Styx: Shards of Darkness

 Xbox One
Metascore
72

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
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  1. Generación Xbox
    Mar 27, 2017
    73
    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.
  2. GameCritics
    Apr 13, 2017
    70
    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.
  3. XboxAddict
    Apr 7, 2017
    70
    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.
  5. TheXboxHub
    Mar 29, 2017
    70
    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.
  6. ZTGD
    Mar 22, 2017
    65
    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.
  7. SomosXbox
    Mar 19, 2017
    64
    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.
  8. Official Xbox Magazine UK
    Apr 15, 2017
    60
    A budget stealth romp that'll please the old-school crowd and frustrate everyone else. [May 2017, p.80]
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Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 31
  3. Negative: 5 out of 31
  1. cableguy3333
    Apr 30, 2019
    9
    Assassins creed for Goblins. It's actualy much better than any assassins creed game out there, if you end up in hand to hand to combat withAssassins creed for Goblins. It's actualy much better than any assassins creed game out there, if you end up in hand to hand to combat with anyone there's a good chance you will end up dead. It's also quite entertaining, go AFK for a while and you will hear an enjoyable song which actually made me laugh, I find a game very rarely that does that.… Full Review »
  2. HypnoticMarc
    Mar 20, 2017
    7
    Styx: Shards of Darkness n’est pas un mauvais jeu, mais il comporte l’ensemble des défauts que l’on reprochait au tout premier épisode de laStyx: Shards of Darkness n’est pas un mauvais jeu, mais il comporte l’ensemble des défauts que l’on reprochait au tout premier épisode de la franchise et n’apporte pas assez de nouveauté. Les développeurs du studio Cyanide nous propose une expérience identique à ce que l’on pouvait retrouver il y a quelques années, mais avec un environnement un peu plus grand ainsi que des graphismes de meilleure qualité. De plus, le titre est disponible alors que de nombreux jeux bien meilleurs sont aussi sur le marché. Rien qui n’aidera les ventes pour ce Styx: Shards of Darknes. Je conseille le jeu aux joueurs ayant bien apprécié le premier et souhaitant obtenir une expérience similaire tout en offrant des niveaux très bien réalisé.… Full Review »
  3. 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    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    … Full Review »
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