Muddy textures and jerky NPC animations work against the environmental detail and impressive shadow-play to deliver a visual style that’s functional rather than impressive. Graphically, Styx: Master of Shadows wouldn’t tax the 360, let alone Xbox One. Somehow, this doesn’t make you more visible. Oddly, you react to shadows by glowing, as your Amber tattoo begins ti shine. Once they are suspicious or pulled out of their pre-set path, they become unpredictable until their programming kicks in again, so it pays to take your time. Guards react to noise and movement, as usual, or remain locked in a routine until disturbed. Speed runs come later when you’ve learned every patrol route and secret shortcut.Īny stealth game is only as good as its AI, and Styx: Master of Shadows is more than capable. But then, this is a stealth game, and as such you’re encouraged to avoid confrontation as much as possible, by dousing lights, using cover, hiding in the shadows and moving slowly. Given how well Styx handles himself in Of Orcs and Men, it’s a wonder Cyanide opted to go this route with Master of Shadows. Against a single opponent, that’s fine, but face more than one and it becomes an exercise in futility. You can’t really fight, you see, and must instead press X at the right moment to parry before pressing it again to go in for the kill. If you’re spotted and can’t escape in time, you’ll enter melee and, because Styx is much smaller and weaker than his adversaries, that usually means death. The biggest let-down is the combat, if you can call it that. Some would accuse Cyanide of lazy design, but it makes narrative sense and highlights just how well thought-out their levels are. Patience often reveals secret routes under walls or across the rafters, allowing even more diversity.Īround halfway through the story you’ll need to make your way back, and will face the same environments backwards. Sometimes you can simply sneak past a guard while he snoozes, but if you make a noise by opening a door or knocking into furniture he might wake up, so it’s probably best to kill him, which means hiding the body. The level design is fairly impressive, offering several routes through each area and giving you lots of opportunities to experiment with Styx’s abilities.
Bodies must be hidden to avoid detection, and occasional minor puzzles are thrown up in the form of locks that require some of Styx’s Amber magic to circumvent.įor example, Styx has the ability to cough up a clone of himself that can squeeze under some doors and open hard to reach switches, or he can activate the simply-named Amber Vision to highlight enemies and secret routes. Light plays a major role, as you must extinguish braziers and other illumination to reduce your visibility as you creep around patrolling guards, picking locks and slitting throats. Harking back to the original Thief games or early Splinter Cell, the mechanics call for patience and planning if you wish to make it through each “zone”. Master of Shadows does away with Of Orcs and Men’s underperforming tactical combat and instead presents a pure stealth experience the like of which is becoming increasingly rare. You’d think this would breed an unlikable protagonist, but Styx is a goblin of rare intelligence, and so, by definition, he’s not expected to be golden-haired and pure of heart. A nefarious little anti-hero, Styx is the epitome of “middle of the road”, too selfish to be either good or evil, and instead worrying about nothing other than what’s good for Styx. Imbued with “Amber” (this world’s version of mana, harvested from the gargantuan Tree of Life), Styx must ascend the Atrium of Arkenash, a towering structure that houses the Tree, to steal its heart and thus take control of the Amber. Styx: Master of Shadows returns to the world of Of Orcs and Men but focuses solely on the titular assassin. It was a fine effort from co-developers Cyanide and Spiders, and was arguably Cyanide’s best action game – that is, until now. By combining their very different abilities, you are tasked to cross a dangerous fantasy world to assassinate a human emperor and end the reign of tyranny that is decimating the Greesnkins in their hundreds. Released in 2012, Of Orcs and Men is a third person mix of tactical action and stealth featuring the unlikely pairing of brutish orc Arkail and devious little goblin Styx.