Styx: Shards of Darkness

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 127 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 83 out of 127
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 127
  3. Negative: 14 out of 127

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  1. Seekersilver
    Dec 10, 2017
    8
    The main con of this game to me is the penalty when players kill any enemies at all. If I stealthily assassinate 20 enemies using all the varieties of kill methods that was provided and cleverly designed, it ought to be an achievement, and not something that brings about penalty. So many kinds of fun and interesting traps and kill methods (complemented with body-hiding places) areThe main con of this game to me is the penalty when players kill any enemies at all. If I stealthily assassinate 20 enemies using all the varieties of kill methods that was provided and cleverly designed, it ought to be an achievement, and not something that brings about penalty. So many kinds of fun and interesting traps and kill methods (complemented with body-hiding places) are scattered in all the levels for the players to use, so why should players be penalised for utilising all of the fun arsenal of features?

    Players' exploration and utilisation of the game's interesting features ought to be rewarded, not penalised.

    That said, missing just 'Mercy' insignia has minimal impact on SP gained. Players can also just redo the missions to focus on it afterwards, but it really becomes a chore.    … Expand
  2. Asadar
    Apr 2, 2017
    9
    Be warn : this is an Stealth Game. You don't like this type of game ? Go away.

    But what if you like to sneak? Then buy this game. Its price is low, and its quality is high. Graphics are not awesome but they work very well, so no need to have a super-computer to run this visually pleasing game. The level design is just excellent, the gameplay is better than many AAA Stealth game, and    Be warn : this is an Stealth Game. You don't like this type of game ? Go away.

    But what if you like to sneak? Then buy this game. Its price is low, and its quality is high.

    Graphics are not awesome but they work very well, so no need to have a super-computer to run this visually pleasing game. The level design is just excellent, the gameplay is better than many AAA Stealth game, and more importantly : the game is fun. Just that. Is not that what you would expect in the first place from a game?

    What more can be said? In the end, Styx is nothing less than a good stealth game. And we do not ask for more, especially for such a reasonable price.

    Important point to note however: the game is only voiced in English (but the texts are translated into several languages). Personally, it does not bother me (I even prefer that), but be warned that if you do not like English voices ... you will have no choice here. That is the price to pay when you can not afford to have voices for each country. So English only, but the voices are good anyway.    … Expand
  3. Dusenedezi
    Aug 5, 2017
    10
    Excelent game. 10/10!!! Worth every penny. Great graphics and good story. Excelent stealth mechanics and responds well to commands. I recommend it to everyone!
  4. SteveHolme
    Jun 6, 2018
    10
    Styx (and Cynaide Studios, the developer) both seem to have experienced a huge boost in self-esteem! I am still baffled about the positive changes and addition to the already outstanding first game! I expected to play a game with more advanced graphics or something, but man, the developers took ingredients from my other beloved games (Classic Splinter Cell, Thief and Dishonred), addedStyx (and Cynaide Studios, the developer) both seem to have experienced a huge boost in self-esteem! I am still baffled about the positive changes and addition to the already outstanding first game! I expected to play a game with more advanced graphics or something, but man, the developers took ingredients from my other beloved games (Classic Splinter Cell, Thief and Dishonred), added their own flavour and baked me an outstanding cake, named "Styx: SoD". Or just Styx 2.

    It's not like the great first game. I tried to play it right after it, literally on the same day I finished Styx. But man, I had to take a break for 2 days because this is Styx in Turbo: The developers went crazy in all departments. Yes, it has some of the known flaws, but else, this studio shows how great they can be at all aspects what I loved about the first game.

    You either like or hate him. But I friggin do love our killer goblin, and these two games easily count as one of the best video games of my life, that's for sure.    … Expand
  5. sychu
    Mar 16, 2017
    9
    Bigger and more detailed levels, better controls and better graphics. At the same time I was playing original Master of Shadows and I can tell that developers put a lot of effort to make this game better and they did. Plus I have never seen such a fluent gameplay in any stealth game. Why 9 not 10? There are still some minor issues, such as controls and enemies blocking on the walls and each other.
  6. GameCritic121
    Mar 17, 2017
    10
    Don't be scared off by less-than-stellar reviews, it's a pure stealth game; scrubs are going to rate it poorly just because they're bad at it. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Some of the powers carry over, some didn't, and there are new ones as well, including a crafting system. If you're a stealth fan, buy both Styx games.
  7. SuperkenGaming
    Mar 14, 2017
    7
    Styx Shards of Darkness
    More of a Half Step than a Sequel
    Shards of Darkness is the Sequel to Master of Shadows… But with its own self contained story, so you don’t need to play any of the past games to be able to hop right in… This is more of Master of Shadows, but at the same time almost completely different… Theres are 9 missions total here.. but these missions are half the length    Styx Shards of Darkness
    More of a Half Step than a Sequel
    Shards of Darkness is the Sequel to Master of Shadows…
    But with its own self contained story, so you don’t need to play any of the past games to be able to hop right in…
    This is more of Master of Shadows, but at the same time almost completely different…
    Theres are 9 missions total here.. but these missions are half the length of the first game..
    Taking me anywhere from an hr to an hr and a half to complete… the game took me about 12 hours to complete…
    But its much less about mastering the shadows here…
    All of the basic assassinations you had to unlock in the past game are unlocked from the start with a new set of skills to master…
    And while Shards of Darkness Improves in many areas Master of Shadows struggled… It also fails in areas Master of Shadows had down perfect…
    Much like the last game, Shards of Darkness puts you in an open level with a dagger and some potions, and its up to you to make to the different task locations and then make it back to your hide out…
    But things are much more casual and straight forward this time…
    You still have your sand to throw at torches, but they never felt useful here…
    You now also have to gather materials to craft items and potions instead of refill at base..
    Sounds like a good idea… but materials are way to rare here.. really testing your stealth skills..
    Im horrible at stealth, so I found it to be a bit annoying…
    And you can call in a clone, but gone are the clone puzzles and distracting.. and because of that the clone turns into a consumable skill like turning invisable…
    This time however youre able to create or become a perfect clone in an online co op mode…
    As a perfect clone you have all of your skills and items, but you cant pary in combat and you die in one hit… and if either you or your partner dies you can brign the other back to life by sacrificing half of your health….
    And speaking of combat, they somehow managed to make it worse…
    They got rid of the auto locking which is great.. youre free to run which was the thing that held the original games experience down so much… but because of this.. .parrying can be awakward, as youll a lot of the time be too close to parry while the enemy can still damage you…pretty annoying…
    But don’t worry.. besides the first few levels.. pretty much every enemy is invulnerable….
    So youre not gonna be needing those darggers too much…
    The game over all and the levels here at first feel polished and a nice change of pace…
    But by level 3 you realze they all look and feel the same…
    They feel like a broom closet compared to the shoe closet master of shadows was…
    Theyre small and compact and feel copy and paste rather than hand crafted and grand …
    They even went as far as reusing levels for 3 of the final missions.
    A massive disappointment, as the level design was one of my favorite things about this series…
    Its still fun though.. sneaking through vents..
    Dealing with new annoying enemies like dwarves that can smell you.. making hiding useless…
    Plus theyre invulnerable… even worse…
    And some of your favorite annoying enemies making a return like the beatles that spit at you.. thankfully youre able to kill them like regular guards this time…
    And the mission structure has improved greatly… they’ll have you retracing your steps as youre running around to sabotage or assassinate a target…
    it isn’t just getting from point a to b..
    there are even some boss battles in here.. that if youre wondering if theyre as bad as the maste of shadows ends boss..im pleased to say that these 2 boss battles were 2 of the most memorable moments in the game…
    And of coruse the jokes and game rfereences are all over here both in game and at your death screen…
    Which is another improvmement.. load times… they still need work but are miles better than they were…
    Sahrds of Darkness is a mixed bag of emotions.. I love the change in combat, the fact that we have real skills available from the start, improved mission structure, less grindy story,faster load times, better bosses, but the forced do not get detected sections of the game, the lack of materials to actually craft with the crafting system, the amount of invulnerable enemeies, the tiny repetitive maps…
    it stops this game from surpassing the first…
    It felt more of a rush through stealth game than a calculating, pick your targets, take them out one by one, im goblin batman, like I came to love from the original game…
    I was doing more avoiding enemies and the world than I was engaging with it…
    I give Styx: Shards of Darkness
    a 7/10    … Expand
  8. ADHGO
    Aug 12, 2017
    10
    Styx returns with new Stealth and adventure game, the way Styx hides and walks in the shadows, to carry dead bodies and hiding them, interact with environment, ring my bell, poison the food or the drinks of the enemies is nice and interesting, graphics & textures are great too, field of view with fair open world is satisfying, Styx is well build polygon with great texture,
    Poor fighting    Styx returns with new Stealth and adventure game, the way Styx hides and walks in the shadows, to carry dead bodies and hiding them, interact with environment, ring my bell, poison the food or the drinks of the enemies is nice and interesting, graphics & textures are great too, field of view with fair open world is satisfying, Styx is well build polygon with great texture,
    Poor fighting mechanics, while killing enemy feels very satisfying to do, by jumping from the shadow and stabbing / climbing his back
    The game is hard, especially when enemy catch you are 95% a dead piece of meat, that means you must keep hiding all the time, or even jumping from edge to edge can kills you directly, running between blades careful touching you as you are immediately dead meat
    It reminds me somehow with Tomb raider, controlling that ugly interesting goblin
    You can find some glitches in the game specially in the auto saving in some areas,
    You need to shut down the game and reopen it, and everything will comes back normal    … Expand
  9. Braindizzle
    Mar 16, 2017
    10
    Don't be scared off by less-than-stellar reviews, it's a pure stealth game; scrubs are going to rate it poorly just because they're bad at it. If you liked the first one, you'll like this one. Some of the powers carry over, some didn't, and there are new ones as well, including a crafting system. If you're a stealth fan, buy both Styx games.
  10. bancandrei
    May 22, 2020
    7
    It is a great stealth game. The problem is I don't very much like stealth games. I hoped this one would change my mind, but it didn't. However, if you like the genre, definitely give this one a try
  11. sft
    Dec 29, 2021
    8
    8.25/10 • The green goblin.

    Good-looking, well-crafted game. Funny and entertaining throughout, despite some minor irritations.
  12. Dubeau
    Jul 15, 2021
    8
    It's been a while since I play a stealth game and enjoyed it, since Thief 2, I think. SOD has certainly that going for it. Really decent sneak game. The story is also full of intrigues and some adult humour. The graphics are really good and the game doesn't have fps problems. There are some glitches with jumping from wall to a plateform. Some level designs are difficult to get and causesIt's been a while since I play a stealth game and enjoyed it, since Thief 2, I think. SOD has certainly that going for it. Really decent sneak game. The story is also full of intrigues and some adult humour. The graphics are really good and the game doesn't have fps problems. There are some glitches with jumping from wall to a plateform. Some level designs are difficult to get and causes problems for finding and navigate. The music is very good. Great work of the sound's effects. But I must say that I really dislike how the ending mission was made (double loading screen to start a boss fight??), and I think it was a very weak ending. It only serve to setup another game and didn't felt satisfying. I give it a 78%. For reminding me that stealth game can work.… Expand
  13. Gittoplo
    Feb 7, 2021
    8
    A really enjoyable little gem. Wonderful setting and atmosphere. With a big budget this little series could have become iconic. Gets a little repetitive but such is the nature of stealth games. Definitely recommend and hope they make another one.
  14. aralath
    Aug 13, 2018
    7
    Loved the medieval atmosphere. Good game for the stealth genre. I did not complete it though.
  15. Kotofon
    Sep 27, 2020
    7
    В игре Стикс в этот раз окажется в древнем городе тёмных эльфов Карнгар, который считается неприступным. Но Стикс смог проникнуть в город, когда в городе был переполох из-за съезда дипломатов. Однако в самих переговорах в городе не все так просто, так как они ведутся между тёмными эльфами и гномами. У которых есть одно общее — это ненависть к гоблинам.Так же Стиксу удастся побывать вВ игре Стикс в этот раз окажется в древнем городе тёмных эльфов Карнгар, который считается неприступным. Но Стикс смог проникнуть в город, когда в городе был переполох из-за съезда дипломатов. Однако в самих переговорах в городе не все так просто, так как они ведутся между тёмными эльфами и гномами. У которых есть одно общее — это ненависть к гоблинам.Так же Стиксу удастся побывать в различных местах кроме Коррангара: Город воров, Подземные рудники, Деревня охотников и не только.… Expand
  16. Flashback92
    Jan 27, 2019
    7
    It is a good coop stealth game, but at from the 50% champaign progress the game start repeating previous levels. Little bit boring.
    Graphics :good (Not a good graphics, but for the dark stealth game is good)
    Sounds: good
    Music: medium
    Control: medium (you cant throw corpses, and slow climbing)
    Performance: some computer get medium some computer get good. I say Half-Good.
  17. 10NoOne01
    Dec 22, 2018
    10
    May not be the longest game out there but it's one of the BEST stealth games out there. I played it twice as the game has very satisfying stealth mechanic. Near to none complains as the only one i can think of is the open ending but it won't be a complain if the game is continued. Characters are interesting and playing the game can be relaxing and stressing. Doesn't have places where youMay not be the longest game out there but it's one of the BEST stealth games out there. I played it twice as the game has very satisfying stealth mechanic. Near to none complains as the only one i can think of is the open ending but it won't be a complain if the game is continued. Characters are interesting and playing the game can be relaxing and stressing. Doesn't have places where you can get stuck and waste lots of time. I recommend it for anybody that likes stealth games with different places with different play stiles. It's the best 3rd person stealth game out there.… Expand
  18. Mehrshad_MB
    Sep 6, 2021
    6
    Styx Shards of Darkness is a pretty good stealth game undoubtedly, but not the best in series in my book. The game had impressive visual and graphics improvements and the design of environment was astonishing in almost every single mission. Gladly the AI got a lot better compared to Styx Master of Shadows.
    The gameplay and mechanics were literally copy and pasted from Styx Master of    Styx Shards of Darkness is a pretty good stealth game undoubtedly, but not the best in series in my book. The game had impressive visual and graphics improvements and the design of environment was astonishing in almost every single mission. Gladly the AI got a lot better compared to Styx Master of Shadows.
    The gameplay and mechanics were literally copy and pasted from Styx Master of Shadow!
    The story was good but just when it started to get better, there was 'credits' and...THE END! I really wasn't expecting the game to end just when it was in its peak.
    Also a minor thing that, the 'death' cutscenes were good idea but not in a game like this where players die hundreds of times and have to hear the same sentences all over again.
    In conclusion, Styx Shards of Darkness is a good stealth game with only little improvements compared to earlier games in series.
    (September 2021)    … Expand
  19. Geralt123
    Mar 16, 2021
    8
    This game is a hidden gem. It is for everyone who loves Stealth games. Gameplay is fun, graphics are done with love, music fits in perfectly. I also like Styx, the Goblin although he is quite sarcastic and rough. You have some small skill trees so gameplay stays interesting.

    This is a rather short game, but very good!
  20. Tomicsavo
    Oct 6, 2022
    9
    It's a easy to get used to game mechanism, unfortunately it often forces you to actually sneak, and it's often difficult, but it's a lot of fun!
  21. xaviar_nl
    Jul 9, 2023
    7
    If you can get this is in sale, it is fine as a stealth game. However, should you be new to the stealth genre, I'd strongly recommend Dishonered over Styx any time.
  22. A1ucard
    Jun 18, 2020
    9
    Даже учитывая мелкие баги игры, из за которых приходилось начинать миссию сначала, всеже эта игра достойна чтобы ее купить и пройти! В наше время все шаблонно и стандартно, тут же интересный герой с оригинальным миром и возможностями. Особенно поразила атмосфера, ставлю художникам и дизайнерам игры высший бал, молодцы, надеюсь будет продолжение.Даже учитывая мелкие баги игры, из за которых приходилось начинать миссию сначала, всеже эта игра достойна чтобы ее купить и пройти! В наше время все шаблонно и стандартно, тут же интересный герой с оригинальным миром и возможностями. Особенно поразила атмосфера, ставлю художникам и дизайнерам игры высший бал, молодцы, надеюсь будет продолжение.
  23. Nekellor_Met
    Aug 7, 2020
    7
    Отличная, крайне сложная стелс-игра. Но с серией познакомился именно, из за музыки из этой игры. Работа виолончели и множество необычных инструментов, просто вводят в слуховой экстаз. А финальный босс, хоть и надуман с нуля, но так хорошо поставлен, что эмоции к сухому боссу появляются из неоткуда. Крайне высокая вариативность прохождения.Отличная, крайне сложная стелс-игра. Но с серией познакомился именно, из за музыки из этой игры. Работа виолончели и множество необычных инструментов, просто вводят в слуховой экстаз. А финальный босс, хоть и надуман с нуля, но так хорошо поставлен, что эмоции к сухому боссу появляются из неоткуда. Крайне высокая вариативность прохождения.
  24. realWhiteMan
    Apr 9, 2023
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My rating is based on my impressions of the game. This is not an objective review. I play quite a big number of titles per year and decided to review them as a peace of art and not as a product.… Expand
  25. shahradsabagh
    Mar 22, 2023
    9
    Stealth is roughly good and hard at the same timeAnd the story is almost interesting, I like the player and it's a good game

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed PC Game of 2017
6
#6 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. DarkStation
    May 8, 2017
    70
    Styx: Shards of Darkness' single-minded dedication to being a stealth game is both admirable and potentially a turnoff to players who expect more flexibility in their approach to completing missions. The flexibility is there, though it's entirely represented by the myriad ways the title character moves through the shadows and confounds his enemies. It's refreshing to play a despicable, amoral antihero; but the game's puerile, scattershot humor will not appeal to everyone. Although its mission objectives are a bit repetitive, the balletic act of moving through the world makes Styx: Shards of Darkness overall entertaining.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Apr 26, 2017
    65
    Over a dozen hours of spatial environmental puzzles consisting of avoiding patrols and finding paths to objectives. Cyanide failed to push the series forward in any aspect but still managed to deliver a solid stealth game. [05/2017, p.68]
  3. PLAY! Zine
    Apr 26, 2017
    70
    Full freedom and innovative level design, but sloppy controls and sometimes stupid enemy AI will ruin your experience from time to time.
    Read full review
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