Styx: Shards of Darkness - Styx: Master of Shadows sequel

[Roguey]

Who wrote this? I want to know if they replaced the feminist with another one or someone the opposite of her. If anyone who gets it today or in the near future can check the credits for me that'd be great.

 

[HoboForEternity]

lol RPS

 

[Belegarsson]

Obligatory "that's the same writer that gave Torment: Tides of Numenera 2 positive reviews".

 

[Heretic]

RPS is butthurt about Styx being an asshole, lol: https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/03/14/styx-shards-of-darkness-review/

The flipside of this is that no-one in the game is more hateful than Styx himself. Perhaps some will lap up the banal venom of his humour, but for me it’s a significant misfire, to the point that I struggled to enjoy a game I otherwise would have done.

I suspect the game’s creators believe that, in their fourth-wall breaking, wisecracking, sneering protagonist, they’ve made Fantasy Deadpool. He chastises the player for their failings, he makes references to films and other games and pizza, he questions the likelihood that the person who bought this game will ever find a sexual partner, he insults the developers’ wisdom and talents. (Never do this in your game unless you are supremely confident your game is basically perfect, otherwise you are essentially telling the player that, yes, they’ve just wasted their money).

This kind of humour is playing with fire at the best of times, and Styx is very much not the best of times. The gags are incredibly broad and obvious, some of the terminology is simply insulting without being funny enough to get away with it (e.g. a woman’s weight is repeatedly mocked), many of the references are outdated and, to make matters worse, the wording often sounds like it ran through Google Translate a couple of times.

To his eternal credit, the guy who lends Styx his salty New Yoik tones is clearly a total pro, lending a certain amount of charisma to the character even though the actual words spoken are purely dreadful. I would buy that man a pint if I ever met him, and then clasp him into a sympathetic hug. Despite my sense that this was a good man in a bad situation, any time I died I found myself desperately hammering F9 in the hope I could quickload before the awful wisecrack-to-camera sequence that follows every death. And therein lies the rub – Styx would be an infinitely better game without Styx.

"woman's weight is repeatedly mocked" is a criticism now?

Jesus fucking christ, Meer is such a humorless beta.
All the more reason why I'm looking forward to it.

 

[you know what time it is]

It does sound annoying though, not the fat shaming part, but the deadpool schtick. On other hand if gameplay is proper, who gives a shit, gonna check it out anyway.

 

[Beastro]

We’re shown a word in which most humans blindly murder goblinkind, and though Styx is the only one of them who can speak or, seemingly, think, this attitude stinks enough that I lose all my usual hesitation about bloodshed. What is mercy for here?

The flipside of this is that no-one in the game is more hateful than Styx himself.

God forbid people's prejudice should be confirmed and the only smart one isn't a saint but a dark portent for what it wold be if more intelligent.

It's weird to see this inversion as of late. An people make fun of the 50s for having black and white heroes and villains...

 

[LESS T_T]

Out now:

 

[Ivan]

ACG. a ture bro

TLDR: "you will care for Styx" :D "gameplay is amazing" "tons of replayability" "trumps the original in every way"

 

[Salvo]

Out now:

You italian?

 

[LESS T_T]

Out now:

You italian?

If you mean that you are seeing game description in Italian, your language setting for Steam website is Italian, not mine.

 

[Salvo]

Out now:

You italian?

If you mean that you are seeing game description in Italian, your language setting for Steam website is Italian, not mine.

This proves italians are retards.

My bad, brother.

 

[Siel]

So I read the Gameractor review:

"Combat is not really an option." is a flaw. What the fuck is wrong with these faggots I don't even

 

[Infinitron]

http://www.pcgamer.com/styx-shards-of-darkness-review/

STYX: SHARDS OF DARKNESS REVIEW

Apparently the jump button in Shards of Darkness isn’t located between my ass cheeks. I know this because its irascible and stunted protagonist, no, antagonist Styx has just shouted this at me from a loading screen after I missed a ledge and killed him. Swearing is not big and it’s not clever, but you’d better get used to it, as the foul-mouthed goblin is back with another lavish helping of throat-slitting and focused skulking about in a fantasy world crammed with equal measures of danger and opportunity.

The game’s nine multi-sectored missions are set mainly in and around the vertiginous dark elven city of Korrangar, where high priestess Lyssril plots a path to invincibility through the harvesting of amber and the acquisition of pure quartz. Some dark, mystical quality in the latter provides weapons within the elven arsenal with insuperable power. Whereas Styx’s dependence on liquid amber provided the impetus in 2014’s Master of Shadows, predictably this time out he develops a serious quartz habit too. The wider story unfolds piecemeal, draped as it is over reliable themes such as improbable alliances, mistrust, betrayal and revenge. As far as Styx is concerned, however, his motivation is his insatiable greed for those magical elements that fuel his special powers—that and his liberty.

Shards of Darkness is a pure stealth game, where staying out of sight—using distraction, deception and insta-kill takedowns—is essential to your survival. As was the case with Master of Shadows, ‘combat’ is best avoided consisting as it does of an imprecise parry move which will give you a second chance to finish off your foe. Styx can still become invisible for a short time, which I always think should be used as a last resort, and cloning returns too with some cleverly conceived new applications.

There are some changes to the physical world Styx inhabits with added aerial routes provided by zip lines and other rope-based assets scattered around each level and used to great effect in one airship-based section. In fact anything ropy is a near-irresistible alternative to Styx’s usual methods of map traversal and I used them frequently, although the free-swinging Tarzan ropes might not always describe the arc you would wish. Their mastery, and learning what Styx can or can’t negotiate, becomes instinctive a few hours in.

Your performance in each mission generates varying amounts of skill points which can be used to upgrade wide-ranging options within any of five branches: Kill, Alchemy, Cloning, Perception and Stealth. Points are awarded for completing principal objectives and side quests with bonuses paid for swift times, mercy runs (no kills other than designated targets), minimal alerts and the collection of Thief Tokens secreted in each level. Given that the AI throughout makes enemies fairly attentive, these extra points are hard-won, although I chose a patient but murderous path and still earned plenty of objective-based points to invest in my preferred abilities. You can even re-allocate your points as long as you’re at one of its designated skills benches.

As you progress, the incidence of armoured guards rises appreciably. The ante is upped further as large scuttling insectoids called Roabies and dwarf guards are introduced into the game, their ability to respectively hear or smell Styx presenting you with new challenges. Styx’s slightly cheaty ‘amber vision’ is useful here you as you can scan the environment to identify alternative ways to neutralise your enemies. Crafting lets you create some lethal toys too, the acid trap is a fun way of offing those really hard-to-shift armoured guards. Developer Cyanide Studio also has high hopes that problem-solving can be shared through the game’s drop-in co-op mode.

The great strength of the Styx universe is the verticality of its environments - from lofty ledges and gables high above right down to its subterranean Styx-shaped crawlspaces, his fluid and well-animated movements can exploit each level in a multitude of ways. The game has some genuinely impressive external locations and although I would have liked more levels set in daylight, I looked forward to each session I spent with the game, and especially relished those that revealed emergent objectives. Environmental puzzling and platforming sections also provide a nice breather from the sneaking, but you’re more likely to be truly tested by Styx’s relentless barrage of fourth wall-breaking bon mots.

Shards of Darkness presents like a further episode of Styx’s adventures rather than any great leap forward from Master of Shadows. But this is a generous game with a huge amount of stuff to do, some wonderfully realised levels, all of it augmented with an admirably flexible skill system that encourages and rewards creative thinking. And while Styx’s sarcastic and belligerent shtick makes him hard to love, in terms of player agency and agility, if you have to usher anybody through this challenging world it’s probably best that it’s this disagreeable little green shit. See? Not big and not clever.

THE VERDICT
79

STYX: SHARDS OF DARKNESS
A mean-spirited character leads a big-hearted game; you’re unlikely to dwell on its lore but its features combine well to create a satisfying stealth experience.

 

[Parabalus]

The scores from the "professional" reviews make me think Cyanide didn't pay them their cut.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Ivan]

so...you think my 670 can stomach this? or wait till I upgrade?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Thinking about getting this in the near future.

I just bought it.

Spoiler

 

[Salvo]

so...you think my 670 can stomach this? or wait till I upgrade?

I'm playing it on these settings with my trusty GTX 760 and going at a steady 45-50 FPS. You're going to do great.

The game is nice so far, I've just completed the first mission. The improvements over the first one thus far are real. Movements are smoother, the AI on the hardest difficulty discovers you almost immediately and the map seems far more vertical. Just in the first level I've noticed four or five different ways to reach your objective, which is pretty good.

Incline.

 

[Siel]

I really like the environments, there is definitely a Thief Gold look to them. Fuck why isn't this game first person?

 

[abnaxus]

What happened to Arkail?

 

[Salvo]

What happened to Arkail?

Master of Shadows takes place long before the events Of Orcs and Men. Shards of Darkness 20 years after MoS. Arkail and Styx haven't met yet, as the timeline we're exploring is still that of the prequels.


OT: I can't find the button to rate posts.

 

[lukaszek]

deterministic system > RNG

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Normally I'm not into 3rd-person stealth games (I despise Splinter Cell), but Master of Shadows did the magic for me. Mostly, the large elaborate levels and no-hand-holding attitude convinced me. Also, the morbid protagonist.

Tis should be good/better.

 

[HoboForEternity]

3 hours download with my shitty net

 

[Roguey]

3 hours download with my shitty net

How big is it?