Styx the leprechaun tells some downright horrible jokes, with one of the tamest ones ringing right after an accidental death. He's an amazing thief and assassin whose shadowy skills more than make up for his occasional bad pun. Styx: Shards of Darkness offers welcome excitement and stealthy action.
Styx the goblin in Shards of Darkness
He is the only member of his race intelligent enough to talk and make stale references to Assassin's Creed and Terminator. So he really doesn't have anyone to tell him how cheesy he sounds. For such an ugly little squatter, Styx lives in an attractive world. A world full of elves, dwarves and people, resemble the classic JRR Tolkien, but the fantasy universe that developer Cyanide Studios presents here is a dark one. The graphics are fitting for a game that is so immersed in shadows. Styx may joke a lot, but it almost seems like a defense mechanism in this cruel world of duplicitous shapeshifters and bloody elven rituals meant to appease giant centipedes worshiped as gods.
The Sayings of Styx
Some people will hate him and his foul language. In cutscenes, he's the only person who really gets the joke. He's an oddly appealing counterpart to all the grumpy people around him, all trying to cheat each other out of control of the precious amber on which so much of this world runs. This includes stealth abilities. None of the characters are terrible, but Styx himself is way ahead of them in terms of characterization, voice acting, animation, and humor. In his story you follow Styx through nine missions over approximately 15 hours. He joins forces with a group nominally dedicated to eradicating his race. Sometimes Shards of Darkness introduces a humorous mission, like when Styx has to tow a drunk captain to his ship, but most of the time the story itself is full of weighty themes that might not be apparent from all the trailers.
Above the roofs
Unfortunately, Cyanide doesn't take full advantage of this rich setting. The game features exploratory marvels of vertical design, complete with Styx soaring above the rooftops and beneath the promenades of majestic steampunk airships, seedy fishing villages, and grim dark elf cities dug into peaks. It's a shame that fiddly ledge-to-ledge jumping in the air is one of Shards of Darkness' weaknesses. Swinging on a rope is no better, but doable. The levels are lovingly designed. Their full exploration takes hours. They're crammed with chests, wardrobes and baskets for Styx to hide in, and alarm systems to detonate. Puzzles that require memories of previous cutscenes sometimes yield awesome new daggers. Trials test Styx's reflexes.
Recycling
Halfway through, after Styx faces a tough boss with environmental objectives that require the expert use of your avoidance reflexes and knowledge of his abilities, Shards of Darkness begins to recycle the earlier levels. Sometimes Styx gains access to an area that wasn't available the first time around, but for the most part the only differences are the introduction of new enemies like armored enemies that can't be killed with a dagger. Expect him too dwarves, who can sniff out the stinking Styx if it gets too close.
The stealth gameplay
Nonetheless, these locations are enjoyable to revisit, partly because Shards of Darkness's stealth gameplay is very engaging. The vertical levels and multiple assassinations suggest a connection between Assassin's Creed and Hitman. Styx's tiny, slimy body allows Shards to create their own identity. Gollum-like stealth is the best thing about Shards of Darkness, allowing our green friend to dart under tables and leap into corners where his opponents can't follow. But it's the secondary skills where the real fun comes in, and they're unlocked by earning points by completing multiple objectives or, for example, completing a level without killing anyone or raising an alarm. They are often lifesavers, as Shards of Darkness presents Styx with new dangers around almost every corner.
The tools
The game is rarely unfair. Styx always has the tools for victory, and they're delightfully unsanitary. He can puke and take control of a clone of himself while staying at a safe distance. He can poison guards by spitting bile into their water or food. He can also become invisible in a tight spot, but it's such a massive and rapid drain on the precious amber resource used for many of Styx's powers that it rarely feels overwhelmed. You can craft weapons, including helpful traps that take out armored guards, arrows that enable some ranged attacks, or lockpicks that help minimize snooping around for a hidden entrance. However, the materials for these are all somewhat rare. This has the nice effect that you never lose sight of the need to really keep a low profile.
The fight
Sometimes, however, Styx has to fight when he's spotted. That has never been a strength of this series. As ever, these fights are all about waiting to parry at the right time against a guard three times your size, and if you miss, you're dead. Death then triggers one of many, hit-or-miss -Taunts off on the loading screen. In Shards of Darkness, Styx can say "the hell with it" and exit the fight by scurrying into the shadows without worrying about the camera's decision not to follow him and giving him time to find another hole , in which to hide while the warning passes.
The fight as a last resort
Shards of Darkness constantly emphasizes that combat should only be a last, desperate resort. Most of the action your blade will see is slitting the throats of guards from behind, and that's only if you want to. But getting rid of some bodies sure makes things easier. Styx is on the harder side when it comes to modern stealth games, and the ability to save at any time almost feels like a godsend given the auto checkpoints are ridiculously far apart. The different mission requirements also do a good job of keeping the experience fresh, as Styx will sometimes force you to hide without raising an alarm, or navigate an enemy dungeon in just his underwear. Luckily, these challenges won't come until you've had ample opportunity to learn Styx's Dance of Disguise and Hasty Escape, and when they do come, be prepared. Not to be seen. That's the most important thing in this game.
The opponents
It's a pity that the opponents don't differ much from each other. Shards of Darkness includes everything from drunken pirates to heavily armored elves and burly dwarves, but if you fight them or stealthily kill them, they all take on pretty much the same combat. At least the AI is pretty decent this time. Don't be shocked if a knight finds you and rips you from your hiding place. Then he impales you with his sword for being overconfident. You should have pushed further back into the darkness when you first hid there. For the most part, Shards of Darkness requires no tricks.
The co-op mode
Shards of Darkness also includes a decent two-player cooperative mode, but it works better on some missions than others. In those where Styx just needs to stay completely out of sight, another Goblin hanging around can be more frustrating than helpful. The mission will end entirely just because a goblin was spotted, and since the co-op mode doesn't support the ability to save anywhere, it's more of a recommendation for gnashing your teeth than having fun. However, in standard missions, where one player can throw a jar to distract a guard while the other runs at them and kills them while turning away, it's immensely rewarding. Even then, the guest goblin's animations seem to shake a bit, like they're being rendered at half the frames per second as the environment. It doesn't ruin the gameplay, but it's a little distracting.
Conclusion
Styx: Shards of Darkness is very similar to the earlier Styx: Master of Shadows from 2014, but Cyanide improved the gameplay this time around by including craftable weapons, lack of combat aiming, and expanded abilities. It offers an interesting world to explore but squanders its potential by salvaging environments from early missions late in the game. Co-op is fun too, but only spot on, as some stealth-only missions are much more manageable solo.
