A whole new group of free titles are available for those with an Xbox Live Gold membership. There are many solid offerings, but one of the best is Styx: Shards of Darkness. This stealth-based title by Cyanide Studio involves a lot of strategy, which is great if you prefer using some critical-thinking skills as opposed to just rushing through the game.
Styx is a shady goblin that you’ll get to play as, but that’s a huge part of his charm. Somehow despite all his faults, the developers get you to grow fond of him throughout your journey through the open environments featuring unique details.
Given that this is a stealth game, you get to choose how you approach gameplay. Certain situations warrant a stealthy approach as numerous enemies are in the distance. Other scenarios play out far smoother when you just sneak up and assassinate those who have their back turned.
Every combat situation is a unique situation that you’ll need to thoroughly assess before proceeding. As you move through the various stages, you’ll gain access to all sorts of fun and powerful weapons as well as abilities.
The developers also have made an exceptional crafting system. Once you find resources scattered throughout the Elvin city, you can create traps to use in future combat situations. You’ll need to be strategic with their placement. With a well-timed trap, you’ll net kill after kill.
There are numerous ways Styx can move about the environments, from climbing to jumping across gaps. The entire time, you feel a lot of intensity as one false step could be your last. Whether you’re scaling tall wooden structures to hide or executing some beautiful stealth kills, Styx: Shards of Darkness manages to capture your attention from start to finish.
Once you start getting the hang of the movement and combat systems, you’ll be ready to take on the big bosses. The developer really nailed this part of the game as there are always interesting challenges that await, just when you think you’ve reached a safe area.
It really is a hidden gem and every Xbox One owner should experience it at some point. Luckily, if you have a Gold membership, you won’t have to pay a dime. Additionally, you’ll be able to traverse through these beautiful environments with a friend as this game has an amazing co-op mode.
It’s rare that a game features this quality of platforming. It will get you re-thinking the genre all together.
