Styx: Master of Shadows

good game for some stealth kills

Hey, remember that game Gollum from a while back? That's what I would rate this, Gollum of My Year. Hold on, I'll try to sandwich my nitpicks between the hit-pick(s). Where do I start? The stealth is servicable, with a rather interesting little fantasy story. If this game were a novellas, you could probably read it over a lunch break and be done. Short, with an interesting twist. For that reason alone, maybe it's worth a watch on youtube or a twitch stream? The rest, mmm, I think you can do better. The combat is awful. But it's a stealth game right, so you shouldn't be fighting at all? Nah, this game will stab you in the back in the eleventh hour like you've been doing to guards throughout. Cause you will have to fight in the final area of the game. So if you used up your throwing knives (your quick kill option for most enemies) and your amber vials (mana potions basically), your SOL and JWF. Better hit reset, cause the combat boils down to timing that parry perfectly! Oh, but I'm a god at parrying games you say! Nah man, cause the other enemies won't wait their turn. They'll throw their own projectiles when they're far enough away. Or gather around you to gang bang you, and not in the way your Dad enjoys. Also, did I mention this game is a platformer? Remember the OG Assassin's Creed? How about Tenchu? Somehow, it feels more dated then those games. It's serviceable, like the stealth system. But it's clunky. There will be times you'll try to hop from one hook on the wall to the next missing it completely. Unless you try to angle the camera just right to get the toggle above the next hook you want to jump to. Leaping platform to platform, can be just as easy to misjudge and you don't get a toggle to know if you can make the jump. I might be getting the method for lining up the toggle on the hooks wrong, but I'm not hopping back in to get it 100% correct. I'm uninstalling after this review. You do also get powers to help with the "puzzles" and sneaking about. You can create your own clones capable of distracting enemies as well as pass through certain caged doors. But not all of them! No no no, the devs wouldn't dare swap out the assests of caged doors you can't pass through with something obvious that you can't. That would make too much sense. The clones can also get additional contextual abilities that are nearly useless. But there is still one reason to max out their skill tree: invisibility. Cause otherwise, your clone is too limited as a distraction. In fact, some areas the clone is borderline useless despite needing a distraction real bad in a choke point area like a bridge. Where the only way through is the gate at the end. Of course, the MC can also get invisibility. Which eats up your amber bar (this game's special bar, mana, whatever) like your Dog left unattended at your table Thanksgiving time. Like that Turkey, you'll be lucky to have leftovers unless you max that skill tree out. Even then, it consumes a lot of amber. As for the puzzles, it's find the lever to proceed 99% of the time. I can think of two puzzles that were somewhat interesting. A puzzle to reveal a map and another to avoid traps in the wall from going off. By stepping on the correct tiles. So what's the final hit-pick or pro to add to complete this turd sandwich? You can save anywhere at anytime. That's the best perk. Drop this game whenever to go do what you need to do and come back (if you have to). But I wouldn't recommend it. Sticking a bat wrapped in barb wire up your own derriere would be more exciting then 10-20 hours of playing this game. It is aggresively mid. I hope the sequel is better. For some reason I bought that too cause the trailer for Blades of Greed had me hyped.