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. 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 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    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 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
  2. 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, 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    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
  3. 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 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    Immensely 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
  4. agurczuk
    Jun 14, 2017
    8
    A bit underrated game about stealth and infiltration set in a dark, fantasy world.

    I had this game on my radar for a while mostly due to the fact that it looked good and featured a goblin like main character in a Thief like world. Didn't know too much about the gameplay before diving in but I've seen mixed reviews. In the end I must admit I very much enjoyed the game despite some flaws    A bit underrated game about stealth and infiltration set in a dark, fantasy world.

    I had this game on my radar for a while mostly due to the fact that it looked good and featured a goblin like main character in a Thief like world. Didn't know too much about the gameplay before diving in but I've seen mixed reviews. In the end I must admit I very much enjoyed the game despite some flaws and a bit hard difficulty level.

    Styx: Master of Shadows is a third person stealth game. Set in a world that reminds the one in the Thief series but a bit more fantasy and bright. But the general feel is pretty similar - at least for me.

    The story starts a bit slow and is a bit confusing at first. It's hard to make out exactly what's going on. But it comes around somewhere mid-game and when it starts making sense it starts to reel you in. And despite the rough start of "ok, this one is not for the story" I must admit it hooked me. Without giving anything away - you play as a goblin like creature trying to infiltrate Akenash tower in order to steal the heart of the tree. An amber producing tree. The amber in this world is a sort of drug and an extremely valuable thing. The story follows your journey through the tower while you seek to access it.

    The visuals are pretty nice. Levels are well designed with a multitude ways you can approach certain objectives. Sometimes you get to travel the same area twice and doing so from different starting points is a very unique experience not often found in other games.

    Audio layer is also well designed - the voice actors did pretty decent job and the soundtrack fits with the gameplay. Nothing breath taking but absolutely fine.

    One thing to note about the gameplay is that it's pretty hard. I've struggled with first levels before figuring out there is quick save functionality which I would strongly advise to use. Without it - the auto-save spots are so rare that getting trough meant replaying up to half an hour of level progress. On the other hand learning the level layout made travelling through it all that much easier and satisfying. Even with the quick save - the game is still pretty challenging and though. I don't think I've achieved a "no alarm" or "no kill" or any other of the achievements for a single level of the game. It's not hard enough to discourage from playing though.

    The game gives at your disposal a set of abilities. You can upgrade them between missions through experience points. You get them by completing secondary objectives and getting achievements. From the lot the most notable are amber vision - which is sort of night vision with benefits, invisibility - though for painfully short time and clones - can be useful at times although didn't find all that much use for them. Overall they're a nice addition though I've relied mostly on sneaking, moving between covers and quietly killing off guards.

    Aside from that you have to manage your consumables - you get two health potions, two amber bottles - which are used for the above abilities and two throwing knives - probably most useful thing in the game. You can replenish them between levels or sometimes pick up along the way though they're all pretty scarce commodity and thus so much more valuable.

    The game is fun. Although being very difficult it's really fun to play.

    It has some flaws as mentioned in the beginning - of which two are most note worthy. First is the ledge detection and jumping. It takes time getting used to it. It's not very polished and can lead to a lot of trouble while trying to perform a tricky jump. The second problem lies with AI. While the enemies behave quite good and pose a challenge - the NPCs are terrible. Most of what they do is stand and shout. Even if no one is coming and you're murdering one of them just in front of the other. Makes up for a silly moments.

    Overall I really did enjoy the game and would really recommend it to any stealth loving gamer.    … Expand
  5. johnyct9760
    Oct 20, 2015
    10
    I'm going to give it a 10 because I think its a little better then a 74. In my book it would be a solid 80% B minus, good with room to grow. Its been said the fighting is dog **** the controls (Even though much improved with additional patching from the publisher) are a bit iffy at times. But with all that being said there were times when I was able to control Styx with mastery percussionI'm going to give it a 10 because I think its a little better then a 74. In my book it would be a solid 80% B minus, good with room to grow. Its been said the fighting is dog **** the controls (Even though much improved with additional patching from the publisher) are a bit iffy at times. But with all that being said there were times when I was able to control Styx with mastery percussion and chain together like 10 stealthy kills back to back in various cool way and I found my self saying out load "This game is f*cking sweet!". So if your in to stealth games then this one is going to be a must buy for you. If your just interested and are not really a stealth fan...I would say pass (but just barley); unless you going to grab it from steam one of there big discount days.… Expand
  6. orknobnoobmagic
    Jan 15, 2016
    8
    i fåkcing love this game (styx voice= SHUT UP DAM.MET) and if you not like it fine ok i can se why but dont say you do not like styx man dat evil little zhit ! and go to hell shadows of mordor you to easy
  7. Thombie
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    A little gem of a game this is! I could write a really lengthy wall of text about this one, mainly consisting of positive after positive comment. To keep it short, combat is a bit clunky and I accept that. Styx is a Goblin with a dagger. He's not Styx: The Green Barbarian but Styx: Master of Shadows. If you accept the fact that you're not Drizz't do Urden, you're in for a ride! Use yourA little gem of a game this is! I could write a really lengthy wall of text about this one, mainly consisting of positive after positive comment. To keep it short, combat is a bit clunky and I accept that. Styx is a Goblin with a dagger. He's not Styx: The Green Barbarian but Styx: Master of Shadows. If you accept the fact that you're not Drizz't do Urden, you're in for a ride! Use your strengths which are sneaking, backstabbing and agile climbing.

    While playing this game you'll do yourself a huge favor by being patient. Observe and look for opportunities and turn off on-screen objectives. They will only draw you too quickly to the next level, explore instead and use the crude in game map. You're probably in those locations for the first time anyway, so it's only realistic to not know exactly where to go. Also, when playing on "Goblin" difficulty the AI ain't so dumb as some people would have it. The AI is pretty aware of its surroundings and it will be a challenge to remain undetected, while making combat fairly hard as you'll die in one sword hit.

    The graphics are nice, it sets the right mood and Styx is an enjoyable character to play. The graphics isn't particularly demanding, nicely optimized and gets the job done perfectly. Anyone complaining about it should get a proper spanking as there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.

    Styx: MoS is a proper "Thief game". Much more so than, for example, Thief III. Styx follows a tried and tested formula and adds freedom of movement and many paths from A to B both in playstyle (Skill choices) and more literally the route through each zone. Each path with some difficulties, unlike Deus Ex HR, for example (vent routes were almost equal to no challenge). Styx also adds "accidents" which can be triggered mainly by unfastening chandeliers but also by poisoning fruit bowls that the AI guards eats from. A nice little addition to the already diverse choice of more up close and personal assassination techniques. I advice people to unlock the 4 "Kill" skills as quickly as possible. They are, in my opinion, vital to get the most out of the assassination part of the game and I do enjoy that part very much.

    The game gets 8 for product quality ( technical, visual and creative presentation) and 10 for fun rating which ends up with a smashing average of 9!    … Expand
  8. Gfunk839
    Oct 13, 2014
    9
    If you are a hardcore stealth fan -9,5 out of 10
    non-stealth gamers should pass
    Essential points -excellent level design -solid AI, not the best but better than most -robust moveset to allow for some creativity -massive levels -multiple paths -interesting protagonist negatives -clipping problems -occasional crappy texture -a couple of weak animations here and there -the    If you are a hardcore stealth fan -9,5 out of 10
    non-stealth gamers should pass

    Essential points
    -excellent level design
    -solid AI, not the best but better than most
    -robust moveset to allow for some creativity
    -massive levels
    -multiple paths
    -interesting protagonist

    negatives
    -clipping problems
    -occasional crappy texture
    -a couple of weak animations here and there
    -the odd control issue

    Over all absolutley loved it... a true stealth experience. Throw on some sweetFX and enjoy !    … Expand
  9. mikett66
    Oct 20, 2014
    8
    I pre ordered the game in steam. Well, first, the graphics. The assets were beautiful, but the textures were a bit low res. Also, the game was made with Unreal Engine 3 which is very old, if they would make it with Unreal Engine 4 it would be awesome. Now for game-play. I think that combat was bad in purpose so won't be able to kill everybody. Stealth is damn good, AI were very smart. TheI pre ordered the game in steam. Well, first, the graphics. The assets were beautiful, but the textures were a bit low res. Also, the game was made with Unreal Engine 3 which is very old, if they would make it with Unreal Engine 4 it would be awesome. Now for game-play. I think that combat was bad in purpose so won't be able to kill everybody. Stealth is damn good, AI were very smart. The story is perfect. The level design is very good. I didn't like that you need to play the same level twice or 3 times either inversely or with different enemies or both. So a point less for the graphics and another one for the repetitiveness. AMAZING GAME!!… Expand
  10. Skully_
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    Styx is a real stealth game, no pseudo press X to win **** like AssiCreed. It is challenging, I recommend for Stealth Fans the Goblin difficulty level from the start. Levels are large and have different ways in and out to the target. No hand holding, no linear levels. Just you your trusty blade and a lot of people to stab, kill, smash, burn and throw of a cliff or balcony. Yes it isStyx is a real stealth game, no pseudo press X to win **** like AssiCreed. It is challenging, I recommend for Stealth Fans the Goblin difficulty level from the start. Levels are large and have different ways in and out to the target. No hand holding, no linear levels. Just you your trusty blade and a lot of people to stab, kill, smash, burn and throw of a cliff or balcony. Yes it is lacking a bit of polish, but it is good fun.… Expand
  11. Vanaran
    Oct 8, 2014
    8
    Lots of some raging imperfections but really enjoyable in the end. Surprised by the combat system in the first place, I finally managed to deal with it and had a good stealthy time. It's hard to be a gobelin o_o
  12. MorbidAngel
    Oct 8, 2014
    8
    Bought it today and don't regret a thing. It beats the snot out of the new Thief game (probably not that hard actually) and is currently my favorite stealth game (sorry Mark of the Ninja xD). Like others said it does have a few quirks here and there, but the price is super fair and the rather big levels can be solved in a variety of ways. Plus - the clone you can send to distract guards isBought it today and don't regret a thing. It beats the snot out of the new Thief game (probably not that hard actually) and is currently my favorite stealth game (sorry Mark of the Ninja xD). Like others said it does have a few quirks here and there, but the price is super fair and the rather big levels can be solved in a variety of ways. Plus - the clone you can send to distract guards is a very nice feature.

    Overall I'll too rate this 8/10 lie Vanaran did - if you're a fan of stealth games and you don't mind a few quirks here and there, there is a lot to be liked about this game!    … Expand
  13. autul
    Oct 9, 2014
    8
    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    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
  14. Cruxxor
    Oct 11, 2014
    10
    I hate stealth games. Really. I do. Because most of times, they lack any interesting story, have boring characters, and overall are just repetitive and frustrating. And yet I really like this one. Why?

    1. Main character. Biggest. Badass. Ever. I love him. I didn't liked main character in any game that much, from the times of first Max Payne. 2. Story. It is good. This is reason enough    I hate stealth games. Really. I do. Because most of times, they lack any interesting story, have boring characters, and overall are just repetitive and frustrating. And yet I really like this one. Why?

    1. Main character. Biggest. Badass. Ever. I love him. I didn't liked main character in any game that much, from the times of first Max Payne.
    2. Story. It is good. This is reason enough to get this game - you see good story in gaming industry very rarely in these times. Especially in stealth games.
    3. Atmosphere. Story is in this game is good. Atmosphere is **** great.
    4. Suprisingly good graphics, especially in game with such low system requirements.

    I still don't like gameplay. Because I just don't like stealth in general. But if someone like me, finished it and had fun, even when not liking gameplay, thanks only to atmoshpere, story and characters, well, I think it says pretty much about how good this game is.

    I liked it. If you're stealth games fan, you'll probably love it.

    Go buy it now, so they can make more games like this.    … Expand
  15. ProfKaoss
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    This game is fantastic! For fans of stealth games (like me) Styx ticks all the boxes.

    Interesting protagonist: Check Heavy stealth reliance game play: Check Difficult: Check Fun: Check Frustrating..: Check Multiple pathways: Check The story in the game is pretty good, along with the stealth mechanics and the overall game play experience. To whoever thinks the controls are bad,    This game is fantastic! For fans of stealth games (like me) Styx ticks all the boxes.

    Interesting protagonist: Check
    Heavy stealth reliance game play: Check
    Difficult: Check
    Fun: Check
    Frustrating..: Check
    Multiple pathways: Check

    The story in the game is pretty good, along with the stealth mechanics and the overall game play experience. To whoever thinks the controls are bad, pay attention during the tutorial! The controls are fine!

    Why not 10/10?
    The AI is isn't as intelligent as I would like
    The voice acting of non main characters is poor
    NPC character models aren't the best

    Overall great game and would highly recommend this game to any stealth fan!    … Expand
  16. Negolash
    Oct 10, 2014
    10
    Challenging and hard stealth game with great story, unpretdictable ending and awesome characters. I can't name better stealth game for past 5 years where you can't just ragekill everybody without hiding. Mechanics are working pretty good and armor design of enemies is really cool. Love it.
  17. Alarik
    Oct 10, 2014
    9
    Great stealth game, huge world and a lots of possibilities in your actions but a poor combats system.
    Styx is a good surprise for me in stealth genre, a good successor of "Thief" games and the price is fair.
  18. everin
    Oct 1, 2015
    8
    Tier 2
    + If taken at face value as a stealth game, offers some very smooth and entertaining stealth gameplay
    + Huge levels with a ton of approaches to gameplay on offer and decent optional objectives + Great level design in terms of both gameplay and visuals + Interesting game world with an engaging, if relatively simple, story ? Very dumb combat, but can be avoided - Particularly    Tier 2
    + If taken at face value as a stealth game, offers some very smooth and entertaining stealth gameplay
    + Huge levels with a ton of approaches to gameplay on offer and decent optional objectives
    + Great level design in terms of both gameplay and visuals
    + Interesting game world with an engaging, if relatively simple, story
    ? Very dumb combat, but can be avoided
    - Particularly tedious collectible system (hidden coins)    … Expand
  19. TheNikoHero
    Oct 9, 2014
    9
    I think Styx: Master of Shadows is having a few sharp edges, but you can't easily forget that they are there.
    It's a really good stealth game, because it's free roam, in some zones and the AI is really suspiscous, and can easily detect you. I'm playing on Normal just for a start, and I never believed the game to be this "hard", but it's incredible fun. The developers also made Styx a    I think Styx: Master of Shadows is having a few sharp edges, but you can't easily forget that they are there.
    It's a really good stealth game, because it's free roam, in some zones and the AI is really suspiscous, and can easily detect you. I'm playing on Normal just for a start, and I never believed the game to be this "hard", but it's incredible fun. The developers also made Styx a great character, because it's easy to see that he is a very intelligent goblin, but depise the fact that he is one, then he isn't strong or capable of smashing everything.

    9/10, We need more stealth games like this.    … Expand
  20. Fuz
    Oct 11, 2014
    9
    What a nice surprise.
    Styx is an excellent stealth game with lots of appeal and with an unusual, but actually very likable, main character. Can be pretty challenging but it's always fair, and often lets you have different approaches at the various challenges thanks to the main character's many abilities and skills. Great map design and interesting story too.
  21. VitaminK
    Mar 10, 2017
    9
    Criminally underrated. It has a few issues but it easily outshines the few flaws. If you like stealth and/or killing plenty of guards while stealing sh*t this game is for you. Can't wait for the sequel!
  22. JOSHDILISI
    Apr 22, 2015
    10
    Styx is one of my new favourite games after playing through it, i used to hate goblins, but not anymore. Plus you can beat this entire game without even being seen. Now that's what i call a f***ing awesome stealth game.
  23. Mosstromo
    Nov 15, 2014
    8
    This game kicks all kinds of ass, particularly in originality. Most fantasy games have goblins as mean, vicious, sneaky, roguish little devils, so how come no one though of this game before? If you don't discard it in the first hour, then prepare to be unwilling to put it down.

    THE GOOD - Good stealth feeling with the unique approach of you being an assassin Goblin, in a creative    This game kicks all kinds of ass, particularly in originality. Most fantasy games have goblins as mean, vicious, sneaky, roguish little devils, so how come no one though of this game before? If you don't discard it in the first hour, then prepare to be unwilling to put it down.

    THE GOOD
    - Good stealth feeling with the unique approach of you being an assassin Goblin, in a creative (albeit too Dishonouredish) setting.
    - Fluid nice animations of the main character (not so much of all other cast).
    - The size of the world is massive.
    - Approaches to goals are multiple and allow for every play style.
    - Most missions make sense from the narrative's stance and are good, with some being very entertaining and imaginative (not all, but some).
    - Length of game is solid at 15-20 hrs (unless speedrunning).
    - Replay-ability is dependant on immersion and personal play style, but can also be very high. Completionists will enjoy the challenges while others may skip them for unpractical and, in game effects, somewhat unrewarding. Solving the riddles to find the Relics is a nice addition although not exactly challenging.
    - Music score reminiscent of Apocalyptica will enthral those with such musical tastebuds.
    - Camera is spectacular. Never ever in your way.
    - CHaracter design and visuals in general are effective and well crafted.
    - Voice acting, specially the main character Styx (voiced by Saul Jephcott), is enjoyable and well executed.
    - The game is almost bug-free (except for the mutant ticks :D). Only one crash on my play-through at the very end, and I think it was my fault for much Ctrl+Alt+Tabbing.

    THE SO-SO
    - Guard pathfinding sees them stuck a bit.
    - Lacklustre skills, so no enticement to get them all (which is possible). I had 850 Skill Points left when I finished the game (for comparison, a skill costs 30-90).
    - Story in general is not quite novel, although one twist at the middle makes a hiccup of medium originality. Story logic is marred by holes.
    - Lacklustre recompenses for earning any of 4 types of insignias (only about 20 SP each, in most cases), making it somewhat unattractive to risk a perfect mission just to get a particularly tricky item or avoid killing an annoyingly placed guard.
    - Cutscenes vary in quality, specially mediocre are the reminiscences of Styx.
    - You cannot back-stab enemies if you are not exactly at the same level they are (for example from the top of a small crate).

    THE BAD
    - Inconsistent reality. What you can do and what actually happens is not entirely constant, therefor seriously limiting your problem-solving. E.G. Sometimes your Noise-making goes unheard if the game needs to ignore it, or a clone-ambush trap does not trigger by the proximity of a guard only because he is looking for you (he is not looking for your clone!), or when your clone is found you are also found automatically in some instances. Getting behind an elf while it is distracted choking your clone still doesn't allow you to back-stab them just because the game has that as a prohibition, apparently.
    - Controls are whimsical. The same button push will have you jump different distances. Also the contextual menus (which allow you to interact with objects near you) don't show in a trustworthy way, which commonly leads to horribly botching missions or to the ever frightening possibility of a contextual-menu-nightmare when you are in a hurry and many interactive things are close together and ledges are also involved.
    - Guards' casual dialogue is very repetitive and can get stuck in an eternal loop.
    - Edge finding. You fall many times when you shouldn't or stick magnetically to borders you don't want to.
    - Guards turn to formidable marksmen guiding their missiles with the power of thought as soon as you are discovered.
    - Environmental enemies, such as giant ticks and slave Orcs, work in tandem with their human tormentors against you, when there is no reason why they should. This detracts from wonderful strategic possibilities for the more creative players to set traps using them to foil the humans efforts to kill you.
    - In such a huge city full of potential, the re-use of 50% of the maps going backwards is unforgivable, even if you admire the design it took to make them challenging on both directions.
    - Ending is limp and uninspired, when it needed grandeur to close what had been an exciting adventure.

    -MINOR SPOILERS START-
    By tradition the weakest part of a stealth game is combat (for reasons that should be obvious) and Styx: Master of Shadows is no exception, so the lamentable choice of an ending focused on action and duelling in a tiny, fully lit, boring arena is ever more poignant.
    -MINOR SPOILERS END-

    CONCLUSION
    A well made, exciting and absorbing game, much better than many similar titles and surely better than Thief that sad, sad remake. If you have ever enjoyed a stealth game, buy Styx.    … Expand
  24. zombiechan
    Dec 26, 2014
    9
    Well this is probably the best stealth game to come out in 2014. You get to play as a goblin rogue and sneak around stealing and killing. The story is pretty interesting, but it is the gameplay that got me hooked on the game.
  25. GamesBeatAll
    Dec 12, 2014
    9
    A terrific stealth game, with a great story and some unexpected twists. Challenging but rewarding. If you want to rush around just killing stuff, this game isn't for you. You need to observe, think, and plan - try different options to achieve your goals. Smooth, graphically sumptuous with atmospheric sound. Love it!
  26. mwt
    Dec 25, 2015
    9
    It's a really good game.The game is satisfyingly challenging and the near endless approaches to any problem is also a great feature in the game.I also liked the story/storytelling in the game.The graphics are not that bad either.
  27. CrazedJester
    Oct 18, 2015
    8
    This is a great game that you should buy it. you can not grab on to as many things as Assassins creed however the fact that the game has less glitch's makes it way more fun and you can see for your self its My brother made a video of Styx Master Of Shadows on Youtube at the Player Character Theater
    https://youtu.be/bPu_MauQsPU
  28. Kharn
    Oct 24, 2016
    9
    Fantastic game. Lots of freedom, cool atmosphere/story. Usually I find the stealth elements a bit boring but in this game not at all. It's an exciting ride.
  29. 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 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 worthA 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
  30. SteveHolme
    May 6, 2018
    9
    Well, this is NOT a hardcore stealth game, but more that later on. First things first:

    I feel like I am a bit too late playing it in 2018, but since I do not read gaming magazines anymore, I often stumble over gems - like this. STYX is a game that got me hooked immediately. It's one of these games that, despite played so many games, is something I miss from the 90s: A game where I close    Well, this is NOT a hardcore stealth game, but more that later on. First things first:

    I feel like I am a bit too late playing it in 2018, but since I do not read gaming magazines anymore, I often stumble over gems - like this. STYX is a game that got me hooked immediately. It's one of these games that, despite played so many games, is something I miss from the 90s: A game where I close the window, turn off everything else, grab a cold (or hot) drink and enjoy it with my gamepad on PC.

    The main character is a foul-mouthed killer goblin that looks - I am sure I am a bit alienated there - beautiful. As someone who likes it when video game characters are non-human but still humanoid and well-designed, our main character is just outstandingly well designed. It just feels good to be the little green-skinned hunched creature with hood, loin cloth, several straps and no real shoes, holding a worn-out dagger in the black-fingernailed hands.

    The gameplay is great, even though it should be admitted it's really an arcade-style game: First I was a bit confused why a guard was circling around a table 24/7. Or a guard that just turns back and forth after 5 seconds. But then I figured out why: Unlike other games, where you can easily distract guards, here they are placed by the developers to add extra spide and challenge.
    The maps are very cube-like, and I never ever felt so much freedom how to proceed: Poisoning food, throwing daggers, falling kills, pulling them down or shoving the enemies into the an abyss
    or just sneaking away from them.
    Special tricks like invisibility or the little Golum helper ("the Clone") bring the features to a new dimension. After 30 hours of gameplay I started to use my clown more often and it really opened up to so many new ways.

    Now there is an important part: This game is NOT hardcore stealth. I picked so many fights and been confronted and won them by either killing my opponents, by running off (and jumping), by turning invisible and wait on a crate, by rolling/tumbling away. I don't understand why people say it's hardcore. As soon as you are confronted, the game latches on your opponent, then you have to parry by pressing a button the right moment - if you do so (balance note: Melee caracters are stronger while workers or archers take 1 or 2 succesfull parries to win), your encounter will shake a bit and you can now either kill him or run off by simply backing off or tumble away with your roll move. Now you can try to hide, to get above him, hide into a cabinet, grab the ledge of the building (e.g. at a window sill) etc. Yesterday for example I managed to disengaged from a fight with 3 guys because I would have been toast, hid myself and created a clone. I walked the clone into the enemies and they thought the clone was the culprit and immediately relaxed after kill the clone instead of me. Just a few examples. So, this game is not hardocre stealth, but it can.

    The enemies are also well-balanced. You have the melee characters, you have archers, you have the blind bugs with good hearing, "unkillable" knights that you can poison or crash down chandaliers on them, etc., librarians and workers that are no threat but scream when seeing you. In literally no moment I felt it was an unfair death I faced.

    The sound design is also great. Yep, the sound effects are mostly stock ones, but the voice acting is great: The British accent is beautiful and funny. The main characters voice acting is outstanding and well-written. What I like much are the little details in sound: When I got hit, you can hear our goblin being in pain, like "Oofffff...f*ck" or "Ahh.....son of a b***" or falling down into an abyss you're yelling "F**k you!!!!~~~". That makes it so realistic for some reason instead of just having short "Uff", "Ah"s.

    The animations are also beautiful, albeit sometimes a bit stiff. Some of the kill animations are just like a treat for killing an obnoxious enemy, the best is the "foot to the face while breaking your arm" move.

    However, the game has two problems:
    The Reycling of the maps is one minor problem.
    You play through the levels in the first part of the game - and then again later on. It feels a bit cheap, but since I am here to solve puzzles and kill people, playing the map from the other way round was still enough of a change.

    The bigger problem is the savegame feature: It bugs a bit. Enemys calmed down suddenly "heard a noise" or in one mission, where I was supposed to be quiet and no bodies found, I received a GAME OVER for no reason after saving and overwriting my file for 10 times. As if one of the dead bodies were not saved correctly and been "resurrected", finding bodies in the early part of the map.

    But else, Styx is a wonderful game that hooks me so much - despite the dated graphics even for 2014. But maybe it's exactly that why it rocks so much: It keeps focussed on the realyl important things: Fun.    … Expand
  31. sezeraktasli98
    Aug 31, 2023
    10
    Oyun şaşırtıcı derecede sardı. Herkese kesinlikle tavsiye ederim

    2014 senesinde PS4 çıkışıyla tanıdığım oyundu ama PS3 kullandığım için 2014 oyunlarına uzak kalmıştım. Bu oyuna da yıllar sonra "Eskidir" , "Thief gibi sıkıcıdır" kafasıyla baktım ama oyun 2023'te öyle bir oynattı öyle bir sardı öyle bir iyiydi ki. Oynadığım en iyi gizlilik oyunlarından biri oldu diyebilirim.    Oyun şaşırtıcı derecede sardı. Herkese kesinlikle tavsiye ederim

    2014 senesinde PS4 çıkışıyla tanıdığım oyundu ama PS3 kullandığım için 2014 oyunlarına uzak kalmıştım. Bu oyuna da yıllar sonra "Eskidir" , "Thief gibi sıkıcıdır" kafasıyla baktım ama oyun 2023'te öyle bir oynattı öyle bir sardı öyle bir iyiydi ki. Oynadığım en iyi gizlilik oyunlarından biri oldu diyebilirim. Gamebillet'ten 4TL'ye Steam key olarak aldım. Fiyatı şaka gibi ... Grafik biraz sırıtıyor Tomb Raider 2013'ün grafiklerine denk diyebilirim . Hikaye sunumu ise güzel olmuş hikaye ve sunum asla baştan savma değil cidden işini severek yapmışlar . Oyun amaçsız değil. Normalde oyunun amacı parkur ve gizlilik bir arada sunmak ama çok mantıklı sebeplere dayandırmışlar. Görev ise normalde A noktasından B noktasına git bir checkpoint al hikayeye gerekiyorsa bir ara sahne sok ve C noktasına ilerle gibi. Fakat bu A-B-C noktalarına oldukça fazla farklı alternatif gidiş yolları var . Oyun sizi resmen alıp fırlatıyor oyun dünyasına siz ise bu noktalar arası tamamen hiçbir çizgide değil tammaen kendi hür iradenizle istediğiniz stilde istediğini ded et istediğinden koşarak kaç istediğinin gözüne görünmeden kaç tarzı ulaşıyorsunuz. Gerçekten bu oyun benim için ayrı bir yere sahip olacak. Gittikçe zorlaşan yapısı da hoşuma gitti , düşman çeşiti ise oldukça doyurucu ve oyunun süresi oldukça doyurucu . Tekrar oynanabilirliği ise yüksek. 2 sorun var o da maalesef 60 FPS kilidi ve nadiren oyunun kapanma sorunu    … Expand
  32. Lobo_2037
    Apr 16, 2020
    9
    As for me Styx. Master of Shadows is one of the best stealth games at the moment.. This game has good plot and great gameplay. And I can recommend it for you, but of course Styx has some bugs like drawdown in the chart and strange actions of mps, but they are really rare.

    In conclusion I would like to say that if you are fan of stealth games, you have to pass this game.
  33. Salador2606
    Oct 10, 2021
    10
    Однозначно моя любимая игра в стиле фентези стелс

    By far my favorite fantasy stealth game
  34. The_D4RknesS
    Jun 30, 2022
    8
    a little difficult but a lot of fun! I like to say that this game is MIDDLE OF EARTH in reverse LoLoLoLo
  35. Lezzly
    Aug 17, 2023
    8
    Niezwykle barwna produkcja o bardzo interesującym głównym bohaterze. Uwielbiam gry z mrocznym klimatem a Styx dostarczył mi niesamowitych wrażeń. Gra jest fajnie zrobioną skradanką, wymaga przede wszystkim cierpliwości, co u mnie jest lekkim problemem, ale stawiając na grę jako zabójca też można się odnaleźć i czerpać radość z rozgrywki. Na plus lokacje pełne ukrytych przejść, przez coNiezwykle barwna produkcja o bardzo interesującym głównym bohaterze. Uwielbiam gry z mrocznym klimatem a Styx dostarczył mi niesamowitych wrażeń. Gra jest fajnie zrobioną skradanką, wymaga przede wszystkim cierpliwości, co u mnie jest lekkim problemem, ale stawiając na grę jako zabójca też można się odnaleźć i czerpać radość z rozgrywki. Na plus lokacje pełne ukrytych przejść, przez co można poczuć się jak taki szczur przechodzący tam gdzie człowiek nie może i to daje największą frajdę. Muzyka nadająca atmosfery oraz różnorodność możliwości, w jaki można przejść dany obszar. Twórcy dali sporo swobody graczom i to jest w skradankach świetne. Gra z przyjemną historią o bardzo przemyślanym systemie, polecam gorąco.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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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