The game has some genuinely impressive external locations and although I would have liked more levels set in daylight, I looked forward to each session I spent with the game, and especially relished those that revealed emergent objectives. The great strength of the Styx universe is the verticality of its environments - from lofty ledges and gables high above right down to its subterranean Styx-shaped crawlspaces, his fluid and well-animated movements can exploit each level in a multitude of ways. Styx can still become invisible for a short time, which I always think should be used as a last resort, and cloning returns too with some cleverly conceived new applications.
As was the case with Master of Shadows, ‘combat’ is best avoided consisting as it does of an imprecise parry move which will give you a second chance to finish off your foe. Shards of Darkness is a pure stealth game, where staying out of sight-using distraction, deception and insta-kill takedowns-is essential to your survival. As far as Styx is concerned, however, his motivation is his insatiable greed for those magical elements that fuel his special powers-that and his liberty.
The wider story unfolds piecemeal, draped as it is over reliable themes such as improbable alliances, mistrust, betrayal and revenge. Whereas Styx’s dependence on liquid amber provided the impetus in 2014’s Master of Shadows, predictably this time out he develops a serious quartz habit too. Some dark, mystical quality in the latter provides weapons within the elven arsenal with insuperable power. The game’s nine multi-sectored missions are set mainly in and around the vertiginous dark elven city of Korrangar, where high priestess Lyssril plots a path to invincibility through the harvesting of amber and the acquisition of pure quartz.
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