Styx: Shards of Darkness

Shards of Darkness has upgraded to the PS3. SoD is to MoS what Assassin of Kings was to the first Witcher game. Seemingly a step into a more stream-lined, more mainstream game. And just like with Witcher, I didn't like the shiny sequel anywhere near as much as the garbled, clunky, bugged up mess the first game was. Don't get me wrong, SoD is a very fun stealth game. But I much preferred the sense of desperate isolation of the first game. It was just you VS a giant fortress filled with enemies at every corner. Dousing torches & staying in shadows was a critical part of the first Styx, here they barely serve any purpose. Instead the game gives you a multitude of shiny new toys. You have so many tools at your disposal, it makes the game almost too easy. When you can put an acid trap at your enemies feet that dissolves their body immediately, and quietly... I never felt like I was ever in any real danger. Unlike in Master of Shadows, where I often jolted IRL when an enemy spotted me. It also still carries a lot of the baggage of its predecessor. There are still many glitches. They still recycle the same levels, there are only 3 types of areas (swamp town, port town, elf town). The only one that's unique was the airship level, which was also my favorite area by far. Oh and roabies still suck. There are also 2 real boss fights now. I wouldn't say they're good, but not too annoying either. Also way more switch puzzles for some reason... again nothing too annoying but did anyone really ask for that. It just feels like unnecessary busywork. And something entirely new that I absolutely hated: Styx is now making pop culture jokes. Taking jabs at Assassin's Creed, talking about pepperoni pizza, basically he tries to be the fifth Ninja Turtle. Urgh. I get they were going for a more light-hearted tone, but... referential humor is the lowest of comedy. But alas, I still love Styx. Warts and all. I recommend any stealth fan giving it a shot.

Runs flawless in Linux (https://www.protondb.com/app/355790). About the game, completely awesome if you like the stealth games and the characters are well created with its own personalities.

First of all, we must admit that this game has many positive aspects: the graphics are very refined, the setting is captivating and the plot is deep and interesting. The main character is probably one of the funniest and most charismatic ever seen in a game. Problem is...all these things are overwhelmed by the insane level of frustration of the gameplay. Until the first boss the situation is difficult, but all considered acceptable: after that, the game quickly turns itself into a nightmare. You must deal with enormous levels which are literally full of enemies, guards, monsters, gigantic trolls, traps and frustrating platforming sections and you are almost unarmed, without a real armor and with a little equipment: so you must constantly proceed with trial and error, and this doesn't make much sense, honestly. Beside those problems many aspects are punitive beyond imagination: for example, you never have a map of the levels (even when you play in the native village of Styx, does it make sense? No, it doesn't); shops don't exist, you must always find the equipment by yourself and in some levels this is impossible; many enemies are totally invulnerable, and the ability system is quite useless. The only useful path is the alchemy, but if you can't buy the necessary ingredients when you need them alchemy is a scam. I arrived at the 7th level, then i gave up, it was too much for me. Spending more time watching at a reloading screen than playing it's not my idea of having fun, sorry. A pity, because this game has charisma, but the devs must consider that this is a game, not a f***ing job.

I really loved Styx: Master of Shadows and I couldn't believe when I randomly saw that this sequel had been released, and 3 years ago no less. I've never heard anyone talk about it, making me think it was some sort of flop, but MY GOD that was not the case. Shards of Darkness is just as amazing, with a solid 3rd person stealth/platformer gameplay, sturdy level design, gorgeous looking areas and the ever badass protagonist, Styx, looking better than ever! Seriously, if you like stealth games, this is a must play.