History VideoGame / OfOrcsAndMen

* KnifeNut: Styx uses a pair of daggers for melee combat and throwing knives at range.

[[Administrivia/NeedsABetterDescription Needs a better summary]].

* BreakoutCharacter: Styx, who went on to receive two spin-off games with him as the protagonist in a prequel setting. As stated in SequelDisplacement below, however, the success of those two games made it hard for players unfamiliar with this game to believe that in his debut, Styx was actually the ''deuteragonist''.

* BreakoutCharacter: Styx, who receives two stealth games starring him as the protagonist.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Arkail kills the Emperor. Then it turns out that Barimen was just using him to gain power, and he promptly betrays and tries to kill him. Even if Barimen hadn't done this, Arkail assassinating the Emperor would've had the same outcome ''regardless''--which Barimen points out before Arkail kills him too. All Arkail did was succeed in giving the other nations a justifiable reason for exterminating the greenskins]].

''Of Orcs And Men'' is an ActionRPG developed by Creator/CyanideStudio and Creator/{{Spiders}}. The plot follows an orc named Arkail who seeks to assassinate the leader of [[TheEmpire The Empire of Men]], who have slaughtered and enslaved his people; he's accompanied by Styx, a self-proclaimed "survivor" and the only goblin known to show any intelligence.

A spin-off, ''Videogame/StyxMasterOfShadows'' was released on October 7, 2014. Taking place before the events of the game, it is a StealthBasedGame focused on Styx as he steals a magical artifact from humans.

* [[EnslavedElves Enslaved Orcs]]

* PrecisionFStrike: Styx, several times.

[[TheKingdom An alliance of human kingdoms]]. [[TheHorde An evil horde of orcs and monsters assailing it]]. [[TheChosenOne A mighty hero rising up to save his beleaguered people]]. Anyone with even a fleeting grasp of fantasy stories is all too familiar with this old setup. Well, what if, for once, the humans and the orcs switched places?

After the relative success of ''Styx: Master of Shadows'', Cyanide Studios announced a Sequel ''VideoGame/StyxShardsOfDarkness'', promising "more ambition", a "bigger budget", and a "new engine", set to be released in early 2017.

* {{Stripperiffic}}: Arkail is a male example, as befitting his BarbarianHero status. Even when he's wearing what's supposed to be breastplate and leggings his armor amounts to a metal collar and a LoinCloth.

After the relative success of ''Styx: Master of Shadows'', Cyanide Studios announced a Sequel ''"Styx: Shards of Darkness"'', promising "more ambition", a "bigger budget", and a "new engine", set to be released in early 2017.

''Of Orcs And Men'' is an action RPG developed by Creator/CyanideStudio and Creator/{{Spiders}}. The plot follows an orc named Arkail who seeks to assassinate the leader of [[TheEmpire The Empire of Men]], who have slaughtered and enslaved his people; he's accompanied by Styx, a self-proclaimed "survivor" and the only goblin known to show any intelligence.

After the relative success of ''Styx: Master of Shadows'', Cyanide Studios announced a Sequel ''"Styx: Shards of Darkness"'', promising "more ambition", a "bigger budget", and a "new engine", estimated to be released in 2016.

* PrestigeClass: Later on, Arkail and Styx can take specializations depending on how they resolve their inner demons. Arkail can become either a Berserker or a Master while Styx can become either an Assassin or a Shadowgoblin.

->''"Over the decades of conflict, the orcs were already beginning to figure it out: they were much sought after for their strength and toughness, and so, grinding slavery was always gonna be the result. Submit, or die. Needless to say, for a goblin like me, things were gonna be just as bad... We were there to be had like rats in a trap. Yeah, it's not easy bein' a greenskin on this fucking continent... [[DeadpanSnarker You've got my sympathy if that's your case]]."''

* BreakoutCharacter: Styx, who received a stealth-based prequel (and a to-be-released midquel) starring him as the protagonist.

''Of Orcs And Men'' is an action RPG developed by Cyanide Studios and Creator/{{Spiders}}. The plot follows an orc named Arkail who seeks to assassinate the leader of [[TheEmpire The Empire of Men]], who have slaughtered and enslaved his people; he's accompanied by Styx, a self-proclaimed "survivor" and the only goblin known to show any intelligence.

''Of Orcs And Men'' is an action RPG developed by Cyanide Studios and Spiders. The plot follows an orc named Arkail who seeks to assassinate the leader of [[TheEmpire The Empire of Men]], who have slaughtered and enslaved his people; he's accompanied by Styx, a self-proclaimed "survivor" and the only goblin known to show any intelligence.

A spin-off, ''Styx: Master of Shadows'' was released on October 7, 2014. Taking place before the events of the game, it is a StealthBasedGame focused on Styx as he steals a magical artifact from humans.

-->'''Styx''': Yeah, I can talk! And you weren't even a tadpole when I was whispering sweet nothings in your ugly mother's ear. What, she didn't tell you about me, ''son''?

!''Styx: Master of Shadows'' contains examples of:
* HundredPercentCompletion: Possible for each level, but you have to know the game really good to get a crack at this. To pull it off, you have to earn all 4 Marks for each level: for not raising an alarm; for not killing any guards (ghostly elf-skulls and mutant cockroaches don't count, as well as targets of secondary objective); for completing the whole level under a certain time; and for stealing all the coins (each stage of each level, except the prologue stage, has ten of them).
* AirVentPassageway: Justified. Ventilation shafts and pipes are way too small for a human to crawl through, but when the Atrium was built, [[spoiler:there was no such thing in existence as a goblin.]]
* AmnesiacHero: When the player controls Styx for the first time he appeared to have a severe headache and no memory of anything he did yesterday. [[spoiler:Actually it was because he was a clone of Styx that has just awakened, he was literally a ProtagonistWithoutAPast.]]
* 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]].
** In this game, the capabilities of amber suggested in story include:
*** Being some type of fuel for various machines of the city.
*** Serving as narcotics in diluted form; and it was widely smuggled for this purpose.
*** 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.]]
*** [[spoiler: Off screen, apparently amber has also allowed the elves to foresee future via certain magical means, this induced a late game plot with the Elvish ambassador saw a forecast different from his kin. (Turns out they were only seeing different parts of the same future) ]].
* 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.
* BigBad: As it turns out, the main villain is [[spoiler:the original Styx, who wishes to use the Amber Heart to turn himself back into an Orc]].
* BookEnds: [[spoiler:In the End clone Styx survived the fall into the amberlake, but loses all his memories due to having destroyed the World Tree Heart and being a creature of amber. In the finale he recalls his "birth" on the dried up lake bed of the amberlake, which used to house the world tree when it was alive. In a puzzled air, he mentioned his inability remember anything that has happened before, just like he did at the beginning of game, but in a much calmer manner.]]
* CallForward: The first time you encounter Orcs, a tooltip appears noting that while they're all hostile in this game, it would be interesting if an Orc ever teamed up with Styx.
* CitadelCity: The 'Atrium of Akenash', a gigantic city-tower built in order to protect the only world tree (a source of amber) within the human territory. As such, it represents an invaluable asset to the human empire and is in essence one giant fortification with an entire city to man it.
* 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.]]
* CoolAirship: Due to the 'Atrium of Akenash' being located on a floating island, these are an essential means of getting to and fro the tower.
* 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.
* DeadpanSnarker: Though this time understandably keeping to himself considering the [[StealthBasedGame need for silence]], Styx is still no less snarky compared to the last game, frequently commenting on the environment he sneaks into.
* ExpendableClone: Styx's duplicates are treated as largely expendable, with Styx himself making a point of treating them as little more than tools. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, he himself is this.]]
* FantasticDrug: Processed amber. Though prohibited, it was seen widely traded and smuggled in various parts of Akenash, providing a justified source of bottles of amber lying about or being carried around for Styx to steal.
** It wasn't described what drinking amber does to non-magic using humans, but human amber-users are frequently shown vomiting.
** It was suggested that consumable amber certain hallucinogenic effects on human users. When human enemies briefly sees or hears something moving in the corner (Styx), but then lose perception before they get suspicious, they may say "(Beep--), and I didn't even taken any amber...." and dismiss it as themselves seeing or hearing things.
* FantasticRacism: Although discrimination and abuse is prohibited by the Human-Elf Peace treaty; humans in this game commonly look down upon elves, calling the Elves with various pejorative slangs between themselves, such as "Rootsuckers". [[spoiler: After Aaron take place as governor after the death of his father, one of the policies he employ to rally the humans is to "lockup all the Elves (to show the superiority of the human race)".]]
* FloatingContinent: The Tower of Akenash was built around the World-Tree which in turn is located on a floating island. [[spoiler: The said tree also apparently being the only thing keeping the whole place afloat. Once Styx destroys the heart, the whole thing comes crashing down.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: The voice in Styx head refers to him as "Rakash," [[spoiler: hinting that he was a clone to begin with.]]
** In the opening cinematic Styx mentioned his own ancestors, but when governor Barimen questions his identity and the fact that Barimen has never seen anything like Styx before, Styx replied that he is one of a kind, [[spoiler: hinting at the fact that Styx was not a goblin before.]]
* GenreShift: Rather than an RPG, the game is primarily a stealth game with a limited upgrade system.
* 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.]]
** Styx also has a taste for throwing knives as a tool for ranged killing
* KnowledgeBroker: Oskan, a blind old crook wanted by the human government. He has many connections tapped into the criminal underworld of Akenash and mainly serves as the contract provider for Styx, offering Styx directions and information to help him reach his goals in exchange for Styx stealing and killing for him.
* LastLousyPoint: The coins the player must collect to obtain the Thief insignia in each stage is always scattered in the most unintuitive places around all the zones, often in places just away from visible angles on the path of a normal playthrough.
* LeParkour: Similar to Franchise/AssassinsCreed, Styx can climb upon fixtures and walls to stay out of sight. Unlike that series however, platforming is much less rigid, meaning that you're given much more freedom in movement.
* MesACrowd: Styx can create clones that can crawl through certain gates, scout areas ahead, distract guards and can even be upgraded to serve as living smoke bombs.
* 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 someones 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.
* 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.
* PacifistRun: Entirely possible, though significantly harder to pull off than killing guards. You even get bonus skill points for this.
* {{Prequel}}: The game takes place before Of Orcs and Men.
* SirSwearsalot: Styx was foul-mouthed enough in the first game, but he takes a new level of swearing in ''Master of Shadows''.
* SmokeBomb: Styx can turn his [[ExpendableClone clones]] into living smoke bombs, bursting into a large puff of obscuring smoke for Styx to infiltrate unhindered or assassinate a particularly hard to reach target. It is not very practical for making escapes though, as Styx cannot do it without a ready clone.
* StarScraper: While the Tower of Akenash looks to be about the same height as today's tallest buildings, it is significantly wider: the interior vertically houses an entire medieval city, and the horizontal distances are closer to that of a town than a building. Furthermore, the Tower still extends some distance underground.
* StealthBasedGame: Of the ''Strict Stealth'' type, where the player is very likely dead meat if they are spotted and do not re-enter a stealthy state quickly enough. The strictness is surprising considering the game type of the previous game and Styx's performance in it, as well as the current trend of "Fight or Sneak" stealth games, but reasonable for Styx being a small goblin facing well equipped human enemies twice his size everywhere.
* WretchedHive: The lower portions of Akenash are basically this, with smugglers, mad scientists, corrupt guards and other horrors.
* 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.
** 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.
----

* 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 clones uses, 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]].

* BookEnds[[spoiler:. In the End clone Styx survived the fall into the amberlake, but loses all his memories due to having destroyed the World Tree Heart and being a creature of amber. In the finale he recalls his "birth" on the dried up lake bed of the amberlake, which used to house the world tree when it was alive. In a puzzled air, he mentioned his inability remember anything that has happened before, just like he did at the beginning of game, but in a much calmer manner.]]
* [[spoiler: CloningBlues: 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.]]

* StealthBasedGame: Of the ''Strict Stealth'' type, where the player is very likely dead meat if they are spotted and do not re-enter a stealthy state quickly enough. The strictness is surprising considering the game type of the previous game and Styx's performance in it, as well as the current trend of "Fight or Sneak" stealth games, but reasonable for Styx being small goblin facing well equipped human enemies twice his size everywhere.

* BookEnds[[spoiler:. In the End clone Styx survived the fall into the amberlake, but loses all his memories due to having destroyed the World Tree Heart and being a creature of amber. In the finale he narrates his "birth" on the dried up lake bed of the amberlake, which used to house the world tree when it was alive. In a puzzled air, he mentioned his inability remember anything that has happened before, just like he did at the beginning of game, but in a much calmer manner.]]

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