Styx: Master of Shadows

Styx: Master of Shadows
Developer(s) Cyanide
Publisher(s) Focus Home Interactive
Composer(s) Henri-Pierre Pellegrin
Engine Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release date(s)
  • WW: 7 October 2014[1]
Genre(s) Stealth
Mode(s) Single-player

Styx: Master of Shadows is a stealth video game developed by Cyanide Studios for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game is a prequel, and the second video game to take place in the world established by 2012's Of Orcs and Men.

Plot

The story takes place long before the events shown in Of Orcs and Men. Styx, the first Goblin, wants to steal the heart of a World-Tree, enclosed inside the huge and terrifying Tower of Akenash. It is a kind of Bildungsroman that leads Styx to a better understanding of his own origins.[2]

Styx infiltrates Akenash with the desire to reach the heart of the World-Tree, as well as rescue a friend who is imprisoned elsewhere in the tower. He doesn't know why he wants to do this: he suffers from confused memories and a voice in his head the prods him. When he finally liberates his "friend", he discovers that it is in fact the real Styx. The protagonist up to this point has in fact been a clone that Styx spawned as a contingency against capture. Furious, the clone swears to destroy the real Styx and make a new life for himself. He allies with an elf who helps him break the mystical hold that the real Styx has over his mind. The clone then proceeds to track the real Styx to the heart of the World-Tree.

Styx was once an orc, but was transformed by the amber of the World-Tree into the first goblin. He has for centuries been plagued by the voices of the elves who sleep within the amber. The elves have a communal mind, but Styx find the constant chattering unbearable. Stealing the heart of the World-Tree will silence the elves permanently and possibly give him a means to become an orc again. However, the clone intercepts Styx and destroys the heart. The clone then commits suicide by leaping into the pool of amber at the base of the tree. As the World-Tree dies, Akenash crashes to the ground. Hordes of goblins, all clones of Styx, emerge from the amber and tear Styx apart. This is the birth of the goblin race. One clone, perhaps the protagonist, emerges with most of his memories gone but with the sense that he is named Styx and that he is unique among his kind.

Gameplay

Styx: Master of Shadows is a stealth game where the player must keep to the shadows to survive. Styx has arcane abilities that assist him in his escapades, including the ability to make himself invisible (also featured in Of Orcs and Men), and the ability to use amber-vision to detect hidden foes and areas. His ability to clone himself through magic offers opportunities to disrupt the traditional stealth gaming formula. It gives the player a clone for purposes such as scouting without risk and creating a diversion.[2]

Guards, soldiers and other protectors of the Tower will adapt their behavior dynamically, depending on the player's actions; One should keep a low profile and prepare a course of action beforehand. Study the guard patrols closely, use areas of light and shadow to one's advantage, lure the target to a secluded area to assassinate him silently, or arrange "accidents" to remain undetected. Styx: Master of Shadows also includes RPG game mechanics, so as the player gains experience, new skills will be unlocked, special moves, new and lethal weapons, all divided into six talent trees.[3]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic(PC) 71/100[4]
(PS4) 70/100[5]
(XONE) 69/100[6]
Review scores
PublicationScore
GameSpot5/10[7]
IGN7.2/10[8]
OXM (US)8/10[9]
Hardcore Gamer4.5/5[10]

Styx: Master of Shadows received mixed to positive reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Xbox One version 69/100 based on 8 reviews,[6] the Microsoft Windows version 71/100 based on 31 reviews[4] and the PlayStation 4 version 70/100 based on 9 reviews.[5]

Britton Peele of GameSpot complained that the combat "feels stiff and unwieldy, making battle a painful experience whether you win or lose."[7] William Murphy of MMORPG said "nothing is more frustrating in Styx’s adventure than its combat," though he also noted that "it feels a bit silly to knock a stealth-based game for its combat."[11] However, some publications praised the system for disincentivizing confrontation. Geoff Thew of Hardcore Gamer said that Styx "makes full-on assaults next to impossible, and forces you to observe, think, and plan in order to advance.".[10] Thew went on to say that, as a pure stealth game, Styx delivers "a satisfying tension that few games can match", and praised its levels for having "much more depth than the flat environments typical of the genre," concluding that Styx is "one of the best titles the [stealth] genre has to offer." Heather Newman of Venture Beat said that Styx is "truly engrossing for hardcore stealth fans, at a bargain price," and advised that you should "be ready to save often and die a lot — with a smile on your face."[12]

Sequel

A sequel of the game, titled Styx: Shards of Darkness was announced on 14 October 2015. It is powered by Unreal Engine 4, and has a larger budget than the original Master of Shadows. It is set to be released in early 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[13]

References

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