{"id":1325,"date":"2015-01-02T14:13:13","date_gmt":"2015-01-02T14:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.system11.org\/?p=1325"},"modified":"2015-01-02T14:18:46","modified_gmt":"2015-01-02T14:18:46","slug":"styx-master-of-shadows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.system11.org\/?p=1325","title":{"rendered":"Styx – Master Of Shadows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Haven’t written about non-arcade games that much recently, to be honest I thought 2014 was a pretty bad year overall.\u00a0 Lots of broken games, some even worse examples of DLC and in-game currency sales, remakes as far as the eye can see.\u00a0 It was cynical, depressing, indicative of a sick industry which is creaking under the weight of production values.\u00a0 There were a few gems – the Final Fantasy XIV PS4 client, Sherlock Holmes, Wolfenstein TNO and a bit later in the year – a goblin restored a little of my faith in games.<\/p>\n

\"Styx:<\/a><\/p>\n

Styx is like a game from another time.\u00a0 If you remember the original Tenchu games you’ll be in familiar territory, it’s stealth platforming in its purest form.\u00a0 Styx is a .. troubled goblin, he has a headache and a desire to reach the heart of the world tree for reasons he can’t even recall.\u00a0 The story is actually much better than I expected, I’m not going to say too much for fear of spoiling it.\u00a0 It’s set in the Tower Of Akenash, a vast sprawling labyrinth of a place where humans and elves have an uneasy allience harvesting amber from the tree, a liquid which gives Styx and the elves most of their power while also serving as an addictive drug for humans.<\/p>\n

\"Styx:<\/a><\/p>\n

To reach the heart you’ll need to work your way through numerous levels (which tend to get re-used from half way through the game), grouped into chapters in-between which you can restock in Styx’s hideout.\u00a0 Each level simply gives you a goal (sometimes with optional side missions) and drops you right in to make your own way through.<\/p>\n

\"Styx:<\/a><\/p>\n

Each chapter also has coins scattered through the levels and a relic hidden in one of them which you’ll have to find based on map clues.\u00a0 Collecting these as well as approaching levels in certain ways, for example without killing anyone or without being detected at all will give you points at the end of the chapter.\u00a0 These points can be used in the hideout to upgrade Styx in various areas from killing techniques to equipment capacity.\u00a0 Each area has 4 possible upgrades, completing these starts to unlock the most powerful upgrades, but it’s unlikely you’ll be able to unlock the entire skill tree on your first play.\u00a0 You won’t be able to abuse the skills too much either, most abilities consume amber and vials are few and far between.<\/p>\n

\"Styx:<\/a><\/p>\n

What really makes the game work is the freedom on offer.\u00a0 Even faced with the simplest situation of one guard in a room, you could walk up and attack head on (not advised), you could distract or bind him with a clone, drop from a rafter for an aerial kill, sneak around the outside of the room in the shadows for a stealth kill, throw a dagger at him, poison nearby food in the hope that he’ll eat it, drop a chandalier on his head – the options are varied.<\/p>\n

\"Styx:<\/a><\/p>\n

You really do need to avoid straight up fights at all costs though since Styx can only take a few hits even on default difficulty.\u00a0 Elite bowmen will kill you in a single bolt even if you’re mid-fight with a guard, knights and elves will kill you instantly, some enemies are immune to daggers and so on.\u00a0 Of course where there’s a will there’s a way, and you can be quite inventive.<\/p>\n