Choose Styx: Master of Shadows
Choose Styx: Master of Shadows if it's Steam Deck Verified, so handheld play works out of the box. 4,176 Steam reviews back the pick.
Styx: Master of Shadows vs Styx: Shards of Darkness
Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness both land in Action on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both are Action games on Steam. Styx: Master of Shadows (2014) is 3 years older than Styx: Shards of Darkness (2017). Both sit near 82% positive on Steam (Styx: Master of Shadows: 4,176 reviews, Styx: Shards of Darkness: 2,180). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Styx: Shards of Darkness
Choose Styx: Shards of Darkness if you want an Adventure game with Multi-player, Online Co-op, and Co-op. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 2,180 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness sit in Action on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (82% vs 82.9% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 Styx: Master of Shadows |  Styx: Shards of Darkness | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2014 | 2017 |
| Genres | Action | Action, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 19.99 USD | 19.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 82% positive (4,176 reviews) | 82.9% positive (2,180 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op |
| Developers | Cyanide Studio | Cyanide Studio |
Side by side
- Both are Action games on Steam.
- Styx: Master of Shadows (2014) is 3 years older than Styx: Shards of Darkness (2017).
- Both sit near 82% positive on Steam (Styx: Master of Shadows: 4,176 reviews, Styx: Shards of Darkness: 2,180).
- Styx: Shards of Darkness is currently ~0% cheaper on Steam than Styx: Master of Shadows (19.99 USD vs. 19.99 USD).
- Styx: Shards of Darkness has co-op; Styx: Master of Shadows does not.
- Steam Deck: Styx: Master of Shadows is Deck Verified, Styx: Shards of Darkness is Deck Unsupported.
Styx: Master of Shadows vs Styx: Shards of Darkness — FAQ
- Which is better, Styx: Master of Shadows or Styx: Shards of Darkness?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: Styx: Master of Shadows sits at 82% positive (4,176 reviews), Styx: Shards of Darkness at 82.9% (2,180). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play Styx: Master of Shadows or Styx: Shards of Darkness first?
- If you want chronology, Styx: Master of Shadows (2014) came out before Styx: Shards of Darkness (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Styx: Master of Shadows and Styx: Shards of Darkness similar?
- They overlap on Action on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.
- Does Styx: Master of Shadows have multiplayer like Styx: Shards of Darkness?
- No. Styx: Shards of Darkness supports multiplayer on Steam (Multi-player, Online Co-op, Co-op), while Styx: Master of Shadows is listed as single-player only.