If you’re a newcomer to the franchise, then prepare to be in for a world of hurt. It’s a simple fact – Shards of Darkness is an entirely different beast when it comes to modern stealth games. This isn’t a stealth game pissing contest. However, if you’re a diehard fan of any of the above games then let me be the first to say that to tar Styx with the same brush would be a mistake.

I don’t blame you the game looks like the lovechild of Assassin’s Creed and Shadow of Mordor, and it appears to have the elaborately staged assassinations that were a crowd favourite in Dishonored.

If you’ve watched the launch trailer for Styx: Shards of Darkness then you’re probably drawing some enlightened (or unfortunate) parallels between the titular protagonist and Deadpool. Despite the myriad of in-game puns about sticks up the ass, it shows none of that pretentiousness in presentation. It seems like a miracle, but Styx: Shards of Darkness is a uniquely grotesque and refreshingly self-aware offering from Cyanide Studios. Hell, not even my best friend wants to hear about how I spent my weekend walking a mile in the shoes of an ugly goblin who shanks people to death in dark alleyways and swears more than a Gold Coast bogan. It’s definitely difficult to explain on a date.

It’s hard to explain the Styx franchise to someone in polite conversation.

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