The trailer also showcases several of his new abilities alongside returning ones from his past adventures. You can use Quartz to gain a multitude of advantages over your foes while your stealth abilities get quite the upgrade courtesy of a newly added glider and grappling hook.

We enjoyed sneaking about in the game’s sandbox levels in our review, and the story does have interesting twists to ensure that you’re locked in from when it picks up after the cliffhanger that Master of Shadows ended nine years ago.

If you’re looking for a stealth experience that’s both dark and funny at the same time, look no further than the foul-mouthed goblin who’s making a triumphant return to the spotlight before he beckons you over to the shadows.

That’s the gist of Blades of Greed, and those new abilities are hard-won, requiring careful manoeuvring through enemy-infested territories and the tactical use of Styx’s skill set to ensure that they don’t see you coming. I mean that literally, as Styx’s martial prowess is restricted to wild slashes with the Greed Blade and a basic dodge that you’re going to have to be very good with if you decide to take on your foes in a fair fight.

"There are references to previous entries in the franchise, and you’re going to want to brush up on the stories of the previous two games to better understand some of the comments Styx makes as he visits new places."

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s begin with the story. It picks up right where the previous game left off, with Styx and Djarak facing off in a duel on Helledryn’s ship even as the golem that he previously took down resurfaces and creates chaos. Styx and Djarak are forced to put their fight on hold in order to face the bigger threat, and things eventually lead to an uneasy alliance between the three returning characters as their ship crashes, and they’re forced to take refuge in The Wall’s slums, biding their time until they can escape it.

The prologue has you tasked with infiltrating a pirate captain’s stronghold in order to request his assistance in escaping the wall. The captain is a dwarf who has a grudge against the Inquisition for confiscating his beloved flying vessel. The ship’s mission to free it does require a touch of audacity, a precursor to the kind of guerrilla tactics you’ll need to employ throughout the game.

Your efforts to release the ship from the hands of the Inquisition quickly put you in touch with a Dwarven engineer whose knowledge of Quartz becomes quite handy later down the line. You now have two new faces to work with, and the early origins of the Black Hand are well underway. The narrative also does well to present events before the beginning of the Great War, an event that fans of Orcs and Men are sure to appreciate in this title. The engineer handles nifty upgrades to your toolkit while the captain is your navigator, using your ship to take you to and fro between the game’s playable areas across the Iserian Continent, many of which will be familiar to those among you who played the previous games.

"The narrative also does well to present events before the beginning of the Great War, an event that fans of Orcs and Men are sure to appreciate in this title"

Each of these regions – The Wall, Turquoise Dawn, and Akenash – is its own sandbox, and has multiple places you get to visit as your powers and skills grow, with backtracking allowing you to flit between available areas as you see fit before new ones open up to you as you progress through the story.

The story only gets better from there, and it’s definitely among the game’s strengths. There are references to previous entries in the franchise, and you’re going to want to brush up on the stories of the previous two games to better understand some of the comments Styx makes as he visits new places.

Moving on to the gameplay, uncovering more of Styx’s strangely symbiotic relationship with the Quartz fragments he’s hunting down requires a lot of painstaking observation and careful navigation as a part of its gameplay loop. Blades of Greed isn’t an easy experience, not by a long shot. Even on easy mode, enemies in an area are quite alert and can hunt you down with an almost disdainful level of skill, which makes the quiet approach almost a necessity right from the get-go. The indicators on enemies give you a good idea of how alert they are to your presence, and the game’s audio cues also tell you quite clearly that they’ve given up their pursuit for the time being.

Cranking up the difficulty only makes things harder, to the point where the challenge can skew towards being a touch unfair. It’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a patch, but it did force me to play on easy mode in the early hours and switch over to hard once I had a few more tools in my arsenal. I’d recommend quicksaving on every successful kill to avoid being forced to repeat a whole sequence of careful stealthing from the last checkpoint.

"the stealthy approach encourages creativity, with a myriad of ways to mess with your opponent’s head"

Blades of Greed doubles down on the stealth elements of the previous games and supports that with vertical level designs that have a ton of nooks and crannies for Styx to exploit as he tries to remain unseen. You’re encouraged to use every tool at your disposal to turn off lights, crawl under tables, leap up to the ceiling, and attempt to cause accidents using chandeliers and cranes carrying heavy loads.

In the event that you’re spotted, running is almost always the better option as Styx is supremely agile, using his small stature and quick feet to evade danger. Combat is nothing more than a basic attack and dodge combo that you need to exploit, and even basic enemies are far more proficient at it than you are. Styx is meant to strike from the shadows, and the game does not hesitate to drive that point home.

The newly introduced Quartz abilities do offset this to an extent, introducing cool new ways to take the fight to your enemies. For instance, Mind Control makes a return from the first title, allowing you to turn your foes against each other, while abilities like the Flux Blast and Time Shift are great options in a fight. But their effects are too limited to let you actually hold your own in a melee setting, and even then, they are more effective when used from stealth.

However, the stealthy approach encourages creativity, with a myriad of ways to mess with your opponent’s head. You get to throw out clones that can distract enemies, use glass bottles to lure pesky guards to quiet places where you can go in for the kill, and even turn invisible to sneak past a particularly crowded area.

"It soon became second nature to cheese the guards in any area by finding a single safe spot, placing a cocoon that I could teleport back to at will or respawn at if things went south"

The control scheme is built around mobility, allowing you to employ hit-and-run tactics while you improvise in the face of uncertainty. On paper, all of that has the markings of a stealth experience for the ages. But that’s where the cracks in the formula begin to show.

For instance, I found that stabbing a guard in a place where the assassination should have gone undiscovered magically alerted every enemy on the floor, necessitating the need to scramble for cover. I found a suitable hiding spot by crawling through a space, only to find that another guard was able to drag me out of it and quickly give me a rather grisly end.

Upon reloading and attempting a more discreet set of tactics, I found myself in the same situation with the guards hunting me while I hid away in the very same nook. However, I switched things up by hiding to the left of the opening instead of the right, which somehow made the guards overlook my presence. The logic of it escaped me in the moment, but I was grateful for the temporary reprieve.

It soon became second nature to cheese the guards in any area by finding a single safe spot, placing a cocoon that I could teleport back to at will or respawn at if things went south, and then pick and choose my targets while planning an escape route that would have me hiding away at my chosen safe point while they tried their utmost to get to me. The enemy AI could be better, and future updates to the game need to work on making things more believable. But for my time with Blades of Greed, I found the game’s enemies to be an annoyance rather than a challenge.

"The enemy AI could be better, and future updates to the game need to work on making things more believable"

It doesn’t help that your toolkit requires you to use very limited supplies to craft useful items like crossbow bolts, amber, health potions, and lockpicks. Many of these items share the same resources, which makes you choose between one thing and another. I found myself in a situation where I had only a sliver of health left and was forced to choose between crafting a health potion or more bolts to take down enemies from the safety of the shadows.

That’s a choice that I’d welcome if I knew that further supplies were there to be found as I went along, either option facilitating more possibilities. But in the absence of sufficient material drops, choosing either one meant a tedious loop of cat and mouse that should have been fun thanks to its challenge, but ended up being a chore thanks to the fact that you don’t get to use all of Styx’s inventive tools freely enough.

Although that’s offset in the game’s later stages as you get the grappling hook and glider, the latter of which unlocks quite a ways into the story for it to be as appealing as the former, their absence in earlier sections of the game makes the entire adventure too front-loaded for my taste. The majority of my time in Turquoise Dawn, one of the first major areas you get to visit, was spent in a loop of trial and error with many deaths that could have been avoided if only there were more ways to actually enjoy the stealth approach. The grappling hook should have been introduced as early as it could have been, at the very least.

And yet, Blades of Greed’s quirks made finding ways to work around its issues all the more fun. All I had to do was suspend my disbelief just enough for me to start getting very creative with whatever I could use at any given moment. As an example, throwing a clone at an enemy to temporarily stun them while taking down their colleague in one fell swoop is a viable approach, as is laying down an acid trap in the path of a patrolling guard and watching them wither away into oblivion. Throwing up on a rather large guard’s lunch to poison them never got old and was probably my favorite way to take down tough enemies whenever I could.

"The game’s visuals are a big plus, although the cutscenes do suffer from a bit of pop-in and struggle to handle interactions between large assets like your ship and buildings"

Blades of Greed shines in these moments, and it’s all so genuinely enjoyable that I could forget my complaints and settle down for a stealthy gameplay loop that had me lingering in an area long after I collected all the Quartz within its confines just to come up with new ways to be as bothersome as I could be to the enemies in it. It only gets better as you unlock more options via the Upgrades menu, or by finding blueprints to improve on your existing items, thanks to the engineer onboard your ship.

While you might get through the entire adventure fairly quickly if you just make a beeline for the main story, that isn’t how this game is meant to be played. It’s designed around experimentation, and it’s best enjoyed when you stick around long after you’ve picked up all the Quartz in an area to check out exactly what shenanigans you can get up to with your latest upgrades. Overall, I’d say you can clear Blades of Greed in about 20 hours, give or take, and that’s with a sizable chunk of its content under your belt.

The game’s visuals are a big plus, although the cutscenes do suffer from a bit of pop-in and struggle to handle interactions between large assets like your ship and buildings. It doesn’t affect your gameplay, but it can get immersion-breaking to see your ship and a building melded into each other briefly before the game realizes what’s up and forces them apart in real time.

"On the performance front, the game runs quite smoothly at 60fps on a base PS5 when you’re in control of Styx, which is great given how fluid his movements are."

But while you’re in control, the Unreal Engine 5-powered stages make excellent use of lighting to provide clearly marked safe zones for sneaking while your movements are fluid and smooth, conveying Styx’s supreme agility quite well. The audio is spot-on, too, and you get to hear Styx provide his insights on your actions or the world around him quite often with his signature gruff style of sarcasm and sass.

The guards also give out exclamations when they spot you, the dialogue doing well to convey whether it was just a sighting or if they’re coming to investigate your presence. When they’re hunting you, they often call out to each other, and you can exploit their plans if the situation allows it.

On the performance front, the game runs quite smoothly at 60fps on a base PS5 when you’re in control of Styx, which is great given how fluid his movements are when he’s leaping from ledge to ledge.

"If you’re a fan of the previous games, you’re going to be right at home in this one and even be willing to look past its flaws"

It’s time to tackle the big question: would I recommend Blades of Greed? If you’re a fan of the previous games, you’re going to be right at home in this one and even be willing to look past its flaws. But if you’re a newcomer to the franchise or to stealth games in general, this one comes with a learning curve that you might find discouraging. Get past those initial hurdles, however, and you’re going to have an experience that’s both challenging and just plain fun.

This one’s worth the effort it takes to nail down, and most of its issues feel patchable with a good update or two. Give it a go if you’re a fan of stealth games and want an experience in which your creativity reigns supreme.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

The Styx franchise has always balanced a serious story with lighter, comedic beats. How are you approaching that tonal mix in Styx: Blades of Greed?

As in the previous games, Styx remains a sarcastic and irreverent goblin who finds himself caught up in dark, mature intrigues that are often beyond him.

However, our goblin evolves: he becomes less disrespectful toward the player and even learns to work as part of a team initially out of self-interest but gradually growing attached over the course of the adventure to this sense of comfort and recognition he has always been denied.

"Styx remains a sarcastic and irreverent goblin who finds himself caught up in dark, mature intrigues that are often beyond him."

The series’ stealth has consistently been its biggest strength. What new tools, abilities, or systemic additions does Styx: Blades of Greed introduce to deepen stealth and player expression?

Styx is even more agile than before, and the addition of new traversal tools has allowed us to create larger levels, highlighting strong verticality while offering more opportunities to escape. This keeps stealth gameplay more dynamic than ever.

The new powers also bring greater freedom and more options for resolving situations. Our philosophy has always been that every situation is a puzzle with multiple solutions.

How much does Styx: Blades of Greed expand the world and lore established in Of Orcs and Men, and should players expect any meaningful connections beyond setting and factions?

With Styx: Blades of Greed, our goal was to reconnect the threads of the lore established in previous entries and to show the early beginnings of the Great War between the Empire and the Orcs, which later serves as the foundation for the story told in Of Orcs and Men.

"Our goal was to reconnect the threads of the lore established in previous entries and to show the early beginnings of the Great War between the Empire and the Orcs"

You’ve described the game as featuring three “massive” playgrounds. How does that reshape the game’s structure compared to previous entries, mission flow, progression, and how players navigate objectives?

The structure is completely different from previous games. It allows us to create much larger environments that gradually unlock as the adventure progresses and as Styx gains new traversal tools.

Styx’s main objective is to steal all the Quartz, guided by a compass indicating the direction to search in.

Often, several Quartz objectives are accessible at the same time, allowing players to choose the order in which they collect them, shaping their experience based on the paths they take and how they resolve the situations they encounter.

Additionally, this new structure lets us place more collectibles such as thief emblems, gold pouches, relics, runes, or crafting schematics which reward exploration of these vast environments with experience points or specific gameplay abilities.

Can players expect to meet any returning characters, major or minor, or is the focus entirely on new faces?

Yes, Helledryn and Djarak will be part of the adventure. But we also wanted Styx to meet new characters who will form his crew, as well as other characters representing different factions, such as the Flux, the Inquisition, and the Resistance opposing the Empire.

"Styx’s main objective is to steal all the Quartz, guided by a compass indicating the direction to search in."

How does the story pick up after the ending of Styx: Shards of Darkness, particularly regarding the fallout involving Djarak?

At the end of Styx: Shards of Darkness, Styx and Djarak more or less allied to destroy Korrangar. Styx: Blades of Greed begins exactly where Styx: Shards of Darkness ended, with Styx confronting Djarak after his escape from Korrangar. However, their dispute is quickly interrupted by an event that goes far beyond their personal conflict.

You’ve emphasized “freedom and creativity” as core design principles. In practical gameplay terms, what does that mean, more emergent solutions, broader level routes, expanded gadget/ability synergies, or something else?

Yes, many powers and features can be combined, allowing players to express their creativity in assassinations, stealth approaches, or even navigation.

What role does the Black Hand play in the narrative of Styx: Blades of Greed? Are they primarily an antagonistic force, a political pressure point, or something more nuanced?

At the beginning of Styx: Blades of Greed, the Black Hand does not truly exist yet. Styx and his crew discover a small group of resistance fighters opposing the Empire, representing the early beginnings of the Black Hand. This adventure shows the creation of what this organization will later become, shaped by the actions of Styx and his crew.

From a developer standpoint, what’s your impression of the PS5 Pro so far? In real terms, how does the GPU boost impact your development versus targeting the base PS5?

Our main target was the PS5, so we did not particularly adapt our game for the PS5 Pro. However, its extra power ensures smooth performance in every situation, which is a great bonus for our players.

"Styx and his crew discover a small group of resistance fighters opposing the Empire, representing the early beginnings of the Black Hand."

What are your thoughts on PSSR, and what specific opportunities does it open up for Styx: Blades of Greed (image quality, performance headroom, ray tracing, stability, etc.)?

In our case, the native Unreal Engine 5 upscaler was already performing well, so we did not invest much effort in PSSR for Styx: Blades of Greed. But this is something we are definitely exploring for our other games.

What performance targets are you aiming for across platforms: PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro (resolution modes and frame rates, and whether those targets are dynamic or fixed)?

We are currently finalizing the last adjustments for the console versions and will share the technical specifications at a later date.

Is there a specific reason why the game is not coming to Nintendo Switch 2?

Given our use of Unreal Engine 5 technologies like Lumen and Nanite, as well as the scale and interactive depth of our environments and our production timeline, we ultimately decided not to target the Nintendo Switch 2 platform.

When we asked him about his thoughts on the PS5 Pro from a game development standpoint, he noted that the studio targeted the base PS5 for Styx: Blades of Greed. Due to this, it won’t make use of the Pro’s capabilities. However, he did note that players using the more powerful console will benefit from more stable performance thanks to its horsepower.

“Our main target was the PS5, so we did not particularly adapt our game for the PS5 Pro. However, its extra power ensures smooth performance in every situation, which is a great bonus for our players,” said Desourteaux. As for whether it will offer any support for PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) for PS5 Pro players, he noted that Styx: Blades of Greed will instead be using Unreal Engine 5’s built-in Temporal Super Resolution (TSR) upscaler, since it was already performing well for the studio’s needs.

“In our case, the native Unreal Engine 5 upscaler was already performing well, so we did not invest much effort in PSSR for Styx: Blades of Greed,” he explained. “But this is something we are definitely exploring for our other games.”

Styx: Blades of Greed was announced back in March 2025, and will serve as a sequel to 2017’s Styx: Shards of Darkness. The stealth adventure game was announced with an emphasis on “freedom and creativity” in its gameplay. As for its world, level design will feature more verticality in its environments, and goblin protagonist Styx will be equipped with new tools and powers that help him navigate and fight. The story will revolve around the creation of the Black Hand mercenary group. More recently, it got a brand new trailer that focused on providing a recap of Styx’s adventures so far.

Since last month, PC players interested in checking out Styx: Blades of Greed could try out a free demo. Cyanide Studio also confirmed that progress could be carried over into the full game. As you might expect, the demo focuses on the earlier parts of the game, offering two missions: a tutorial mission and an infiltration into The Wall. The studio described this demo as offering a “focused taste” of the full release.

Styx: Blades of Greed is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and retails for $49.99. A Quartz Edition is also available, priced at $59.99, and includes in-game extras like crafting materials, two talent points, and five taunts, along with the Greedy and Legacy skin packs and two days of advanced access. Pre-ordering either of the editions offers the Master of Shadows skin as a bonus.

For more on Styx: Blades of Greed, here are 15 important details about the game.

While the trailer doesn’t delve into the new game’s plot, it could be quite useful to those among you looking to see what the fuss is all about. It provides a quick recap of Styx’s motivations with the game’s signature style and fourth-wall-breaking antics on full display.

For those of you returning from the previous two games, you might be excited to know that Blades of Greed puts our favorite thieving goblin in charge of his own crew aboard a zeppelin, along with a handy gliding tool that lets him traverse the larger world he’s exploring with ease. You can learn more about what’s new right here, and perhaps make an informed decision about whether you’re picking up a copy ahead of its February 19 release for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Resident Evil Requiem

The big one, the main event, the raison d’être for many survival horror fans. With the long-awaited return to Raccoon City, a fusion of first and third-person perspectives, and Leon S. Kennedy looking more fly than ever, Resident Evil Requiem is simply the game to watch out for in February. It’s been a long time coming – can you believe Resident Evil Village was almost five years ago? – but based on everything we’ve seen thus far, it will be worth the wait and then some. Look for its launch on February 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Nioh 3

“Let’s have a dream of everlasting peace,” said Tokugawa Ieyasu, probably, to which his younger grandson probably said, “No.” With a Kyoto beset by Yokai and no other options, it’s on Tokugawa Takechiyo, the rightful heir to the title of Shogun, to travel back in time and fix things. But even as it incorporates new open-field elements for non-linear exploration, seamless switching between Samurai and Ninja styles, and all kinds of nasty new enemies, Nioh 3 retains that addictive hack-and-slash gameplay and masocore difficulty that we know and love. It’s available on February 6th for PS5 and PC, with a free demo available for both now.

Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined

The art style, the music, the visual overhaul – everything about this screams old-school adventure. Granted, this isn’t the first “different” edition of Dragon Quest 7, but the developer isn’t just aiming for fancier graphics – it’s also streamlining the original story, adding new content and bringing quality-of-life features (like instantly defeating lower-level enemies in the field). Couple this with new activities and the new Moonlighting system for combining Vocations, and Dragon Quest 7 Reimagined could be the best possible version yet when it launches on February 5th.

Romeo is a Dead Man

Say what you will about Suda51 games, but one thing is for sure: You never know what to expect. So the concept of Romeo is a Dead Man, where one Romeo Stargazer dies, revives, and hunts criminals across space and time with the special Dead Gear? Not exactly on everyone’s bingo card. Nevertheless, the surreal presentation, bloody hack and slash combat – with a delightful assortment of weapons to wreak havoc – and over-the-top bosses will more than suffice when it launches on February 11th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

BlazBlue Entropy Effect X

If you enjoyed Dead Cells, then BlazBlue Entropy Effect offers one of the more low-key enjoyable – and addictive – rogue-lite side-scrolling experiences out there. For its console release, however, 91Act is going bigger, adding a new story centered around the Sea of Possibility, with Ace seeking the Shards of Possibility to save the world. If none of that matters to you, don’t worry – Entropy X adds Naoto Kurogane as a new playable character alongside new bosses, enemies, stages, and more.

Mario Tennis Fever

I’ve got a fever, and the solution? More Mario Tennis from Camelot. I don’t think any campaign can ever match up to Mario Tennis: Power Tour, but Fever’s set-up of having Baby Mario and friends re-learn their tennis skills is at least somewhat enticing. Beyond that, the real hook is the new Fever Rackets, each with unique abilities called Fever Shots that can turn the tide of a match. Couple that with “Mix It Up” Mode’s unique twists and a whopping 38 playable characters, and Mario Tennis Fever could maybe, probably, be a sleeper hit when it launches on February 12th for the Switch 2.

Ride 6

Arriving about two and a half years after Ride 5, Ride 6 makes the jump to Unreal Engine 5 while packing over 250 bikes. The usual stars appear, but this time, players can also take Baggers and Enduro Bikes onto the track. And if you prefer something a little more free-form, off-road tracks finally properly debut in all their dirty glory. Couple all this with a new Career Mode, RIDE Fest, which sees you going up against Legendary bikers in their category of choice, and Ride 6 is looking packed ahead of its release on February 12th.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties

A visually improved version of Yakuza 3 probably would have been enough, but RGG Studio went the extra mile by revamping the combat mechanics, adding new activities (including managing a gang of bikers), progression systems, and even a whole new side story focused on Yoshitaka Mine. All this for just $69.99. Are we a little worried after the demo was rated “Mostly Negative” on Steam? Well, sure, but maybe there will be some improvements, at least visually, before its launch on February 12th for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Reanimal

How do you create something that’s somehow even more disturbing than Little Nightmares? Tarsier Studios apparently has the answer with Reanimal – a story about two siblings seeking to find their friends after an unknown event has brought overwhelming horrors into their lives. The mood, the aesthetic, the isolationism – it’s all here but darker and more expansive. Launching on February 13th for Nintendo Switch 2, PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, Reanimal invites you to pick up the pieces of a fractured home, or die trying.

ASTROBOTANICA

Even after years of the same crafting, harvesting, farming, and building in this genre, ASTROBOTANICA’s premise has me intrigued. It’s set during prehistoric times, but this isn’t a Far Cry Primal situation. Instead, you’re an alien named Xel, who must study and collect plants to tolerate the atmosphere. From there, hijinks with neanderthals, mysterious sights, six skill paths, and more await. Of course, it won’t all be accessible – ASTROBOTANICA launches into early access on February 16th for PC – but it still promises dozens of hours of exploration.

Styx: Blades of Greed

Why send in an orc to tear down the front door when you could send, well, an orc to rob everyone blind? Styx returns in his third adventure, this time with a crew and a hankering for Quartz. Three massive sandboxes await, and based on the multi-level Wall, where you can jump down chimneys to infiltrate kitchens and poison meals, or mind control guards to do a flip, there are a lot of options for stealth sandbox fun. It’s launching on February 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Ys X: Proud Nordics

The original landed somewhat less ideally than I would have liked, especially compared to Ys VIII and Ys IX. Proud Nordics doesn’t look to severely overhaul its combat systems, so much as add new content in the form of the Aland Island and a story revolving around a mysterious Mana user. Regardless, if you’re hungry for more, from arena battles and new bosses to fresh Mana Actions, Ys X: Proud Nordics is worth watching out for when it launches on February 20th for PS5, Switch 2 and PC.

Aces of Thunder

Replaying Ace Combat 7 or diving into Project Wingman to prepare for Ace Combat 8 is nice and all, but what about flight combat in VR? That’s what Aces of Thunder promises when it launches on February 3rd for PC, PS5 and PlayStation VR2. Between an extensive range of WW1 and WW2 aircraft, full HOTAS support, and 15 maps – with War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment at the helm – it looks like it could be the most immersive dogfighting sim yet. And while VR is ideal, an optional non-VR mode is also available.

Tales of Berseria Remastered

Why a remaster of Berseria, especially when Xillia 2 is right there? A question for another day, perhaps, but at least it’s one of the more well-received entries in the series. Launching on February 27th for Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS5, Tales of Berseria Remastered adds the usual quality of life options, from turning off enemy encounters to accessing the Grade Shop from the start. You even get a healthy chunk of DLC from the original.

ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard

We won’t be getting Portal 3 anytime soon, but there are plenty of other first-person puzzles worth diving into, such as ChromaGun 2: Dye Hard. Aside from the obvious riff on certain plot elements, the concept of walls attracting objects (sentient or otherwise) of the same color is intriguing. Paint the world red, or blue, or orange, to progress, and hopefully not suffer agonizing death at the hands of many killer robots.

Where It Fits in the Lore

Who remembers the 2014 Xbox 360 tactical RPG Of Orcs and Men? Probably not many. The Styx games are more widely known, mostly because of the steep discounts and cheep point of entry. Styx: Blades of Greed ties directly into the overlooked tactical title that started it all, serving as a prequel that sets up the Great War between humans and goblins. It also explores the origins of the Black Hand, the mercenary group Styx belonged to in Of Orcs and Men. With its position bridging the older game and the more recent Styx titles, Blades of Greed feels like an ideal jumping-on point for newcomers.

Single-Player Stealth Action-Adventure

Unlike the tactical RPG gameplay from Of Orcs and Men, Styx sticks closely to the stealth-action formula fans expect from the series. This new entry notably drops the co-op mode that divided players in Styx: Shards of Darkness. This time around, the experience is entirely single-player, allowing the developers to laser-focus on tighter level design and more polished stealth mechanics.

Core Hook: Hunting Quartz

As a persecuted goblin (the only one who speaks), Styx now makes his living hunting Quartz, a powerful new energy resource. This time, he’s running the operation himself, commanding a crew aboard a zeppelin. Quartz fuels everything from towering golems to flying airships, and multiple factions are battling to control it. The conflict over Quartz isn’t just a narrative conceit though, it directly feeds into the game’s core systems and progression.

New Quartz Powers

Quartz introduces a brand-new suite of abilities that Styx can wield across his high-flying journey. In fact, fans of Dishonored might feel right at home here. You’ve got powers like Mind Control, which lets Styx briefly possess enemies, and Time Shift, which slows or accelerates time so you can slip through patrol routes. Flux Blast offers a more aggressive option, unleashing a shockwave that knocks enemies off their feet. Quartz abilities form just a half of the game’s upgrade system.

Cloning and Invisibility Return

The other half of Styx’s abilities come from the stealth-minded Amber skills. These include returning fan-favorites like invisibility and cloning, which lean more toward defensive and evasive playstyles compared to the offense-oriented Quartz abilities. Clone Decoy is a tad different compared to previous titles since you cannot directly pilot clones this time. The advantage is their upgradability.

Two-Track Progression

Skills in Blades of Greed aren’t static. The game features a branching, two-track skill tree giving you the option to invest in either Amber stealth abilities or aggressive Quartz powers. Your choices shape how Styx handles encounters. For example, clone-related upgrades allow you to deploy multiple decoys, which can be invaluable for slipping past heavily guarded patrols.

Crafting

Skills aren’t the only trick up Styx’ goblin sleeve; he’s also a cunning trapmaster who knows how to craft. Looting is something goblins are particularly good at and you’ll be doing much of that within the more open-ended environments. Collected materials can be used to craft temporary weapons, potions, and traps on the fly. These range from noise-making whistles and glass bottles to acid used to quickly dispose bodies. Crafting is fast and seamless, aided by automatic loot pickups.

Vertical Environments

Environments aren’t just bigger for the sake of loot though, they also serve to vary up the terrain. The game has a notable vertical element complimenting the stealth/action gameplay. Styx can climb structures and parkour across rooftops with leaps and slides, and performing kills from behind is more satisfying due to the multi-angle sandbox design. There’s some exciting tools that make traversal across the larger world more fun too, as we’ll get into shortly.

More Progression Details

These larger environments support a new platformer-inspired structure, which has me pretty excited. As you progress, you’ll unlock tools that open up new routes and shortcuts. To keep backtracking manageable, fast-travel points are scattered throughout the world in addition to frequent respawn points.

Glider and Grappling Hook

Traversal gets a major upgrade thanks to new tools. Styx can now glide across gaps using a hang glider, reaching new areas and striking enemies from above. A grappling hook allows him to zip instantly to ledges and rooftops, while climbing claws help scale steep, often rugged, walls.

Three Large Districts

Rather than a fully open world, Blades of Greed is divided into three open-ended districts. The Wall is an imposing borderland tower separating humans from the rest of the world and features some of the game’s most vertigo-inducing heights. Turquoise Dawn is a dense jungle homeland of the orcs, while Akenash offers a more fantastical, Tolkien-inspired aesthetic as the elven capital.

Zeppelin Hub

Aside from fast-travel points, you can access regions via Styx’s own personal zeppelin. The zeppelin serves as the mobile hub of the game, housing your delinquent crew of Quartz thieves with Styx at the helm. My favorite aspect of the zeppelin is that it acts as the place of conversation for all the party members. I’m not expecting the Normandy from Mass Effect here, but the zeppelin serves a similar purpose. My hopes weren’t let down when I heard the crew members speak. Your elf companion Djarak is voiced by the same actor who played Balthier in Final Fantasy XII, a fitting casting choice considering they’re both sky pirates in their respective games. Let’s just hope the dialogue writing matches the potential and we get some cool backstories and companion quests for Styx’s crew.

Tone

It’s perhaps worth pointing out that Styx himself is a very chatty goblin. In fact, he talks to himself more than he does to his crewmates throughout the game. Much of the game’s humor is filtered through his monologues and quippy observations. Thankfully, the developers have confirmed that the very repetitive death screens from Shards of Darkness are gone, replaced by contextual ragdoll animations. Numerous words are heard in the short demo alone, so if you’re averse to heavy swearing, steer clear, and if you want something with more of an edge, you’re in the right place.

Length

According to the developers, a casual playthrough clocks in at around 20 hours. Completionists and explorers can expect to spend significantly more time uncovering secrets and side activities scattered throughout the districts.

Price and Editions

For a semi-open-world platformer offering over 20 hours of content, the price is appealing. Styx: Blades of Greed retails for $39.99 on PC and $49.99 on consoles. Still not sure if it’s for you? Well, there’s a 30-minute demo available, and best of all, your progress carries over to the full game. For fans who want early access and extra bonuses, the Quartz Edition costs $10 more and includes 48-hour early access, skins, weapons, and some bonus talent points to spend on your Quartz thievery antics.

Covering the beginning, it includes two high-stakes missions: A tutorial involving dismantling a giant golem from within and an infiltration into The Wall from the recent gameplay showcase. While Cyanide Studio didn’t detail all the mechanics that would be available, it touted this as a “focused taste” of what you can expect in terms of freedom and tone.

It’s about an hour long, though there’s “way more time” to spend if you experiment with everything available. As showcased in the pre-order trailer, there will be three massive sandboxes to explore in the game, including the Turquoise Dawn (where some nasty Orcs await) and the Ruins of Akenash, last seen in Master of Shadows and much worse for wear.

The base game retails for $49.99 and includes the Master of Shadows skin as a pre-order bonus. Purchase the Quartz Edition for $59.99, however, and you’ll get a Starter Pack with two talent points, five taunts, crafting materials, the Greedy and Legacy skin packs, and two days of early access.

Styx: Blades of Greed launches on February 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Mouse: PI for Hire

If you ever played Cuphead and ever wanted a rubberhose animation-style first-person shooter, Mouse: PI for Hire may very well be it. Set in Mouseburg (naturally), you control PI Jack Pepper as he exposes a deep-rooted conspiracy. With a wide variety of weapons, including chainsaws and freeze, it’s looking to be a real swell time when it launches on March 19th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC.

007 First Light

Few 007 titles and media have ever explored the origins of the superspy, but IO Interactive is going about it the right way. With a mix of classic gadgets, gorgeous sandboxes that encourage creative solutions, and a more impulsive James Bond, 007 First Light has all the tools to provide a fantastic action-adventure. It’s out on March 27th for current-gen consoles and PC.

No Law

From isometric cyberpunk twin-stick shooting to, well, first-person cyberpunk shooting, Neon Giant’s next game is certainly unexpected. Set in Port Desire, a more condensed open world, it’s a non-linear story about Grey Harker and his past mistakes returning to haunt him. How you solve those dilemmas is completely up to you, which is music to my Dishonored-loving ears. Here’s hoping the execution in No Law is as brilliant.

Phantom Blade Zero

Of course, you can’t have just one John Wick-esque journey. Cue S-Game’s Phantom Blade Zero, whose protagonist faces off against numerous assassins while clinging to life. While focusing more on fast-paced combat with multiple weapon types and brutal enemies, the world is littered with secrets, to the extent that you might not see everything on the first playthrough. Style and substance should be a winning formula indeed when it launches on September 9th for PS5 and PC.

Control Resonant

Remedy kind of spoiled us on the sequel, venturing beyond the confines of The Oldest House into something much bigger, but none of us expected a sequel like this. Battling through the streets and skies of Manhattan as Dylan, Jesse’s brother, wielding dual blades and heavy weapons alongside telekinesis and other powers – it feels almost like a dark fantasy, albeit through a paranatural lens. Control Resonant will hopefully channel that into something more, and we can’t wait to see the studio’s creativity truly unleashed.

The Sinking City 2

Frogwares’ return to the flooded city of Arkham, tackling eldritch horrors and attempting to survive with our sanity intact, is one that we’ve been waiting a long time for. The original showed promise, but The Sinking City 2 looks to expand on that, both graphically and in terms of far-reaching consequences. And let’s be honest – with Cthulhu, who doesn’t want to see how badly things can go? With a release sometime in the first half of 2026, it’s not long now.

Nioh 3

Be Tokugawa Takechiyo. Be next in line to become shogun, until your power-hungry sibling can’t take it, embroiling Japan in a massive Crucible. Venture back in time to various eras, even the Bakumatsu, for the first time in the series, and attempt to set things right. All in a day’s work for those who stand against the Yokai and with a massive scale, new weapons, revamped exploration, and more, Nioh 3 could be Team Ninja’s best yet (at least it seems to think so). Launching on February 6th for PS5 and PC, we’ll find out for ourselves soon enough.

Order of the Sinking Star

Braid Anniversary Edition may have underwhelmed commercially, but Jonathan Blow is back at it again, this time venturing back to the puzzling well. Much like The Witness, you’ll solve numerous puzzles, but spread across four worlds with various characters that intertwine in intriguing ways. With over 1000 in total, the Order of the Sinking Star is beyond ambitious and could serve as another instant classic.

Gears of War: E-Day

After what feels like years of being left on the hook, Gears of War returns with a familiar duo – Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago. No, we haven’t fallen into an alternative universe – instead, it’s a prequel, set during the Emergence War right as it began. If you’ve ever sought a return to a more linear campaign, then E-Day may very well fuel that desire and even cater to those who enjoyed the first game’s horror. We’re certainly ready to learn more.

Halo: Campaign Evolved

Master Chief is back in yet another revisitation of the first-person shooter that started it all. Skepticism aside, there’s plenty of reason to be excited, from the inclusion of later-game weapons to the addition of four-player co-op. And if sprint isn’t your cup of tea, just switch it off. Combine all this with the new prologue missions and cross-play, and Campaign Evolved could be the clean slate that the series needs.

Planet of Lana 2: Children of the Leaf

After everything that happened in the first game, you would think that Lana and Mui are due for a break. For better or worse, the sequel sees the duo delving deeper into Novo, unearthing new abilities and secrets while contending with a mysterious new threat. As an evolution of the original’s environmental storytelling and platforming, Planet of Lana 2 feels like a significant leap in every way.

The Blood of Dawnwalker

When vampires take over Vale Sangora, enslaving the local population, Coen is left with 30 days to save his family. As a half-vampire, however, he’s afforded some unique advantages, harnessing magic as a human by day and incredible strength as a vampire by night. Which affords more advantages, depending on the situation? What route will you take to dismantle the vampire’s hierarchy? The choice is yours, though care is necessary when deciding when to advance time. The Blood of Dawnwalker still doesn’t have a release date, but it’s out in 2026 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly Remake

At long last, Koei Tecmo is remaking perhaps the best game in the Fatal Frame series – Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. Releasing on March 12th, it offers more than just revamped visuals. There are new areas, side stories, Camera Obscura features, and even the “Holding Hands with Mayu” mechanic, which surely won’t be required for a brand new ending. Surely.

Pragmata

Fighting killer robots is tough enough when your bullets won’t even penetrate their armor – try doing it while simultaneously hacking their defenses. As unwieldy as that sounds, Pragmata just feels right, as Hugh teams with the android Diana to navigate a hostile Lunar base. The developer has remained tight-lipped on many things, but thus far, its gameplay loop has proven compelling in its own right. With a launch finally set for April 30th, we’ll see if it can carry the entire gorgeous experience.

Resident Evil Requiem

A requiem for the dead. An examination of the truth behind the Racoon City Incident. Old faces and new, working together to survive a new nightmare. If previous Resident Evil games felt like a big deal, then Requiem seems like the end of an era. That said, with a choice between first and third perspectives, the intertwining of survival and action horror, and more, it’s going to be one that fans never forget upon launching on February 27th.

Onimusha: Way of the Sword

Meanwhile, another long-running IP gets a new lease on life. Onimusha: Way of the Sword is straightforward enough – traverse Kyoto, cut down the Genma, and don’t die. But it’s from the perspective of the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, who’s armed with an Oni Gauntlet and must contend with his rival Sasaki Ganryu. Based on gameplay thus far, it’s shaping up into an incredible action-adventure – now all we need is a release date.

Saros

Minor delays aside, Housemarque’s next title is shaping up to be a dark horse just like Returnal. I’ve always sought a deeper challenge in this third-person shooter/bullet hell framework, and by leaning more into rogue-lite mechanics and progression, Saros looks even more enticing. Not to discount the bosses and other challenges, of course – if the story ends with fighting an actual eclipse, then it’s worth the price of admission.

Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

The Wings of Theve will fly once more, as players return to the world of Strangereal to liberate the Federation of Usea. Promising the same epic campaign as its predecessors, Ace Combat 8 features stunning visuals and high-octane aerial combat when it releases later this year.

Styx Blades of Greed

The Green Plague returns, this time to pull off the heist – or heists – to end all heists. Working with the Black Hand in his own zeppelin, Styx utilizes the power of Quartz to manipulate space and time to his benefit. There are three massive environments to explore, each unlocking new areas as you gain more tools, and overall, it looks like a major step up from Shards of Darkness.

Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis

Speaking of returns, the legendary Lara Croft once again enters the action-adventure spotlight with Legacy of Atlantis, a Unreal Engine 5 reimagining of the original. Between all the familiar areas (and dinos), it also offers modernized gameplay and revamped controls, but Crystal Dynamics is keen on respecting the original’s legacy, which should be good news for purists.

Ontos

Count on Frictional Games to deliver a horror experience that’s completely unlike anything else out there. As a spiritual successor to the similarly mind-bending Soma, Ontos takes place in a moon hotel, where you partake in experiments as Aditi to find her father. Reality, for all intents and purposes, isn’t what it seems and who knows what secrets this labyrinth holds (which only makes it all the more enticing).

Fable

With the next Xbox Developer_Direct due in January, there’s no time like the fast-approaching present for Playground Games to showcase Fable. And not just a cute trailer with celebrities or a modern interpretation of a classic story – we’re talking raw gameplay. Considering the pedigree of those involved, Fable could live up to its lofty aspirations, but for now, we need to see more, especially when it’s out in 2026.

LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

Say what you will about Gotham City, but the legend of Batman, as he fights crime and struggles with his morality, remains as timeless as ever. Of course, TT Games is going for a more lighthearted touch with its sequel, packing in humor galore while still paying homage to the Batman’s legacy. With multiple playable characters and a massive playground, Legacy of the Dark Knight is shaping up to be an incredible tribute when it launches on May 29th.

Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection

A catastrophe in a fantastical world that somehow involves a Rathalos – where have we heard this before? Beyond the promise of an epic adventure, Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection is also venturing into new directions with raising monsties. You can now fight off invasive monsters, retrieve endangered eggs, hatch them and reintroduce them into the wild to restore a habitat. Which is a nice ecological message, but it also nets a sick fire-wielding Zinogre, among other mutations, and that’s what really matters.

Beast of Reincarnation

A triple-A game from Game Freak, known for the Pokémon series, sounds…odd, if nothing else. It involves a human named Emma and her dog Koo working together to save humanity in a post-apocalyptic future. Between majestic creatures, bizarre enemies, a beautiful depiction of Japan’s wilderness and extensive violence, you have to wonder whether this is the same developer. Regardless, it should be worth the wait.

Marvel’s Wolverine

When talking about violence – and lots of it – Insomniac speaks to us on a primal level with Marvel’s Wolverine. Every aspect of that berserker fantasy is preserved in this original story, as Logan seeks the key to his past, even if he might not like the answers. There’s more to learn, but really, we’re way past sold based on the dismemberment alone.

Grand Theft Auto 6

By now, we’ve covered the sheer agony of delays that Rockstar’s sequel has inspired, not to mention everything we’d like to see. The crazy thing is that despite the hype and every detail in its last trailer, it still feels we haven’t truly seen the core of Grand Theft Auto 6, much less its gameplay. With a release date of November 19th, which hopefully won’t change any time soon, there’s plenty of time to learn more. Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Ikuma – The Frozen Compass

From Lost Ember developer Mooneye Studios comes a new adventure about survival in the Arctic. As Sam and his dog Ellie, you’ll traverse the harsh environment, climbing and foraging for resources to survive while seeking a way back home, even as something strange lurks beyond the ice and snow. Beyond the gorgeous aesthetic, Ikuma – The Frozen Compass could be a uniquely emotional journey.

Cairn

If you’re looking for a different but still harrowing survival narrative experience, look no further than Cairn. The Game Bakers’ latest focuses on Aava, who seeks to scale Mount Kami, perhaps becoming the first to ever do it. While the path is littered with good intentions, it’s also fraught with danger (and that’s before you decide to try and climb at night). Still, with the ability to climb anywhere and find your own path, Cairn isn’t messing around and could end up as the premier climbing title.

Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties

The Yakuza series is no stranger to deep side activities that will occupy you for hours. So how about managing an orphanage, participating in unique bonding events, and even raising your Daddy Rank (seriously)? If that sounds a little too cutesy, don’t worry – Yoshitaka Mine’s story, as told through Dark Ties, offers Kanda Damage Control, where you fulfil requests, complete challenges (including combat), and ascend past the ranks of trash. Between all this and their deeply involving narratives, there’s little reason not to delve into Yakuza Kiwami 3 and Dark Ties when it launches on February 12th.

Code Vein 2

What’s the end of the world between blood-sucking, dungeon-crawling, and friends? Unlike the first game, Code Vein 2 is about hopping through time, meeting various important figures, and hopefully stopping the apocalypse. The lack of online co-op is a bummer, but at least the robust character creator is back, while build variety is freer than ever. With bigger foes, bosses, and stakes, Code Vein 2 should offer a more impactful experience when it launches on January 30th.

Gothic 1 Remake

The original “Explore a Eurojank world without any hand-holding and try to survive”, but this time with improved visuals. Everything about the original remains unchanged; however, as you navigate the Colony in whatever manner you wish. Choose a faction, become a hero, interact with NPCs – whatever you desire across a 50-hour journey when Gothic 1 Remake launches in Q1 2026.

Valor Mortis

“All men must die”, says Valar Morghulis, but not you. Instead, Ghostrunner developer One More Level wants you to show courage in the face of death, especially after you’ve been brought back to life and must battle against plague-ridden foes. As a first-person Souls-like with responsive melee combat, Valor Mortis is shaping up pretty well, and we can’t wait to see how far the horror-filled rabbit hole goes.

Decrepit

Of course, if you want something even darker, there’s Decrepit, which offers an even simpler goal: Escape a castle teeming with danger. There’s a rogue-lite loop where getting caught means starting over, but beyond the Souls-like combat, the emphasis is on learning more about the world, uncovering secrets like permanent upgrades, harnessing equipment to suit your playstyle, and so on. It’s intriguing, and complements Valor Mortis in several ways.

Forza Horizon 6

If the millions and millions of players throughout the years didn’t clue you in, this franchise is unstoppable, and Forza Horizon 6 could be the best yet. New cars and a bigger map, spreading from Tokyo to the area around Mt Fuji, is a given, but Playground cramming it with activities to make it the “most full” yet is intriguing. With rumors claiming a release in the first half of 2026, Xbox Series X/S and PC won’t have to wait long to go hands-on.

One such mission takes him to the Wall Fortress – a foreboding, multi-layered structure with guards everywhere. Close combat has never been Styx’s forte, but he has plenty of new tools this time around, including a grappling hook. Of course, there’s still plenty of poisoning, assassination, and mine laying to be had, especially when it comes to obtaining a stamped document to access the lift.

But what makes Blades of Greed stand out is the sheer number of options it gives you. If you’re not keen on taking the lift, then simply risk climbing up the Wall itself, even if it’s far more arduous. And while you could take out all the guards, one by one, to clear a way to the lift, maybe a brief invisibility spell will work better. Worst comes to worst, you could mind control someone and have them walk off a ledge.

The Wall Fortress is one of three massive sandboxes that Styx will explore while conducting his heists, but they may not all be easy-going. Another massive airship attacks the crew’s Zeppelin, and their fate is left unknown.

Styx: Blades of Greed launches on February 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. Check out even more stealth gameplay here.