Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

Title: Black Myth: Wukong
Type of Game: Action RPG (Souls-like)
Developer: Game Science
Publisher: Game Science
Released: 2024
Platforms Available: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 5
Level of Maturity: Mature (17+)

Black Myth: Wukong follows a silent, anthropomorphic monkey looking to follow in Sun Wukong’s footsteps, gathering the five relics he left behind so you can complete your reincarnation. Based on the novel Journey to the West, Black Myth takes creative liberties to explore what might happen if a monkey, the Destined One, wanted to become the legendary Monkey King. However, the main plot becomes unclear early on, as the story mainly focuses on the quirky characters in each self-contained chapter.

Quirky Characters and Their Oddball Tales

You, the Destined One, will meet all sorts of odd characters who wish to aid you along the way and help themselves. A reciprocal back-scratching tale of altruism. Those are the overarching plots within each chapter, but you may meet various other characters with their challenges and wishes. These NPC-driven narratives won’t blow anyone away, but the novelty of the tales and influential personalities will surely delight.

Souls-like Redefined: A Balanced Challenge

This is Souls-like, meaning it’s an action RPG with challenging bosses, experience gained, stats and skill trees, and shrines littered about to serve as checkpoints should you fall in battle. Now, how Black Myth departs from the formula is that while bosses can be difficult, I beat most of them after several attempts.

It wasn’t easy—for some of them, I was down to my last healing item and out of mana—but I did away with it surprisingly briskly for others. Another departure is the regular enemies along the path, almost always fodder. Though these fights are trivial, they’re not unwelcome; they keep the route from point A to B active and add to the world in terms of hostility and visuals.

Mastering Combat: Skills, Spells, and Strategy

Wukong uses one weapon, which helps make a reasonably diverse skill tree balanced around gameplay. However, weapon skills, such as changing Wukong’s stance for different combat abilities, are only one tree. Players can enhance the few spells available, transformations, and core combat abilities, such as strengthening varied combos, jump attacks, and light attacks. This sounds like a lot, but most of it is only available after the start. Chapter one serves almost as a tutorial, though a meaty one, and introduces gameplay elements at an excellent pace.

Environmental Details and the Frustration of Invisible Walls

For the most part, Black Myth is a linear game with several diverging paths, be they hills, drops, or turns. Maybe a wall you encountered earlier is gone now. The problem here is the ample use of invisible walls. Now, to present this breathtaking world as beautiful and open as GameScience has, I understand the need to use invisible walls.

That said, sections that appear traversable but aren’t may appear later on and be traversable because a treasure chest lies in the distance. A simple example is a rock that’s about waist high: can’t cross it! Is the same sort of obstacle later? Totally can. The inconsistency hurts the experience and adds a touch of frustration for completionists who want to check every corner for hidden goodies. With all this said, I’m still figuring out the answer because putting in actual walls everywhere the developers don’t want players to go would hurt the visuals. Some studious designers may have the answer.

Immersive Visuals, Misaligned Voices

Speaking of visuals, Black Myth exhausts every opportunity to add detail, whether gazing into the mountains far off a cliff or squinting at the stonework of a wall carved with hundreds of Buddhas. Immersive environments are core to the experience; anyone with a taste for Asian history, philosophy, or environments will love this marvel. Areas in which players have no business looking have detail. Some odd ravines had little statues lying about if you look closely enough, while other carvings have believable moss growing on them or show the wear of time.

Unfortunately, Black Myth‘s voice actors in English sometimes don’t fit the script, as the game is originally spoken in Chinese. Few characters come off as grounded and well-adjusted; most are erratically excitable, overly confident in the most dire situations, or seem immeasurably anxious at all times. I love them all. The music blends into the background, but in critical moments, the Chinese instrumentation—gongs, liquid, and the like—either accentuates the bombastic of ridiculous situations or heightens the intense battle ahead.

Conclusion

I would be gushing if I were writing this before the final chapter. The finale should not negate the majority of the game, but to cast it aside would be disingenuous. Without a doubt, I had a blast throughout Black Myth. If you have the slightest interest in Journey to the West, Asian philosophy, or want to broaden your horizons, then this is an easy recommendation. Aside from being an exceptional, accessible game to play, the references to works you may not be familiar with will instill an appetite to learn more. I know it has in me. All of this comes from a studio I had never heard of before (GameScience), though I hope it finds excellent success after its effort here. I can’t wait to see the next project and see if this is an example of what they can achieve.

Where to Buy Black Myth: Wukong?

Steam (PC): Available for $59.99. The Deluxe edition is priced at $69.99. You can purchase it directly from Steam.
PlayStation Store (PS5): Available for $59.99. The Deluxe edition is priced at $69.99. You can find it on the PlayStation Store.
Epic Games Store (PC): Available for $59.99. The Deluxe edition is priced at $69.99. Purchase it from the Epic Games Store.
Xbox Store (Xbox Series X/S): For Xbox Series S/X players, the release of Black Myth: Wukong has been delayed indefinitely.

Official Page: Visit the official Black Myth: Wukong page for more information.
Subreddit: Join the discussion on the Black Myth: Wukong Subreddit.

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