Styx: Master of Shadows
Goblins in fantasy computer games usually have some completely dull role. They are simply the weakest units in the faction, a kind of consumable (which often also serves as food for more powerful warriors), or local counterparts of miners and miners, or simply elementary enemies existing solely for the sake of grinding or the transition of a character from the first level to the second.
But the studio Cyanide in the game Styx: Master of Shadows did not hesitate and made the goblin the central character. The main character who travels the world, completing various tasks and trying to find out the history of the origin of his race.
Styx, the protagonist of the game, is the very first and oldest goblin in existence. He has been living in this world for two hundred years and during this time he has seen a lot, a lot. And now he is obsessed with the desire to unravel the mystery of the origin of the goblin family. To do this, he goes to the Akenash Tower, filled with representatives of the highest races, people and elves, who protect the World Tree from various external dangers, while at the same time arranging internecine feuds. Well, what else can you expect from them?
Up the steps of the Akenash Tower
Despite the fact that Styx is more than two hundred years old, he does not possess much wisdom. Instead of studying history and other sciences, he decided to get to the World Tree and get his Heart, thanks to which the entire local universe exists.
More precisely, the World Tree is the source of Amber, a special magic that allows, for example, to hear the thoughts of other creatures. Styx himself tasted it too, so he can "connect" to people and elves to find out their thoughts. Thus, he learns that the almost endless Akenash Tower surrounding the World Tree was built by a single architect, who, moreover, left plans for the construction somewhere.
Using them, Styx practically gets to that very World Tree, but at the last moment the guards manage to stop him. As a result, the goblin ends up in prison, where he loses his memory. And now he needs to get to the World Tree again.
Styx himself is a very interesting character. He is great at hiding, a good thief and sometimes even a good killer. True, his goblin nature makes Styx a bad warrior. Large opponents can deal with the character with one serious blow, so it is better not to get on the rampage, and if something happens, avoid a fight, hiding in the shadows and numerous architectural excesses of the Akenash Tower.
Dark Fantasy in Styx: Master of Shadows
If in the second paragraph of this description you did not stumble with your eyes on the word Cyanide, then you are very lucky! This French studio is known for its misanthropic games that hurt everyone: characters, heroes, the person on the other side of the monitor. And it's not even about a gloomy setting. It's just that the games are often extremely imbalanced, which is why it is quite possible to burn a couple of chairs, passing some particularly tricky mission.
Styx: Master of Shadows is no exception. The game is brutally difficult when it comes to direct combat. Styx dies from a couple of successful jabs, but at the same time he must inflict blow after blow to the enemy in order to at least slightly reduce his HP bar. The only possible way to complete Styx: Master of Shadows is to twist your stealth skills to such an extent that Solid Snake, Sam Fisher and Altair begin to sob quietly in the corner, hugging each other.
Fortunately, sometimes the developers still show the player mercy and suggest how best to complete a particular mission. Here is a noticeable entrance to the ventilation, there is a cornice, along which you can sneak unnoticed, and if you look to the left, you will see a chain of iron crosses, quite suitable for a pleasant walk with several large silent jumps.
The locations that need to be overcome are quite large and ambitious. And at the same time they are also varied. So, walking from the cornice to the parapet, it is quite possible to admire the local fantasy polygons.
Unique abilities of the main character in Styx: Master of Shadows
Styx himself is also not a bastard and may well boast of several very practical abilities. First and foremost, he is able to create his own clones. This is a full-fledged consumable, so you can use them to check the safety of routes, track opponents, and so on.
Second - Styx can induce vomiting and use it for various purposes. So, it can poison the enemy's food or water. The guards after such a "lunch" will never wake up again and will obviously not become an obstacle to further passage.
Finally, Styx carries several vials of acid with him. It is very useful - it will help dissolve the corpses of the guards so that their colleagues do not raise the alarm.
