Styx: Shards of Darkness

In conclusion, Styx: Shards Of Darkness is a unique beast. In a time where every game seems to be committed to diversifying their gameplay as much as possible, and appealing to as wide an audience as possible, Styx: Shards Of Darkness is unconventionally pure in its approach. It is a stealth game through and through, and despite it’s flaws, is still one of the better games to come out in the genre for a long time.

Cyanide's stealth series confirms its strengths, improving its graphics and adding a welcome co-op element. Except for these elements the game doesn't feel too different from the previous one and it still retains some of its problems (mainly in the enemy AI area), but it's definitely advised for lovers of stealth games.

Styx: Shards of Darkness greatly resembles the earlier Styx: Master of Shadows from 2014, but Cyanide improved the gameplay this time around with the inclusion of craftable weapons, the lack of a lock-on in combat, and expanded abilities. It presents an interesting world to explore but wastes its potential by recycling environments from early missions late in the game. Co-op mode is fun, too, but only selectively as some stealth-only missions seem far more manageable on one's own.

A step above its predecessor. Oozing with character and charm, the titular character of Styx helps to bring the game out of the shadows you’ll be crawling through for most of its run time. Repetition of its otherwise great environments and hammy voice acting from the other characters is somewhat disappointing but Styx is still a solid game.

Cyanide Studios returns after three years with Shards of Darkness to offer us a new adventure of Styx. A game with a weak plot and full of light and dark sides, where the absence of light will accompany us throughout the adventure along with fantastic game mechanics and a good cooperative mode although with some flaws.

With all the things Styx bumbles, the game really shouldn’t work, but somehow everything still managed to click for me. The stalking, the scheming, and managing the successful execution of strategies are all gratifying. Styx: Shards of Darkness is far from perfect and can’t compete with the triple-A titles already crowding 2017, but it is a great B-tier budget title, and underneath that warty skin, there’s the sort of heart that’s often lacking in its more polished peers.

Styx: Shards of Darkness offers more improvements upon it's original than most other sequels you'll find in gaming today. This is due to the painstaking process of finding out what needed improving, how to improve it, then executing it properly. If you are a fan of games that thrive on creativity and stealth, then Styx: Shards of Darkness should be on your gaming radar. While there are a few issues that plague the game, the overall gaming experience is one of quality and craftsmanship. Earlier I asked if developer Cyanide ticked all the boxes that make up a quality stealth title, and the answer to that is yes.

Styx may not be the most anticipated stealth adventure of the year, but it’s definitely one you should be checking out If you’re a fan of the genre. Gameplay can unfortunately start to feel repetitive after a string of deaths, but those happy to take their time will find an adventure to enjoy. Unfortunately, with a lack of excitement past the main missions, Styx doesn’t have what it takes to match the big guns like Hitman in the stealth market and the A.I. could also do with being a bit more human-like.

Styx is a solid game with polished mechanics that simply fails to justify its higher asking price. Combine that with its release date being sandwiched between so many ‘must-have’ titles and it doesn’t even fill a void of having nothing to play. Still, it is a solid stealth game, and one that provides plenty of entertainment in its solid campaign. I just cannot justify the steeper price for what still feels like a lower-budget title.

The return of the cheeky goblin Styx in Shades of Darkness is a new opportunity to explore a new conspiracy adventure in a world of dark fantasy. Using the shadows to become a ghost will allow the player to enjoy a constant challenge in each of the 8 missions that are presented in this story.