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Styx: Master of Shadows - Of Orcs & Men stealth spinoff(!)

Metro

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Game journos trying to justify their careers by waxing philosophic.
 

7h30n

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OMG, did I just see that horrible shroud around the screen when the character is in shadow!?
:flamesaw:
 

FuelBlooded

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I'm really liking it so far. Now they have to show what happens when you're actually spotted.
 

Abu Antar

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Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
It doesn't look amazing or anything, but I could always go for another stealth game.
 

toro

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Finished Of Orcs and Men. I know ... 2 years later than others. But I was curious about the character of Styx and needless to say, he is basically the top point of the game.

Overall is mediocre with a broken skill/combat system, not to mention the completely fucked up hit-boxes.

It has its moments ... thanks to the dialogues and Styx. The story is average and not worthy of a storyfag play-through.

Styx: Master of Shadows will be a prequel and the action will take place in the Tower of Akenash whatever that might be.
Anyway, looking forward to the new game. I'm pretty sure the AI will be shit but despite of this it will probably be more fun than Thiaf.
 
Last edited:

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
Preview roundup at GameBanshee: http://www.gamebanshee.com/news/114342-styx-master-of-shadows-previews.html

Hooked Gamers:

The powers available to Styx include invisibility, Ambervision, and cloning. Invisibility is quite self explanatory but the Ambervision is a clever form of orange night vision that also highlights interactive elements. Cloning has Styx vomit up a slimy controllable clone of himself which can get to places Styx can't or act as a distraction while Styx sneaks past a group of guards. In addition to this, the game features some RPG elements that will allow you to unlock skills, special moves, and new equipment.

Burning lanterns light up the scene in many locations. Styx can turn these off by hand, or throw balls of sand at them to suffocate the flame. This creates an interesting dynamic asthe stifling of the fire reduces the risk of being spotted, but putting out the fire puts you at risk if it is noticed by the guards. Although the game is very vertical - being set in a tower - the areas and challenges presented create a very open playspace that can be explored freely. The locations have multiple themes as you progress from the basic manufacturing floor to the administrative section higher up the tower. Keep your eyes open for secret pathways as hiding places are everywhere.

Gaming Lives:

Although it seems as if the entirety of Styx takes place in the same location, that doesn’t mean that the levels are lacking in size. In fact, the chapter on display had a massively sprawling layout that took the best part of half an hour to overcome when taking what seemed like one of the most direct routes, although there are plenty of alternative paths to take throughout each level, depending on your play-style. Luckily, our hero has a ridiculous number of tricks up his sleeve to accommodate any tactics you want to utilise.

For one, Styx can collect balls of sand and throw them at nearby torches in order to extinguish them; not only does it impact visibility, but guards will also attempt to re-light any unlit torches, allowing you a precious few seconds to either sneak by harmlessly or go in for the kill. The number of sand balls you can carry is limited and they can only be thrown a certain distance, but by exploring the environment the player can find opportunities to top up on their supply. Investigating the area is also a great way to discover not only new paths, but ways to hide in plain sight, as our hero can stuff himself in vases, boxes, and chests if he needs a quick hiding place. Taking temporary refuge in a nearby crate can also present the player with an opportunity to dispatch any patrolling guards by knocking them out and automatically pulling them in with you.

PSGamer:

Once he has made a safe, dark passage for himself, Styx can pick off his enemies one by one with stealth attacks or sneak past them and leave them alone entirely. Of course, some times our goblin pal will have to rely on his special abilities and can create clones of himself that can fit through otherwise impenetrable fences or distract guards. There are a range of powers at Styx’s disposal and the few we got a glimpse of could make Styx temporarily invisible and “amber vision”, which helps Styx see the best paths through a room – but these abilities cost Amber, a resource that is in short supply, and reduce a gauge the longer they are active.

One of the most interesting aspects of Styx is the freedom that it offers. Each level of the Tower of Akenash has multiple methods in which you can complete them which suit varying play styles. For example, Player 1 likes to kick ass and chew bubble gum. He/She decides she wants to kill off as many guards as she can, goes high and drops a chandelier on a group of 5 unsuspecting victims. Player 2 is a stealth purist. He/She can sneak around the level, crawling through holes, extinguishing torches and really becoming the master of shadows, leaving no guard on that level none the wiser that they were even there. Player 3 is a speed runner. They take to the rafters, running the fine line between being seen and staying hidden. The game play, vertiginous level design and upgrade system encourages this variety and will suit most gamers, however they choose to play.

And The Sixth Axis:

Creating a clone is just one of Styx’s many Amber powered tricks, which range from your fairly basic augmented Amber Vision to highlight interactive objects like handholds or grates that you can sneak through, all the way to turning Styx completely invisible. You’ll gain experience and upgrade your abilities as you go, but you’ll also have to use them wisely so that you don’t run through your limited supplies of Amber.

What I particularly enjoyed, though, was the way that levels felt almost like grand sandboxes for you to play in. The Tower of Akenash feels huge and the design often had multiple options for me to explore in order to get to where I needed to go. Though I only had a fairly brief hands on session, from what I’ve seen before both first hand and in a lengthy gameplay trailer, I know that there’s an impressive sprawl to the locations, often letting you climb high above the ground and taking one of several routes.
 
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What I particularly enjoyed, though, was the way that levels felt almost like grand sandboxes for you to play in. The Tower of Akenash feels huge and the design often had multiple options for me to explore in order to get to where I needed to go.

:incline:

I hope they won't run out of money and cut content at the end of the development stage. Judging by the previews this could be a really good stealth game.
 

toro

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Everything is fine except that ... I don't see the challenge in this game.

I guess the developers are missing the point of stealth genre by adding all of this stupid stuff (like the goblin summon, invisibility spell) which turns Styx in some kind of Predator instead of a vulnerable taffer. Why is so hard to keep it real/low-fantasy?
 

Eyeball

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Cuz Arkham Asylum. Batman had a trillion superpowered gadgets to help him stealth-takedown hordes of baddies and players LOVED being an invisible omniscient superstalker. Since then, this has been the norm (see Dishonored).
 

Abu Antar

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Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I pre-ordered this. It doesn't look great but I want to play a stealth game.
 

bloodlover

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I wish there was an option to just knock-out your enemy and not kill him. I get that he's an assassin and all that but it would be more interesting to have a knock-down option. Would be even better if knocked NPC's would come stand up again after some time so backtracking and exploring wouldn't be so easy.
 

SuicideBunny

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Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Torment: Tides of Numenera
Cuz Arkham Asylum. Batman had a trillion superpowered gadgets to help him stealth-takedown hordes of baddies and players LOVED being an invisible omniscient superstalker.
wat? that's not at all how it worked in aa, 'cept maybe directly at the beginning of the game. this looks just lame.
 

Infinitron

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Codex Year of the Donut Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 A Beautifully Desolate Campaign Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I wish there was an option to just knock-out your enemy and not kill him. I get that he's an assassin and all that but it would be more interesting to have a knock-down option. Would be even better if knocked NPC's would come stand up again after some time so backtracking and exploring wouldn't be so easy.

I'm actually okay with this, because it means you really have to work hard if you want to be "merciful". Knocking out always turns out to be kind of an easy way out in these games.
 

Abu Antar

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Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I pre-ordered this. It doesn't look great but I want to play a stealth game.
try Splinter Cell: Blacklist, it's even cheaper.
UPLAY?
tumblr_inline_n78vgrLjxH1qbygev.gif
 

Baron Dupek

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I pre-ordered this. It doesn't look great but I want to play a stealth game.
Older Splinter Cell games (before Conviction)?
Death to Spies serie, with 3rd game that you could support?
Thief trilogy with numerous FanMissions and the free The Dark Mod (with bunch of FM) that's way better than Thi4f?
 

Abu Antar

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Enjoy the Revolution! Another revolution around the sun that is. Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire Pathfinder: Wrath I'm very into cock and ball torture I helped put crap in Monomyth
I've already played most of them. I should have said that I wanted to play a new stealth game.
 

bozia2012

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Everything is fine except that ... I don't see the challenge in this game.

I guess the developers are missing the point of stealth genre by adding all of this stupid stuff (like the goblin summon, invisibility spell) which turns Styx in some kind of Predator instead of a vulnerable taffer. Why is so hard to keep it real/low-fantasy?
IIRC Styx is actually an ex-uber-orc-mage that created the goblin race. Oops, spoilers.
 

toro

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Joined
Apr 14, 2009
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Everything is fine except that ... I don't see the challenge in this game.

I guess the developers are missing the point of stealth genre by adding all of this stupid stuff (like the goblin summon, invisibility spell) which turns Styx in some kind of Predator instead of a vulnerable taffer. Why is so hard to keep it real/low-fantasy?
IIRC Styx is actually an ex-uber-orc-mage that created the goblin race. Oops, spoilers.

A new entry for the Dumbfuck tag.
 

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