I'm surprised about the mostly positive reviews of the game on gog, since my experience is completely different, although I like stealth games and really tried to like this one. Styx: Master of Shadows is less of a stealth game and more of platformer with badly balanced stealth elements. A stealth game should be about sneaking through levels, hiding in dark or dimly lit spots and - most of all - avoiding enemy contact. However, this game forces you to take out as many opponents as possible, because sneaking past them is - thanky to the AI - always a gamble. Pro's: - open world with huge levels to explore - multiple ways to achieve mission objectives - "fresh" player character "Rakash" Con's: - difficulty level is tough - even on easy - most likely too hard for casual / non-hardcore gamers - enemy AI is random and inconsistent. Enemies get stuck on objects and lose their pathway, freezing them on the spot, unable to continue their patrol. Enemies can see or hear you even if you're hiding in total darkness, behind pillars or moving behind them. Guards will randomly turn around ro spot you. AI forgets about areas they checked for your character two minutes agp (drop a chandelier, guards inspect the scene, leave and come back two minutes later to do the same) - skills are mostly useless and far too easy to acquire - enemies hit boxes are tiny and require pin-point accurarcy or lightning quick reflexes (aerial kills, hanging kills) - clunky controls making climbing and jumping frustrating - no difficulty balancing; as the game progresses you're just served more and more enemies, most of them immune to your skills - ragdoll engine causes objects like buckets or chairs to noisily fly across the room, alerting all guards in the area
