Styx: Master of Shadows. Been meaning to play it for years.

On paper, I should be enjoying the fuck out of this. Stealth is my favorite genre, I enjoy fantasy, and it even reminds me a little of Thief in some aspects (mainly art design and some of the mechanics).

Yet, I'm just not enjoying it. I don't know why. Maybe it's the skill tree gating basic abilities like aerial/ledge kills, but I never had an issue with the skill tree or gated abilities in something like Dishonored, just as an example.

Maybe I'm finding the AI overly aggressive and hyper aware, but I rarely have that problem with most other stealth games, some of which do have acutely aware enemies who'll spot you immediately.

Maybe it's that it feels like there are just too many guards/enemies in each level, while also feeling cramped (like there's oftentimes no corner you turn without a new enemy to deal with), which makes it crowded and much more difficult to navigate.

Maybe I'm just not vibing with the controls or the story or something.

I honestly don't know. It just doesn't feel fun for some reason, despite checking nearly all my boxes. It's missing something that I can't quite put my finger on.