Styx (not the river) just got a trailer dedicated to showing off his dry wit, sneaking, stabbing, fourth wall assaulting quips, and tired of this nonsense personality that fans love him for. Some attention is given in the trailer to the game play itself, and it looks like the sequel will carry on the tradition set by Styx: Master of Shadows, that being hardcore stealth with none of that going loud nonsense some other stealth games contain. Those disappointed by the remake of Thief being less sneaky than it’s predecessors, will definitely enjoy Styx. It does replace the cosh with a knife, which is admittedly less fun.
What I have always liked about Styx is that he just looks like a character that has to be sneaky in order to survive. Styx is short, and hardly physically imposing, so he can not really be expected to take on trained soldiers in a sword fight. Everything from the game play to his animations reflect this about him. His movement and fighting style looks almost feral or bestial, with his stealth take downs being rather pragmatic and brutal. Game play wise, getting caught by a guard looks like it results in Styx getting ferried across by Charon, also showing the players how cunning he has to be to accomplish his goals in a better way than simply telling to player “hey guys it sucks to be a goblin”. The whole set up looks like good story telling. Hopefully Cyanide Studios improves on the problems the original had, mainly that it felt a bit clunky at times. If they do so Styx: Shards of Darkness may be the stealth game fans of the genre have been waiting for since they stopped making sneaking the point and more of an option if you feel like it.
Styx: Shards of Darkness will release March 14th 2017, on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. You can read Attack of the Fanboy’s review of the original Styx Game, Master of Shadows, via this fancy link.
