Be the goblin in Styx: Master of Shadows

Cyanide and Focus Home Interactive unveil their newest title, one that casts you as a demented little goblin named Styx who’s out to capture a pretty haul for himself.

Styx is a Goblin two centuries old… the very first of all the Goblins, he’s a master in the arts of stealth, theft, and murder. The depths of the miles-high Tower of Akenash, where Humans and Elves hide and protect the Tree, the source of the Amber, are the best chance Styx has of quickly amassing a small fortune and, perhaps, discover more about his true origins along the way.

Battle your way to the top of the lofty Tower of Akenash through immense and vertiginous levels that highlight the vertical perspective. You will complete numerous missions with various objectives as you climb up – murder, information recovery, theft of precious artifacts, etc – and gradually reconstruct the puzzle that provides the key to the mystery of your origins. The levels are open and the objectives can be completed in various ways: you are therefore free to choose the best way to proceed and the most suitable strategy to employ to achieve and complete your mission objectives. But remember you’re a Goblin: if your target is twice your size, or more, you’re better off eliminating them silently. and in the back!

The premises of the Tower of Akenash are protected by many things: Humans of course, but also Elves whose science of magic cannot be overlooked, huge Orcs who have been victims of (more or less) successful experiments, but also other, stranger creatures. Guards, soldiers and other protectors of the Tower will adapt their behavior dynamically, depending on your actions: you better keep a low profile and prepare your plan of action beforehand. Study the guard patrols closely, use areas of light and shadow to your advantage, lure your target to a secluded area to assassinate him silently, or arrange “accidents” to remain undetected!

Playing as a goblin is definitely something new. Even with the spate of games that have seen release as of late where you’re cast as an orc, you’re still a big brute capable of smashing your way through the human forces. Here though, you have to take a somewhat more stealthy approach to battle, be a little more conniving and cunning- be a little more like a member of the hordes of tiny gobby’s that you’re probably more used to slaughtering by the dozen in most fantasy games.

I like where Cyanide is heading with this one. It’s definitely different and playing as a creature that normally figures into games of this type in such a minor way is just a really cool idea. There’ll also be a good amount of RPG-ish elements in Styx including experience that you’ll gain as you progress that’ll allow you to get all kinds of new weapons and moves and 6 different skill trees that you can level your way through.

Since part of the game is a revelatory element as to the past of Styx as well, you’ll also be able to collect clues to the main goblin’s past and of course- hordes of treasure that any tiny greenskin would find irresistible.

There’s no release date as of yet for Styx: Master of Shadows, but you can expect to see the little guy stabbing fools in the back on the PC sometime this year.