Stealthy though his diminutive nature may be, Styx isn't exactly the archetypal assassin. There's no demure suit, no silenced pistol, no trip wire, no glamorous assistant, and certainly no bar code tattoo on the back of his head. But with little more than some crude leather armour and a few daggers strapped to his back, Styx, the goblin protagonist of the new game Styx: Master of Shadows is looking to give gaming's other stealth masters a run for their money. Even if he does only have little legs.
Hailing from Focus Home Interactive's somewhat overlooked fantasy role-playing game, Of Orcs and Men, Master of Shadows marks Styx's first time in the driving seat, for a game that seems to be taking the character in a markedly different direction. An origin story of sorts, the game follows the little green assassin as he sets out on a quest to conquer a tower known as the Tower of Akenash - a massive, heavily defended structure that's home to hundreds of humans and elves, and houses a giant, magical tree at it's centre. Of course, as is often the way, it turns out this tree is somehow essential not only to the story of the game, but also to our hero himself, as it might hold a clue to how Styx, the "first of the goblins", came to being. Looking to find out which really did come first - the goblin egg or the goblin, along with maybe pocketing a few treasures along the way, Styx sets off to scale the miles-high tower, searching for the truth, assassinating anyone that gets in his way and generally being a creepy little goblin guy lurking in the shadows.
He's watching you...
A stealth game through and through, Styx is a game that's all about staying undetected, and using your height to your advantage. After all - at half the height of your enemies, you wouldn't last all that long in an straight up fight, but you can quickly duck under a table, scoot through a duct, or otherwise slot yourself in where normal people can't go. During a recent demonstration, the game's lead level designer, Julien Desourteaux, walked us through a demo stage of the game - which was probably for the best, seeing as we're normally useless at anything that involves being stealthy. Instead, we got to sit back and watch as Styx went through with one of the game's many missions - breaking some friends out of prison.
The first thing that became quickly obvious was that, while it's certainly a tower, in that it's an incredibly tall vertical collection of rooms, the Tower of Akenash feels anything but cramped. In fact, at times it was almost vertigo inducing, as our little goblin friend shimmied across a plank that had been awkwardly balanced between one side of the tower and the next. It's anything but claustrophobic, and looks more tower of babel than tower block. As you'd also expect from a game based around a tower, that most buzzy of buzzwords "verticality" also plays a large part here, as Styx can easily scramble up to a higher point to look down on those below (as shown in the picture above), helping you stay out of sight, and survey your surroundings.
Dinky though his limbs may be, Styx is a pretty accomplished climber, which certainly comes in handy at times. At one point, Julien was attempting to sneak behind a guard, who was whiling away the hours by staring into the abyss, and leaning over a ledge. In keeping with the game's fantasy trapping, the corridors are all lit by flaming torches, and a quick leap up the wall let Styx pull a bucket over the top of the nearby torch, extinguishing the flame, and helping keep us out of sight. Slowly, we crept towards him, ready to take him out when - crap - Julien knocked over a chair. As an icon flashed above his head to let us know we were spotted, Julien legged it towards what appeared to be a fairly nondescript wall, which Styx somehow managed to scramble up, before squeezing into a vent while he waited for the situation to calm down.
Oddly enough, Styx actually glows when he's hiding in the shadows. Which is... an awkward habit for someone who claims to be stealthy...
Of course, as a master of shadows you have plenty of tricks up your sleeves, besides a vertical leap that would put most athletes to shame. Powered by the tree's amber reserves, Styx can turn invisible for a short period of time at the touch of a button, letting you sneak your way out of some tough spots. However, when we say short, we mean short - blink, and you'll be visible again, making this only useful for temporarily evading guards. Similarly short lived is his 'amber vision', lifted from the much maligned Codemasters game Damnation, which briefly highlights nearby handholds, enemy guards and anything else you might find useful. It's a handy tool when you're a little bit lost as to where to go or what to do next - and given Styx's more open nature, is a godsend.
Somewhat longer lasting, however, is his ability to vomit up a carbon copy of himself to distract bad guys, solve puzzles or help you take down multiple enemies at once. For example, one area had two guards standing at either end of a platform - but taking down either one on their own would have alerted the other to your presence. By creating yourself a copy and sending him to assassinate the one at the same time as you do the deed on the other, you can safely dispatch the pair without compromising yourself. However, the ability proved itself even more useful later on in the demo, when we had to pass through a double-gated room to reach a prison, where alternately opening and closing grates prevented any unwanted escapes (or entries). Of course, they hadn't counted on Styx and his double - by sending your fake guy down the hallway to flip the switch, Styx could stand between the two gates as the one behind closed and the one in front opened, allowing him to proceed.
Weighing in at around twelve hours long across the game's eight missions, we're not sure whether Styx will be a full release or a download, or even which platforms it'll be hitting, although PS4, Xbox One and PC seem the most likely candidates. With some interesting ideas, and a unique setting, those who like sneaking around in the dark while clutching a dagger and dressed as a goblin will find Styx right up their alley. For us, it'll depend on how easy it is to get to grips with the stealth.
