A bit underrated game about stealth and infiltration set in a dark, fantasy world.

I had this game on my radar for a while mostly due to the fact that it looked good and featured a goblin like main character in a Thief like world. Didn't know too much about the gameplay before diving in but I've seen mixed reviews. In the end I must admit I very much enjoyed the game despite some flaws and a bit hard difficulty level.

Styx: Master of Shadows is a third person stealth game. Set in a world that reminds the one in the Thief series but a bit more fantasy and bright. But the general feel is pretty similar - at least for me.

The story starts a bit slow and is a bit confusing at first. It's hard to make out exactly what's going on. But it comes around somewhere mid-game and when it starts making sense it starts to reel you in. And despite the rough start of "ok, this one is not for the story" I must admit it hooked me. Without giving anything away - you play as a goblin like creature trying to infiltrate Akenash tower in order to steal the heart of the tree. An amber producing tree. The amber in this world is a sort of drug and an extremely valuable thing. The story follows your journey through the tower while you seek to access it.

The visuals are pretty nice. Levels are well designed with a multitude ways you can approach certain objectives. Sometimes you get to travel the same area twice and doing so from different starting points is a very unique experience not often found in other games.

Audio layer is also well designed - the voice actors did pretty decent job and the soundtrack fits with the gameplay. Nothing breath taking but absolutely fine.

One thing to note about the gameplay is that it's pretty hard. I've struggled with first levels before figuring out there is quick save functionality which I would strongly advise to use. Without it - the auto-save spots are so rare that getting trough meant replaying up to half an hour of level progress. On the other hand learning the level layout made travelling through it all that much easier and satisfying. Even with the quick save - the game is still pretty challenging and though. I don't think I've achieved a "no alarm" or "no kill" or any other of the achievements for a single level of the game. It's not hard enough to discourage from playing though.

The game gives at your disposal a set of abilities. You can upgrade them between missions through experience points. You get them by completing secondary objectives and getting achievements. From the lot the most notable are amber vision - which is sort of night vision with benefits, invisibility - though for painfully short time and clones - can be useful at times although didn't find all that much use for them. Overall they're a nice addition though I've relied mostly on sneaking, moving between covers and quietly killing off guards.

Aside from that you have to manage your consumables - you get two health potions, two amber bottles - which are used for the above abilities and two throwing knives - probably most useful thing in the game. You can replenish them between levels or sometimes pick up along the way though they're all pretty scarce commodity and thus so much more valuable.

The game is fun. Although being very difficult it's really fun to play.

It has some flaws as mentioned in the beginning - of which two are most note worthy. First is the ledge detection and jumping. It takes time getting used to it. It's not very polished and can lead to a lot of trouble while trying to perform a tricky jump. The second problem lies with AI. While the enemies behave quite good and pose a challenge - the NPCs are terrible. Most of what they do is stand and shout. Even if no one is coming and you're murdering one of them just in front of the other. Makes up for a silly moments.

Overall I really did enjoy the game and would really recommend it to any stealth loving gamer.

The first Styx title is a stealth-focused action-adventure game that you play as a small goblin thief with a sharp wit and a penchant for mischief. It heavily emphasizes sneaking, careful planning, and creative problem-solving over direct combat. In fact, you are not only discourage, it is virtually impossible to choose a non-stealth approach, which is a very bold move by the developers. You must use shadows, vertical movement, and environmental awareness to navigate multi-layered levels filled with guards, traps, and treasures. The design encourages multiple approaches to each objective, rewarding patience and observation.

One standout feature is obviously the focus on elaborate stealth mechanics, you can hide in the shadows, climb walls, sneak past enemies, and use a variety of tools and abilities to distract or eliminate threats without being detected. The RPG-style progression, on a very shallow level, allows you to upgrade abilities, giving a sense of growth and encouraging experimentation with different tactics. I advise mission replay if you want to min-max since all the abilities require a very high amount of points to unlock. There is even a special branch of skills that requires maxed-out other branchs in order to be available for upgrade, so it is a very grindy implementation.

The environments are very vertical, with secret passages, and multiple routes, making exploration satisfying. However, the game does have notable flaws, controls can feel clunky, particularly during platforming sections, and the AI can be inconsistent, leading to moments of frustration. Combat is deliberately weak, emphasizing stealth, but some people may find it overly punishing when detected. Particularly I prefer this kind of bold approach, since a lot of games try to implement a lazy optional stealth, not just nowadays, but through all gaming history. It is refreshing when a game know what it wants to do, and go all-in for it. The story and dialogue lean toward humor and satire, which can feel cheesy or out of place.

Additionally, there are occasional bugs and technical rough edges that can disrupt immersion. And this is expected due to the limited budget and man-power for this title, it does not hide its limited technical nature. Despite its shortcomings, this game offers a rewarding experience for those who enjoy careful planning, exploration, and stealth-based challenges. It demands patience and tactical thinking, rewarding creative problem-solving and experimentation.

While it may not have the polish of bigger stealth titles, it carves out its own identity with a mischievous main character and inventive level design, making it a memorable experience for fans of the genre. Its combination of humor, unique protagonist, and satisfying stealth gameplay gives it charm, even if it sometimes struggles with technical execution. My biggest compliment to this title is its story, which didn't needed to be as good, complex, and mind-blowing, as it is. And if it wasn't for the lack of some technical polish, this alone could carry this to be one of the best stealth titles.

Playtime: 6,5 hours

Review

Back in 2020-2021 i played Thief 1-3 for the first time. These games heavily focus on avoiding combat, which apparently i don't care for. I guess i don't like stealth games, i like "assassin" games like Hitman, Deus Ex, Dishonored and the like.

Styx is a bit more combat oriented than Thief with throwing knives, top/down assassinations and the clones. I do sort of like it. Being able to summon a "clone" that can distract, trap or disable enemies is a cool concept. The maps have some choice when it comes to paths. And the gameplay generally works. But it just "feels" wrong. It's slow in the wrong kind of way, pathing/stealth is unreliable and platforming is rough after playing the Horizon games.

Mostly i just get bored. I actually played this in 2021 and abandoned it until today. And i got bored halfway through a mission. There is almost no real enemy variation (melee/archer/bug), killing them is mostly the same (you only get 2 throwing knives too) and the inconsistencies get on your nerves. Also you have to replay missions to get full XP and one of the XP challenges requires completing maps within a time limit. Ew.