Styx: Blades of Greed Preview
The Styx games have always been a little niche and a little misunderstood. They focus on an irascible little goblin, sneaking and stealing around a fantasy take on the Middle Ages. I’ve always enjoyed the somewhat vulgar sense of humor and the dependence on mechanics other than combat. Imagine my surprise and delight when I had the chance to sit down with the upcoming Styx: Blades of Greed. It releases in February and is the third installment in the series. The setting and many of the game’s mechanics have a strong resemblance to the Thief series, but the leading character sets Styx apart.
The preview included the game’s extensive tutorial and a later mission with Styx more fully kitted out. Unfortunately, I had to play it over a proprietary streaming service that rendered it nearly unplayable at all but the lowest settings. Happily, I was able to later play the demo directly via a Steam code, and most of the frustrations disappeared.
Try It Out
The demo introduces — or reacquaints — players with the ornately detailed medieval-steampunk fantasy world of Styx and the character’s abilities. Styx can, naturally, run, jump, climb, wall run, and the game expects players to use all the tools. Even in the tutorial area, there are a considerable number of environmental hazards and platforming puzzles.
Whenever possible, Styx’s best strategy is stealth. He’s not an especially powerful — well, at least at the start — little goblin after all. There are, however, some very satisfying takedowns of unsuspecting enemies. It’s a good thing that Styx doesn’t need to rely on his melee weapon skills like dodging, because they’re pretty clunky. Things fare better from a distance, especially later when his arsenal expands.
While the game’s performance improved dramatically away from the streaming service, that doesn’t mean that technically, everything is ready for release. The biggest frustration was close-quarters movement, where the camera seemed to get very confused. Styx: Blades of Greed is already a difficult game, and fighting the camera adds a layer of pain.
Wicked World Building
The game’s RPG mechanics are robust and satisfyingly deep. In addition to moving up a two-pronged skill tree, Styx can craft consumables from materials collected during missions. He can equip up to four quick-use items like traps, throwables, and various bolts. The second demo hinted at just how multifaceted the little goblin becomes later in the 20-hour game.
I’ve always appreciated Styx’s dark fantasy world, filled with steampunk-like machinery, warring factions, snarky dialogue, and a brutal sense of humor. All that’s still present in Blades of Greed, but nine years out from the last game, the new title looks even more impressive. The vast underground cities and medieval fortresses are designed with vertical traversal and stealth in mind.
Maybe the game’s coolest new toy is Styx’s glider, which allows him — theoretically — to both cover large distances and drop in unexpectedly for a kill. There’s a fair amount of imprecision in controlling the glider, and enemy AI and awareness are certainly variable. I often had to replay short sections between checkpoints a half dozen times. It’s fun to try new approaches, however, so I didn’t mind.
Goblin Market
Styx: Blades of Greed is a solid AA game, but when it comes to accessibility, graphics, audio, and controls, it gives some bigger budget games a lesson. The game’s audio — both music and environmental — was very good. Voice acting was all over the map, but I’d probably say that’s part of its charm. There are some interesting and well-written characters, and I’m curious to see where the narrative goes.
I can’t say that what I played of Styx: Blades of Greed makes a perfect first impression, but it’s always been a franchise that’s rough around the edges. It’s still a world I’m keenly interested in exploring again, so I eagerly look forward to the game’s full release come February.
***PC code provided by the publisher for preview***
