Due for release in 2016
Cyanide Studios’ RPG Of Orcs and Men is one of my absolute favourite games. It managed to introduce an interesting world told from a perspective we don’t often see in fantasy games, but unfortunately its sometimes clunky presentation let it down. The stealth game prequel, Styx: Master of Shadows, took the series in a totally different direction and was still incredibly good.
So, let me be a little bit excited at the announcement of Styx: Shards of Darkness, the sequel to Master of Shadows. Set after the goblin Styx’s adventures in the towers of Akenash, Shards of Darkness takes place in the dark elven city of Körangar during a kind of shady diplomatic summit.
Due to be released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One at some point in 2016, Shards of Darkness is being made in Unreal 4, unlike Master of Shadows. Publisher Focus Home Interactive claims this means improved visuals and refinements to the movement and combat of the previous game, which was often the biggest complaint aimed at Master of Shadows.
Other than that, and the single screenshot released, we don’t know much about Styx: Shards of Darkness just yet.
Despite that, consider me incredibly, incredibly excited. Master of Shadows was proof that Cyanide can make a good stealth game with fantastic level design and a surprisingly complex story, so let’s hope it can do the same again with Shards of Darkness.
