This week, the Epic Games Store is giving away two games in the same franchise: Styx. Both the first entry, 2014's Master of Shadows, and the more recent installment, 2017's Shards of Darkness, can be permanently added to your library on PC, provided that you do so before Thursday, January 22, at 5 PM. Shards of Darkness is actually being gifted with the Deluxe Edition, too.
Obviously, it's a way for publisher Nacon and developer Cyanide Studio to increase exposure to the stealth game series in advance of the new game, Blades of Greed, which will be released on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S|X on February 19, 2026. You can now play the two entries of the sneaky goblin's adventures before checking out the limited-time demo that was released on Steam earlier this week. The Styx games aren't masterpieces, but they're still pretty fun, and it's not like there's a ton of new stealth games on the market anyway.
The upcoming Blades of Greed will offer even more options for approaching stealthy missions. In Wccftech's hands-on preview, Francesco De Meo wrote:
Taking advantage of the map's verticality, I climbed the tavern from the outside, making sure to crouch under windows to avoid enemies spotting me. This approach provided not only a different experience but also highlighted how the sandbox design of Styx: Blades of Greed will allow players to complete missions in any way they like.
The second part of the mission, which involved taking down all enemies in a somewhat closed-off location with an intricate design with multiple passages between rooms, likewise showed how many options are at Styx's disposal to take enemies out, even without using any of the special abilities that can be learned via the different skill trees or new tools like the grappling hook and the glider. One option I didn't see back in the Gamescom 2025 build is the ability to poison food, which highlights once more how varied the player's approach can be to clear missions.
Stay tuned for our full review of Blades of Greed.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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