In a press release, Focus Home Interactive has announced that Styx: Shards of Darkness will be out in March 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. While no exact date has been given yet, the Steam page of the game lists a “March 14, 2017” release date, which could be a placeholder, or the final release day accidentally revealed (I choose the latter).
Additionally, a new three-minute gameplay footage of Styx: Shards of Darkness has also been revealed, and it shows us just what kind of stealth elements players can expect in this sequel.
Styx‘s second adventure builds upon the foundations laid in the tower of Akenash, with more fluid movement and climbing abilities, a richer story told with cinematics, an enhanced bestiary, side-missions to complete, as well as new and improved sneaking and assassination skills.
The titular goblin’s aerial abilities have been improved and expanded. Swing from ropes and attack from above with a slew of new tools such as the crossbow, which comes with a range of different bolts like the non-lethal poison bolt. The crossbow can be used not only to kill or disable enemies, but also to detach environmental objects and crush those below.
Cloning is one of Styx‘s signature abilities, and it has received a major upgrade. One of the new upgradeable abilities is the cocoon, which is a craftable item that you can throw to spawn your clone at a distance. Another new ability is called Rebirth, which teleports Styx to his clone’s location, killing it in the process. It can be used in a number of ways: to travel to spots that are difficult to reach, or to get out of danger when things get dicey.
You will need to use all of Styx‘s tools and abilities to reach your goals. If you choose to specialize in crafting, Styx gets access to another craftable contraption, the Acid Trap, which dissolves enemy corpses after they step on them. This is particularly useful against enemies whose armors cannot be penetrated by Styx‘s dagger, and enemies whose bodies are too heavy to carry.
Styx: Shards of Darkness’ key features have also been listed, just in case you’re curious what new stuff it brings to the table compared to the first Styx.
Key Features
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A brand new adventure in the universe of a centuries-old goblin assassin, taking you to the city of the Dark Elves
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New engine: beautiful graphics created in Unreal Engine 4
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New enemies, new environments, new abilities and improved stealth mechanics for Styx
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Unique co-op mode – join a friend’s game to sneak and stab through missions together
You can check out our review of the first game — Styx: Master of Shadows — right here. And yes, it’s a surprisingly good game.
Anyone picking this up in March? What do you think of the gameplay so far?
[Source: Steam]
