is selected. But there's still plenty more broken with the game.

    The animations are one of the worst you will ever see. The take-down animations are jerky and finicky, as soon as you take-down a guard, his ragdoll will shake uncontrollably. The platform sequences accompanied do not help the fact that jumping is completely broken, and your character will not grab onto the platform unless you angle him in a very specific position, so that the game registers your input onto that very small hit-box.

    Of course, there are the usual clipping issues, bugged movements where your character will get stuck in the ground with the "falling animation" as he flails his arms around in the air, forcing you to reload your previous save game. Did I forget to mention that this games load times vary anywhere between 10-50 seconds on loads running on an SSD? Well, yes it does, and no, 50 second save load times are not normal.

    Then there's the atrocious voice acting, laughable story and juvenile writing in the mix. It desperately tries to be funny and witty by adding immature, crude humor with a fart joke here and another one about "peeling balls" there. But it ultimately fails and falls flat right on it's face.

    The game-play itself is weak considering the stealth is a joke and the A.I. is laughably stupid as they collide into walls and spin in circles. The developers also ran out of ideas on how to make the stealth system more difficult, so they figure forcing you into a QTE sequence whenever you are spotted, and locking you in it by restricting any input until it is completed is much more logical than allowing you to use your invisibility power to escape.

    Guards will constantly draw their swords upon finding a corpse and sheathe them right after the cool-down period, only to repeat the exact same thing after walking into a second corpse 5 feet away. This is how bad the A.I. is.

    And of course, people will still try to defend the game and justify all the bugs and nonsense because it's $30.

    +1 for the effort.    … Expand
  9. 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 bad bad bad bad
  10. GlaciusPrime
    Oct 12, 2014
    1
    I tried to get into the game 4-5 times, but its plain too boring. And yes, i enjoy patient games as well, but this is just not entertaining. You cant properly attack if discovered and cant run away either. The parkour is unintuitive and pourly executed. You will very often drop from ledges, miss a jump or simply not know whether you can make it or not, because there is 0 indication as toI tried to get into the game 4-5 times, but its plain too boring. And yes, i enjoy patient games as well, but this is just not entertaining. You cant properly attack if discovered and cant run away either. The parkour is unintuitive and pourly executed. You will very often drop from ledges, miss a jump or simply not know whether you can make it or not, because there is 0 indication as to whether something is too far away or not.

    The levels claustrophobic and difficult to navigate, let alone memorize. First missions consist of multiple levels, utterly useless and fake paths that lead nowhere, nor are needed on any occasion and i have yet to find how to lunge onto someone from a higher position. Right now you could stand behind someone, but if he is like 5cm higher or lower, you cant execute him.

    Looking through stuff you can acquire with skillpoints, there is nothing worth playing for. No cool, extra abilities, no game-changing mechanics. If you release a game that attempts to combine goblins, ass-creed and dishonored, but have only a stinking goblin who can puke out an another stinking goblin, you get Styx. And its bad.    … Expand
  11. Anaxes
    Mar 10, 2016
    0
    Worst stealth game ever made with no doubt whatsoever also the physics is ass and very unreliable, boring characters and boring story. The game also keeps breaking it own rules over and over.
  12. Hellspeller
    Oct 10, 2014
    4
    Styx: Master of Shadows would have been a good game in the early 2000s. The game suffers from what smells like an inexperienced team/studio.
    It is riddled with bugs and glitches; the environment suffers from NUMEROUS model & textures bugs and will see improper UVs scaling more than you'd wish.
    The AI is simply not immersive and quite "basic" (not to say down right dumb). AI will simply    Styx: Master of Shadows would have been a good game in the early 2000s. The game suffers from what smells like an inexperienced team/studio.
    It is riddled with bugs and glitches; the environment suffers from NUMEROUS model & textures bugs and will see improper UVs scaling more than you'd wish.
    The AI is simply not immersive and quite "basic" (not to say down right dumb). AI will simply forget you ever existed as you turn a corner and/or reach an area he cannot access. There is only one faction so you will see guards coexist with "monsters" that should exterminate them just as much they do to you. Very, very often patrols will bump in one another as soon as you disturb one; often resulting in them being stuck and breaking the level.
    There is to say; no "fighting" gameplay/chances (ala Thief from Eidos) and dying is extremely painful as savepoints are scarse (you can lose easily up to 20-30min of progression later on).
    The Gameplay per-se and story are not bad; but nothing stand out as new / extraordinary and the voice acting is not that great.
    The climbing system feels restricted compared to Assassin's Creed or Shadow of Mordor; and trying to ledge grab downward can be a real pain in the a** which will kill you / alert the enemies A LOT.

    If you like the genre; try out Thief (Eidos Montreal).    … Expand
  13. Klewer
    Sep 20, 2020
    4
    I can only recommend if you are a fan of true Stealth style games like Thief. Apart from Styx the graphics is average, storyline is not interesting and cliche and the general feeling of the AI is clunky. Can give this a miss.
  14. Parthians
    Jan 20, 2016
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. just a silly continuous killing and stealth form of a game with stupid low A.I. guards.
    full of useless and cliche situations and freedoms.
    repetitive Takedowns,not fed with creativity.    … Expand
  15. PrazeDaSun
    Nov 26, 2018
    1
    Graphics are nice that about it. Styxs cheesy one liners get old quick and after you fail you will be ridiculed over and over. I though I would give the second one a chance since the first did bring a cool atmosphere and vibe to it. Trust me you be better off playing anything else. These high ratings are all paid the game is trash.

Awards & Rankings

74
#74 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
34
#34 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 31 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 18, 2015
    81
    Styx: Master of Shadows is quite good as a stealth based game. Fighting sucks, but I think that is intentional, so that stealth is the main point. [Feb 2015]
  2. CD-Action
    Feb 7, 2015
    70
    Cyanide Studios surprised me by making a game that’s genuinely worth recommending. What kept me from giving it a higher rating were some technical issues that I encountered. [01/2015, p.58]
  3. Riot Pixels
    Nov 11, 2014
    58
    Misfortune follows Styx everywhere in his travels around Akenash. If you somehow managed to complete the campaign without using F5/F9 even once, congratulations – you have an iron will. Most of you, though, will be loading the last quicksave every couple of minutes, because Styx can be so clumsy, especially when it comes to jumping.
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