History Videogame / StyxMasterOfShadows

* CloningBlues:[[spoiler: Big time. The clone the player controls realized that all his thoughts and purposes about obtaining the heart of the world tree are not actually his own thoughts, they are all orders from the original Styx as he plays the clone like a puppet. The clone is so pissed about this prospect he sets out to kill and take over the original Styx, and decides to oppose every goal Styx has just because those are the only thoughts he is certain to be his own.]]

* KnifeNut: Styx feels naked without his trusty dagger. Justified it was basically his only consistently reliable tool for killing (or self defense, in case he got spotted), as human grade swords are obviously too big for him to use properly. Styx's dagger is quite different in this game, being significantly bigger and wider, [[spoiler: overall a more Orcish design, hinting at Styx's origin as a former Orc.]]

* GoLookAtTheDistraction: Making a clone and sending it running to take the heat off you is a viable strategy to survive.

* RealityEnsues: Styx is small compared to humans and while he can easily beat them in one-to-one combat, he is hopelessly outnumbered and certain enemies are just too much for him to handle on his own.

''Styx: Master of Shadows'' is a StealthBasedGame developed by Creator/CyanideStudio for PC, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne, released on October 7, 2014. The game is a spin-off/prequel to ''VideoGame/OfOrcsAndMen'', focusing on Styx as he steals a magical artifact from humans. As the very first of all the Goblins, he’s a master in the arts of stealth, thievery, 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.

* AuraVision: Styx has one in form of his Amber Vision. It highlights useful objects and can be further upgraded so he can even see enemies behind walls and locate trinkets.

* ArtificialBrilliance: This time, Guards WILL notice the deadbodies of their colleagues. And they will always summon nearby people to investigate together and check possible hiding spots when they have spotted a suspicious sound or sighting.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: You can send a clone to his doom so he can get slashed, stabbed, stomped, eaten, crushed, roasted, and more. Styx can fall victim to the same things as well.

* NintendoHard: Styx is intended as a pure stealth game, and the mechanics and difficulty all reflect this. The maps are large and incredibly intricate while enemies are numerous and alert. The guards knows to pry into hiding spots when investigating or searching, and can usually kill Styx very quickly when they spotted him, whether in melee or over a distance. There are also many one hit kill enemies starting from the second chapter, like elite crossbowmen, knights, orcs, and elves. After the first level, some level setups can get downright sadistic, like grouping chained orcs and sound sensitive roabies in the same corridor.

* {{Prequel}}: The game takes place before Of Orcs and Men.

* WeNeedADistraction: Diversion is always a viable and useful tactic to temporary clear a path for Styx to sneak through, whether by Styx whistling in person or via a clone. This is especially useful if one aims for the [[PacifistRun "Mercy" insignia]]. Styx and his clones can also unfasten chains hanging chandeliers or cargo to make them fall, as a instrument of aerial death or simply a spectacle to distract everyone around. And nothing stops you from using clones to get guards out of the way by running in front of them and making them chase the clone leaving that area clear for you.
** In the Library stage one of the objectives require Styx to get two elite crossbowmen out of the way, in order to let Ector enter a restricted area and pull a switch that Styx cannot reach. One of the methods is to distract them by making the chandelier fall.

* CrapsackWorld: Hardly any human beings in this world Styx meets or eavesdrops upon is painted in a positive light. [[spoiler:Maybe except [[AbsentMindedProfessor old Queberus]]. ]] The elves are mostly neutral.

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: You can send a clone to his doom so he can get slashed/stabbed/stomped/eaten/crushed/roasted and more. Styx can fall victim to the same things as well.

* DemonicSpider: Roabies. Big blind mutated cockroaches with incredible hearing, when alert, they cannot be killed with melee and deals tons of damage to Styx. With their hearing they can easily detect Styx if he is not slowed to a crawl, and makes killing guards or other roabies a difficult act around them because they can easily detect the sound even when it was a muffled kill, and will gladly go up a floor to spray acid all over the sound source. The worst thing is, they never go after the guards, only Styx and his clones.

* NintendoHard: The map is often large and enemies are numerous, they are also mostly intelligent, alert, and knows to pry into hiding spots when investigating or searching. They can usually kill Styx very quickly when they spotted him, whether in melee or over a distance. Elves can even downright spot you when you get close due to their ability to sense amber.

* NeckSnap: Styx's preferred method of muffled killing when striking from behind. Though this is generally a lot quieter then Styx simply jamming a knife into someone's chest and let them scream (Styx covers his victim's mouth when readying a NeckSnap), the SickeningCrunch of his victim's neck snapping will still draw the attention of nearby enemies. Making the game a lot more difficult and logical compared to many games of the genre.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Amber, the sap of the world tree. It is unknown what properties the substances has, besides being corrosive in concentration and addictive when diluted to non-amber based creatures. It also has seemingly unlimited magical capability to be applied to various functions, with numerous of them seen onscreen. It is unclear what, or just how many purpose(s) the Humans are using the amber for, but it is clear that the functions of amber are so critical that the human empire had to wage war to take control of the world tree just for the amber, and soon sign a peace treaty with the elves they fought, as it turns out crude amber is too dangerous for human workers to extract. [[spoiler:Doing too much magical experiments with amber is also what turned the original Styx into the first goblin, and apparently afterwards amber becomes the source of all the magic his magical clone(s) use(s), whether or not he himself had to rely on amber to cast magic is unknown, but the clone the player controls is shown developing a headache when not consuming amber]].

*** Being used to create "creatures of amber", various creatures (the main example being elves) with capabilities to used amber-based magic.
*** Amber-based creatures also involuntarily tap into a telepathic network and receives the thoughts of all other creatures who "has amber flowing in their bodies" or have a desire to obtain amber. [[spoiler: It turns out the elves are so used to it they can't comprehend what it is like "to be so lonely inside one's head". Styx however, felt that his personality is dwindling as his mind constantly gets flooded by the ideas of others, and this steeled his goal to steal the heart of the world tree and study a way to rid himself of the influence of amber.]]

After a relative success, Cyanide announced a sequel, ''VideoGame/StyxShardsOfDarkness'', promising "more ambition", a "bigger budget", and a "new engine", set to be released in early 2017.

* ArmorIsUseless: Averted hard. Soldiers who wear armor are still vulnerable since Styx always go for their unprotected head and neck, but Knights wearing full plate armor are completely immune to his dagger and throwing knives. Inquisitors, who wear full face helmets, are also immune to throwing knives as well.

''Styx: Master of Shadows'' is a StealthBasedGame developed by Creator/CyanideStudio for PC, PlayStation4 and XboxOne, released on October 7, 2014. The game is a spin-off/prequel to ''VideoGame/OfOrcsAndMen'', focusing on Styx as he steals a magical artifact from humans. As the very first of all the Goblins, he’s a master in the arts of stealth, thievery, 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.