Styx: Blades of Greed

In Styx: Blades of Greed, you control a goblin thief through sprawling fantasy environments. Instead of working through a set combat path, you watch guards, plan sneaking routes and use distractions or magical abilities to reach your target unnoticed. The story revolves around Styx’s search for quartz, a powerful resource in a world threatened by conflict. His own crew and a zeppelin accompany the missions. The areas allow different routes and, with new tools, open up further paths later on.

The game, developed by Cyanide Studio and published by Nacon, released on Feb 19, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Originally a launch toward the end of 2025 was planned. Cyanide postponed the release to further refine the game systems and the presentation of the areas. The three versions share the same regular release date. Blades of Greed is, after Master of Shadows and Shards of Darkness, a standalone sequel in the Styx series.

Blades of Greed is offered natively for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Sony explicitly labels its release as the PS5 version, and Microsoft labels the Xbox version as for Series X|S. The older availability of other Styx games on PS4 or Xbox One does not prove a last-gen version of this title. A standalone Switch or Switch 2 release also cannot be derived from the official platform lists. The PC requirements refer to Windows; macOS and Linux have not been confirmed as native releases.

If you want to get through the large areas, you need to read lines of sight, patrol routes and gaps in the guard coverage. Styx can take inconspicuous detours, distract enemies and rely on favorable moments instead of resolving every encounter in open combat. Before a mission, you can prepare tools and potions. The game treats a guarded passage as a task with several possible solutions: which abilities make sense depends on terrain, enemies and the chosen route.

The base game is sold separately from its additional equipment pack. The Quartz Edition bundles the base game with Greedy and Legacy outfits, a weapons pack and a starter pack. If you already own the Standard Edition, you can buy individual items or a Deluxe Upgrade. According to the Xbox Store, this upgrade is an add-on that requires the main game. The add-on packs mainly bring skins, equipment variants, daggers and additional distraction options; they are not a standalone new story part. When comparing platform versions, the Standard Edition, Upgrade and Quartz bundle should not be confused.

Nacon lists Windows 10, a Core i7-8700K or Ryzen 5 1600X, 12 GB RAM, DirectX 12 and 25 GB storage as minimum values. The graphics hardware listed is GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB or Intel Arc A750 with 8 GB. The target for this is 720p at low detail and 30 frames per second. For 1080p, high detail and 60 FPS, the manufacturer recommends Windows 11, Core i5-12600K or Ryzen 7 5800X, 16 GB RAM and an RTX 3070 or RX 6800. These are stated target profiles, not our own benchmarks.

Styx again masters invisibility and creating a clone using gold resin. In Blades of Greed, quartz powers are added, with which he can influence enemies and alter the timing of an encounter. The art lies in combining these aids with cover, obstacles and known guard routes. Powers do not fully replace stealth planning; rather, they expand the options for getting around a dangerous situation. The developer and the PlayStation Store explicitly list mind manipulation and time distortion as new abilities.

The terrain offers far more than roads and corridors. Styx overcomes height differences with climbing claws, grappling hooks and a glider, and can get past guards across beams, walls and rooftops. The environment thus becomes part of the stealth system. Some passages are out of reach at the start and can only be opened later with the right tool. Anyone who finds new equipment therefore has reason to return to areas they have already visited. Cyanide combines large locations here with an unlockable exploration structure.

The three large zones are the border fortification The Wall, the orc settlement Turquoise Dawn and the ruins of the elven capital Akenash. What they share is a layout with different levels, entry points and hidden paths. The places are not mere scenery for identical enemy waves, but the spaces in which Styx situationally uses tools and abilities. The locations can be explored again within the story once new ways of moving around open up further access.

The PlayStation Store lists one player, offline play and Remote Play for the PS5 version. Microsoft also lists the Xbox Series title as a single-player offering and, among other things, shows HDR10, console achievements and support for 60 frames per second. This is not a promise that every scene reaches 60 FPS on every device. Cross-platform online co-op cannot be confirmed from these store details, so it is not listed here as a confirmed feature.

The PlayStation version offers German as an on-screen language, alongside English, French, Italian, Spanish and other languages. For voice audio, however, Sony lists English. If you need German text, you can rely on the official details for the PS5 version, but you should not assume German dubbing from them. The publisher does provide a general language overview, but the exact distinction between voices and on-screen text is documented more precisely on the platform store.