Styx: Blades of Greed – 15 Details That Matter

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Get ready for more mischievous goblins! Styx: Blades of Greed brings back Cyanide Studio’s sneaky assassin, blending classic stealth gameplay with exciting new features. You’ll find familiar abilities like creating clone decoys, but the levels are now more open and allow for greater freedom. If you’re a fan of the Styx series or just looking for a fun, affordable stealth game with a bit of crude humor, here are 15 important things to know before you dive in.

Where It Fits in the Lore

Few likely remember the 2014 Xbox 360 game Of Orcs and Men. The Styx games are much more popular, largely due to frequent sales and low prices. Styx: Blades of Greed actually connects directly to that earlier, lesser-known game, acting as a prequel that explains the origins of the war between humans and goblins. It also reveals how the Black Hand mercenary group – the one Styx was a part of in Of Orcs and Men – came to be. Because it links the older game to the newer Styx titles, Blades of Greed is a great place to start for anyone new to the series.

Single-Player Stealth Action-Adventure

Compared to the team-based battles in Of Orcs and Men, Styx returns to the classic stealth-action gameplay the series is known for. A key change in this new game is the removal of the co-op mode, which proved controversial in Styx: Shards of Darkness. By focusing solely on a single-player experience, the developers have been able to create more detailed levels and refine the stealth gameplay.

Core Hook: Hunting Quartz

Styx, a unique goblin who can talk, now earns a living by hunting Quartz – a valuable new energy source. He’s leading a team from his own zeppelin this time. Quartz powers everything from giant robots to flying ships, and many groups are fighting to control it. This isn’t just a story element; the struggle for Quartz actually affects how the game works and how you progress.

New Quartz Powers

Quartz gives Styx a range of new powers to use as he navigates the world. Players who enjoyed Dishonored will likely find these abilities familiar. He can take control of enemies with Mind Control, manipulate time with Time Shift to avoid detection, or use Flux Blast to knock enemies down. These Quartz abilities are just one part of the game’s overall upgrade system.

Cloning and Invisibility Return

Styx also has a set of skills focused on stealth, called Amber skills. These bring back popular options like invisibility and cloning, which are better for avoiding and defending rather than attacking, unlike the Quartz abilities. The new version of Clone Decoy is different – you can’t control the clones directly, but you can upgrade them to make them more effective.

Two-Track Progression

In Blades of Greed, your skills aren’t fixed – they grow and change based on how you play. You can specialize in either stealth (using Amber skills) or combat (with Quartz powers). These choices determine how Styx approaches challenges. For instance, you can improve your clone abilities to create multiple distractions, making it easier to sneak past enemies.

Crafting

Styx isn’t just skilled – he’s a clever trapmaker and craftsman. As a goblin, he’s naturally good at looting, and you’ll spend a lot of time collecting items in the game’s environments. You can use these materials to quickly craft temporary weapons, potions, and traps, ranging from simple distractions like whistles and bottles to more deadly tools like acid. The crafting system is fast and easy, and automatically collects nearby loot.

Vertical Environments

Okay, so the levels aren’t just huge for the sake of finding more stuff. They’re actually designed to be way more interesting to move around in. There’s a lot more verticality now, which really adds to the stealth and action. I can climb buildings, do parkour across rooftops – leaping and sliding feels awesome – and getting a stealth kill from above is so much more rewarding because the levels are built like little sandboxes. Plus, they’ve given me some cool new tools to make getting around this bigger world way more fun, and I can’t wait to tell you about those!

More Progression Details

I’m really hyped about the bigger worlds in the game! They’ve built everything around a platforming style, which is awesome. As you play, you’ll get new tools that let you find secret paths and speed things up. And thankfully, they’ve added plenty of fast travel spots and respawn points, so running back and forth isn’t a pain.

Glider and Grappling Hook

Styx’s movement options have been greatly improved with a set of new tools. He can now use a hang glider to soar over gaps and attack enemies from the air. A grappling hook lets him quickly reach high places like ledges and rooftops, and climbing claws allow him to easily scale difficult walls.

Three Large Districts

Unlike a truly open-world game, Blades of Greed is split into three distinct, expansive areas. The Wall is a massive tower that marks the boundary between human lands and the outside world, and it’s known for its dizzying heights. Turquoise Dawn is a lush jungle area inhabited by orcs, and Akenash, the elven capital, draws inspiration from the fantastical worlds created by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Zeppelin Hub

Besides quick travel, you can move between areas using Styx’s zeppelin, which acts as the game’s central hub. It’s home to Styx and his crew of thieves. What I especially like is that all the character conversations happen on the zeppelin. It’s not quite as detailed as the Normandy from Mass Effect, but it serves a similar function. I was pleased with how the voice acting turned out, especially for Djarak, the elf companion, who is voiced by the same actor who played Balthier in Final Fantasy XII – a great choice, given both characters are sky pirates. Hopefully, the dialogue and character development will live up to this potential, and we’ll get interesting stories and quests for Styx’s crew.

Tone

Styx is a remarkably talkative goblin – he spends more time talking to himself than to his companions! A lot of the game’s humor comes from his internal thoughts and witty remarks. Good news for those who disliked the endless death screens in Shards of Darkness: they’ve been replaced with more dynamic, situation-based animations. The short demo features a lot of dialogue, including strong language, so be warned if you’re sensitive to swearing. However, if you enjoy edgy content, this game is definitely for you.

Length

The developers say a typical player will finish the game in about 20 hours. However, players who like to explore everything and complete all the side quests will likely spend much longer discovering all the game has to offer.

Price and Editions

Considering it’s a platformer with a large, semi-open world and over 20 hours of gameplay, Styx: Blades of Greed is reasonably priced. It costs $39.99 on PC and $49.99 on consoles. If you’re hesitant, a 30-minute demo is available, and you can continue your progress in the full game. For those eager to jump in early and get extra perks, the Quartz Edition is $10 more and includes 48-hour early access, exclusive skins and weapons, and bonus skill points for your thieving adventures.

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2026-01-26 21:20