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. 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.
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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
  16. 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
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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
  20. Lupa999
    May 11, 2015
    7
    Styx master of shadows is not for the casual gamer. Hell even veteran stealth gamers will have a hard time on the first level. The maps in each level are HUGE. With many guards and hidden guards you will feel at times you are backed into a corner because of a lack of abilities and supplies, which is what makes the game feel so good.There is a surprising amount of ways to handle missions.Styx master of shadows is not for the casual gamer. Hell even veteran stealth gamers will have a hard time on the first level. The maps in each level are HUGE. With many guards and hidden guards you will feel at times you are backed into a corner because of a lack of abilities and supplies, which is what makes the game feel so good.There is a surprising amount of ways to handle missions. Many places to to hide are scattered around the area. like his name, Styx uses the shadows to stay hidden, taking out torches and using balls of sand to take them out from a distance if needed.Many hidden collectibles and really cool "amber powers" . Many items like balls of sand, bottles of acid, throwing knives and more to give you more options in your environment.Satisfying stealth, great setting and soundtrack and sound effects with interesting visuals and odd but bad ass goblin protagonist makes this game feel unique.

    At least that's what it tries to be. One huge flaw the this game suffers from is its no different from anything you've probably played. It doesn't try to be unique of different, at all. Game play is exactly as what you would expect from a stealth game. The game also pretty much makes you have to go stealthy if you want to feel the full experience from the game. The combat is terrible. when you fight a guard the camera auto locks onto him, which means you cant turn the camera away unless you roll away, which leaves you open to attack from other guards. There's no blocking, just keep pressing the right button at the right time to parry then kill him when he stumbles. Hit detection is horrible as well so good luck on either of you landing a hit. AI is retarded unless you play on the hardest difficulty. Many abilities like overhead assassinations or cover kills and locked away abilities unless you buy them with SP that you earn when you beat a mission. And Some of the cute scenes are drawn by hand and repeat as well which is an odd choice since the game had a strong opening cut scene. A lack of variety in enemies as well until far into the game. Overall this is a good but unremarkable stealth game that just aims for the bare minimum. Its $30 price tag is nice, since most "next gen" games ask for $60.    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. 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.
  23. 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
  24. 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!
  25. 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
  26. 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.
  27. 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.
  28. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
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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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