What is Styx: Master of Shadows?

Styx: Master of Shadows is a stealth infiltration game for next-gen consoles from Cyanide Studio.

Official Description
Guide Styx through the winding Tower of Akenash, home to a Treeworld, source of the Amber – a powerful golden sap filled with magical properties - prowling through the shadows with aide of a host of special abilities refined throughout Styx’s 200 years of history. Within the many hallways and levels of the Tower of Akenash, Styx must avoid the humans who’ve the ability to easily overpower him. With Amber running through his veins, what Styx lacks in might he more than makes up for with stealth, as the golden elixir – often heavily guarded – raises his perception, sharpens his senses, and even offers the ability to turn him invisible for short periods of time.

Styx’s lust for the Amber produced by the Treeworld is matched only by Governor Barimen’s charge to protect it; with little help from Styx’s mysterious shadowy allies, it is our Goblin friend alone who can uncover the secrets of the tower.

Official Story
In the Tower of Akenash, humans and elves jealously guard a strange treasure: a WorldTree from which pours a golden sap, the Amber, source of immense and indomitable powers. The Heart of the Tree, Amber source, is without a doubt of an inestimable value. Well… this is the assumption of our hero, a goblin thief and assassin, who would stop at nothing to accomplish what would be considered the robbery of the century. For this, he has a main advantage: his capacity to create a clone of himself. His plan is simple, he must first discover the secret plans of the tower, hidden by its mysteriously absent architect, then grab the key that gives access to the tree carefully guarded by the Governor Barimen.

Gameplay
Styx Master of Shadows rewards skill in stealth and an attentive eye, allowing each objective to be approached numerous ways whilst avoiding obvious indicators. The Tower of Akenash, the games’ stage, is a multi-layered tower offering three-dimensional gameplay with multiple levels for each mission.

Sneak, poison, extinguish, kill and assassinate your way to the source of the Amber, anticipating the movement of the guards by poising a communal drinking well and waiting for the inevitable thud, or smothering a guard with your clone as you slit the throat of his companion. Use the environment to your advantage by distracting guards and crushing them from the rafters, but be sure to stick to the darkness by extinguishing lights and staying to the shadows.

Take advantage of a cover system designed to keep Styx tightly out of sight whilst offering good visibility of the surrounding areas. Switch between moving slowly and quickly, using the analogue sticks on your gamepad, with crouch and standing stances. Ensure your conquests are hidden by hiding their corpses out of light or in containers. Make use of a dynamic range of hideouts, such as crawl spaces, tables, and low ceiling passages to circumvent the enemy. Distract the guards by making noises to lure them to, or away from, your desired target. Extinguish lights to cover your approach, and make use of the powerful Amber unlocking magical abilities, such as cloning Styx, invisibility, smoke cloud, and more.