Imagining Metal Gear Solid 5 in Goblin Mode: A Delightful Fantasy Stealth Experience
Crouched like a sneaky goblin thief in the rafters of *Styx: Blades of Greed*, I’m observing a group of guards milling about below, illuminated by a flickering fire. There are too many to take down at once, especially with a heavily armored brute among them, but the tempting loot nearby – shiny trinkets just waiting to be pocketed – makes it hard to resist the urge to engage. Maneuvering Styx, the self-proclaimed master of shadows, isn’t a challenge; it’s the sheer number of options that keeps me on my toes. This stealth series has evolved into a semi-open world, featuring three interconnected maps filled with expansive structures, open-ended objectives, and a treasure trove of loot to snag.
I spot a plate of food that the bulky guard can’t resist, presenting me with a couple of choices. I could crawl beneath the table, timing my emergence to unleash my lethal poison on his meal, or I could use some of my limited amber magic to become temporarily invisible and sneak across the floor with silent steps. Instead, I opt for a classic low-magic approach, grabbing an empty bottle and tossing it into the corner to distract them. I quietly leap onto a carpet to muffle my landing, snatch the loot, and then hastily spew bile to extinguish the fire, scuttling into the chimney to ascend one of the massive fortresses that make up The Wall – one of the dark, dense maps I’m set to plunder.
For once, Styx is on a somewhat selfless mission. Struggling to shake his amber addiction, he’s learned about a new magical substance, Quartz, whose power is escalating dangerously and could spell doom for his harsh world. With two games under his belt, this grumpy goblin now has a few allies he cares about, in addition to his own skin. Thanks to his amber-infused body, he’s one of the few who can absorb and neutralize Quartz energy, turning it into a power-up. Waste not, want not.
*Styx: Blades of Greed* retains the core mechanics that fans will recognize, but a lot has changed in the nine years since the last installment. Styx still has his classic thief skills, like extinguishing torches or crafting spit-and-sand projectiles, and he can hide in trunks and closets to eliminate guards. The gameplay is deeply influenced by his goblin nature, which adds a unique flavor to the experience.
However, Styx has gained a host of new abilities – quite amusing considering the story picks up just seconds after the cliffhanger of the previous game. Almost immediately, our goblin antihero is double-jumping across a massive rock giant in a God of War 3-style opening, speed-sidling over gaps, and wall-running – all fresh moves. This can make the early hours of *Styx: Blades of Greed* feel a bit disorienting, as Styx navigates tutorial areas with skills that seem designed for much larger spaces. There’s a concern that the game might be too easy, especially with the ability to move while holding a guard for a stealthy throat-slit, which alters the pacing compared to earlier titles.
But once you’re unleashed into the open world, each act presents new Quartz to collect, and the fluid movement mechanics start to shine. Many small buildings serve as waypoints along various routes through the dense environments, with Quartz often hidden in sprawling structures visible from afar. Styx’s enhanced mobility allows for creative approaches to challenges, whether it’s shimmying around to find an open window or sprinting past guards and using a clone decoy to slip into the shadows.
The game features a well-balanced difficulty curve that ramps up the challenge as you expand your powers and learn their uses. Key story moments introduce vital traversal options, like the grapple hook and paraglider (without spoiling the rest), which not only open up new areas but also recontextualize older ones, often hiding treasures for side quests. A once-daunting garrison built into a cliff becomes a breeze to infiltrate with Styx’s new abilities, though tougher guards and strategic placements will still require some clever thinking to snag that elusive relic.
Main quests can be a bit hand-holding at first, but as you progress, objectives become vaguer, often just pointing you to a location and letting you follow the obvious signs of Quartz use (glowing blue energy chains, for instance) and deactivate security measures. Styx can eavesdrop or find vantage points to gather intel, though these aren’t mandatory – I skipped a few thanks to my goblin instincts. The rewards from side quests didn’t matter much to me; the thrill of the heist was all the satisfaction I needed.
Similar to other stealth games, each mission has Styx deploying from unlockable balloon-travel points scattered across the maps. The Wall is a bustling urban landscape filled with fantasy shacks and massive stone zeppelin docks, where you can sneak through alleys, traverse rooftops, and hide beneath market stalls. The Akenash Ruins reimagine spaces from the first game, often presenting linear evasion challenges as you delve deeper for hidden treasures. Turquoise Dawn offers a mix of swamp and jungle, with makeshift wooden forts and tree halls, where human forces clash with the peaceful orcs, and dense foliage provides ample cover.
These open worlds in *Styx: Blades of Greed* blend the ambition of *Styx: Master of Shadows*’ expansive maps with the density of *Styx: Shards of Darkness*’ smaller zones, culminating in a dark fantasy stealth experience that the series has been building toward. Observing enemy patrols and deciphering the layout of large buildings evokes memories of some of *Hitman*’s best levels, while the interconnectedness of locations nods to *Metal Gear Solid 5*. The density of the environments means there’s little wasted space. I was initially skeptical about the shift to an open world, but I’m genuinely impressed with how it’s been executed – especially given the lack of competition in the pure open-world stealth genre.
A quick save system is just a button press away. Styx doesn’t judge you for taking it easy, and the flexible checkpointing encourages experimentation with different approaches.
However, it’s not without flaws. As the game progresses, guard reactions can become somewhat predictable, and you might find yourself anticipating their behavior when they grow suspicious. A bit more unpredictability from enemies would enhance the experience, though the presence of sound-based and smell-based hunters in certain areas keeps things interesting. The enemy AI has improved significantly compared to previous titles, which is expected given the time gap. Technically, *Styx: Blades of Greed* can be a bit rough on PC – I encountered multiple crashes (though frequent saving mitigated the setbacks), and while the visual design is impressive, some areas had a persistent fuzziness that I couldn’t quite resolve, no matter how I adjusted the settings.
Every space is intriguing to explore, both for its narrative and design. It’s been a while since the last *Styx* game, but *Blades of Greed* builds neatly on its predecessors, even tying into the *Of Orcs and Men* RPG from which Styx originates. The game is rich with dark fantasy tropes, yet Styx brings a unique twist that keeps things engaging. Humanity and its fantasy religion are portrayed as nefarious, the elves are mostly twisted, and then there’s Styx himself.
Once a goblin in a world where they were nonexistent, he’s now the only one who can speak in a realm overrun by a plague of goblins, all deemed non-sentient by everyone else – he’s utterly alone, even among his kind. The story in *Styx: Blades of Greed* is light, but the gradual formation of a band of outcasts, including the delightfully devious elf Djarak and companions from various races, creates a vibe reminiscent of *Dragon Age: The Veilguard*.
*Styx: Blades of Greed* offers countless ways to navigate its environments, making you feel like you’re truly crafting your approach to each thieving challenge.
At times, I felt I could exploit Styx’s powers to break the game’s progression – sneaking too quickly or too cleverly. But I could never be entirely sure. The game is filled with diverse paths to sneak through (or fight if necessary, though Styx is terrible in combat, making that a last resort), allowing you to tailor your strategy for each heist, and it even encourages you to push the boundaries. You can even jump off the real-time fast-travel balloons mid-flight to approach areas from new angles.
*Styx: Blades of Greed* is a vast adventure brimming with opportunities to stealthily traverse a dark fantasy open world, and I’ll give this goblin one thing – he certainly caught me off guard.
