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Review cover Styx: Blades of Greed GBAtemp review
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Product Information:

  • Release Date (NA): February 19, 2026
  • Release Date (EU): February 19, 2026
  • Publisher: Nacon
  • Developer: Cyanide Studio
  • Genres: Stealth
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S

Game Features:

Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative
Styx is back for a new stealth adventure. Is it worth venturing into, or should you let it sneak past when it emerges from the shadows tomorrow?

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Styx: Blades of Greed picks up after the events of the second game, Styx: Shards of Darkness. Shortly after settling his differences with Djarak, Styx finds himself a new focus for his greed: Quartz. To get his hands on this precious resource, he leads a ragtag crew, but not without encountering obstacles, often originating from the Inquisition.

A stealth game that doesn’t hide its rough edges

My first 30 minutes with Styx: Blades of Greed on PC were… not encouraging, to say the least. The game greets you with slick cinematics that promise a high production value. However, the game feels far from polished, at least on PC. The so-so voice work was, to me, the first indication of some impending friction. Then you get onto the gameplay and the rough edges start to show.

The opening sequence serves as a tutorial, but despite its blatant handholding and annoyingly obvious monologues, controls aren’t responsive. Within a couple of minutes of getting into Styx’s shoes, the controls betrayed me. The on-screen instructions assured me that pressing B would lead Styx to drop from a ledge and that he would automatically grab the ledge below. This, as you might have guessed, was not the case. That was my first betrayal. 

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Then you have the camera that doesn’t intuitively follow Styx, leading to confusing moments that require you to reorient yourself. Sometimes, some controls wouldn’t respond at all, such as taking out Styx’s knife. This is quite impactful for a stealth game or during unexpected encounters that require strategising and quick thinking. 

More minor, but still distracting, inconveniences include wonky character models, weird pop-ins and abrupt transitions between gameplay and cutscene/load screen.

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Being subject to these issues within the first 30 minutes isn’t a good sign, especially as this timeframe is crucial to hook players in. The buggy and unpolished state of Styx: Blades of Greed is indicative of the need for further time in the oven, at least on PC. I wish that the developers had that extra time so that I could experience the game as it was meant to be. Nevertheless, I soldiered on for a little more.

Old-school stealth fun (when it cooperates)

Underneath the rough presentation is a rather decent gameplay. Styx: Blades of Greed adopts a sandbox approach reminiscent of old-school stealth games. Its large areas allow for different progression pathways, with an emphasis on a stealth approach. 

Light and shadow affect how visible you are to enemies, leading to satisfying tension. Should you kill an enemy who is on your way and risk detection, or should you take a longer path, or should you throw sand at the wall lamp to obscure the path and sneak along the darkened walls? The game lets you take different approaches and use creative tools (dissolve or hide enemy corpses to avoid alert, peep through keyholes to scout the next room, craft a lockpick to enter a room), often relying on trial and error.

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There are also welcome additions to the gameplay, such as unlockable upgrades and abilities. It also includes a Metroidvania-style progression where getting a new tool allows you to access previously unreachable areas. However, this also means that a lot of what it has to offer in terms of diverse gameplay mechanics is gated for the majority of the first few hours.

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You can also opt for a heads-on approach, but this is heavily discouraged. This is because enemies can easily overpower or outnumber you. Furthermore, health refill vials are hard to come by, encouraging you to think twice before risking a non-stealth option.

So yes, this is a game that requires patience. You’ll have to find a good vantage point, scout the area and strategise your path to the current objective. This will likely entice fans of old-school stealth games like the early Metal Gear Solid games and I was glad to find a similar gameplay in a new title.

Progressing in this game is not a quick affair, but luckily, auto-saves are abundant, and you can easily save at the click of a button. Save scumming is even encouraged in this title, nudging you to embrace its trial-and-error aspect.

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However, the satisfaction of the old school stealth mechanics holds true when the systems decide to cooperate. As a game that decidedly requires more polish, execution is inconsistent. Stealth kill prompts aren’t reliably available or visible, even when Styx is aptly positioned in cover. If you do engage in combat, it can be painful with its clunkiness and imprecision. It’s another reason to avoid frontal assault in favour of a stealth approach. These distracting issues can also test your patience, especially as this game requires patience, but the technical shortcomings don’t work in its favour.

A promising kernel in need of refinement

Styx: Blades of Greed’s cinematics and classic stealth gameplay are its high points. The writing can be fun and witty, but the world-building could have been deeper. Exploration is modestly rewarded, with some usable items in an environment that feels lived in, but it does not hold much in terms of lore for you to uncover.

The rough edges, with distracting mechanical and visual bugs, are hard to overlook. There is also a limited variety in NPCs and even less in interactive moments with NPCs.

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There’s a kernel of a compelling stealth experience and fun to be had here that is too often undermined by technical issues. If you love old-school stealth and can look past bugs, Styx: Blades of Greed can deliver a decent experience. However, the rough edges mean it isn’t the stealth comeback it could have been. I hope that upcoming patches address these issues to make for a more compelling experience.

Styx: Blades of Greed | Gameplay Trailer

Verdict

What We Liked ...
  • Old school stealth fun gameplay
  • Sandbox level design with a range of possibilities
What We Didn't Like ...
  • Distracting technical and visual bugs
  • Lacklustre world-building
7
Gameplay
Styx’s new adventure offers solid, old-school stealth fun, when the systems decide to cooperate.
6
Presentation
Despite offering attractive cinematics, Styx: Blades of Greed is rife with distracting technical and visual bugs on PC.
6
Lasting Appeal
There is a kernel of originality and engaging gameplay here, but it is undermined by a noticeable lack of polish.
6.8
out of 10

Overall

On paper, Styx: Blades of Greed is a competent stealth game, but in practice, this is hampered by a noticeable lack of polish.
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Review cover
Product Information:
  • Release Date (NA): February 19, 2026
  • Release Date (EU): February 19, 2026
  • Publisher: Nacon
  • Developer: Cyanide Studio
  • Genres: Stealth
  • Also For: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Game Features:
Single player
Local Multiplayer
Online Multiplayer
Co-operative

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