Skip to main content

Blog entry by Terence Hose

Black Myth: Wukong Review

Black Myth: Wukong Review

Black Myth: Wukong certainly relies on the story, characters, and locations of Journey to the West to establish context for the Destined One's journey. At the same time, this is a story that takes some time after the events of Journey to the West , so Game Science has ensured that it feels like a brand-new story by including new creatures based on Eastern mythology and new locations never mentioned in the book. Getting to explore these locations, undertake quests, and otherwise appreciate the beauty of Black Myth: Wukong will go a long way - beyond its boss fights. After all, Black Myth: Wukong is not a boss rush - it's a journey through a Chinese mythology and Journey to the West -inspired world. Its emphasis on original elements, engaging worldbuilding, and beautiful vistas ensures that even those unfamiliar with Journey to the West should be able to appreciate Black Myth: Wukong as an original advent

Black Myth: Wukong 's lack of objective markers and a map will also annoy some players, but again, these are things that are expected by Soulslike veterans. Black Myth: Wukong would have greatly benefited from a map, though, so it's a shame that it doesn't seem to have one. Objective markers would have been helpful in a couple of specific situations in the game that I can't get into, but I will say that it's highly likely that a lot of players are going to find themselves completely stumped with no idea how to progress the story once they reach a certain point in the g

Black Myth: Wukong doesn’t have an open world like Dark Souls or Elden Ring , but instead has segmented chapters. Each chapter has its own theme and enemy types, be it traversing spooky villages filled with bug people or battling the heat of the desert and rat warriors. This keeps the encounters and environments fresh because as soon as you might get bored with one area and its inhabitants, it will shift to something completely new and original. The areas themselves are immense. While you can critical path through the main story, there are numerous branching paths you can go down, unraveling side quests and unlocking abilities and side-bosses.

This has elements of Souls games, but it’s closer to a traditional action game. You won’t be managing attributes, but instead be given skill points that can be spent to level up specific abilities within the protagonist’s arsenal. This includes mystical arts, martial arts and transformations, just to name a few. This is where Combat really shines as, while the majority of the time you will be slamming the light attack button until your Focus meter is charged up, allowing you to unleash a devastating heavy attack, it’s splicing in different unique abilities in-between that make it more compelling.

Oddly enough, the localization into English has been done with mixed results. On one hand, the voice work is surprisingly good, even though there’s no lip-syncing. That we can forgive, but there are huge chunks of the game, at least pre-launch, where full journal entries and even button prompts in the world that weren’t translated. Obviously, since this is text, these can be patched in, but these are issues we noticed.

Boss Guides Wandering Wight Guangzhi Lang-Li-Guhh-Baw Guangmou Lingxuzi Baw-Li-Guhh-Lang black myth wukong boss guide Bear Guai Elder Jinchi Earth Wolf The King Of The Kingdom Of Flowing Sands And His Son Gore-Eye Daoist First Prince Of The Flowing Sands Stone Vanguard Boss Black Wind King Tiger Vanguard Whiteclad Noble Tiger's Acolyte Kang-Jin Loong Shigandang Red Loong Black Loong Yellow Wind Sage Captain Lotus-Vision Mad Tiger Captain Wise-Voice Fuban Kang-Jin Star Apramana Bat Cyan Loong Chen Loong Yin Tiger Non-Able Non-White Non-Void Non-Pure Lang-Li-Guhh-Lang Yellowbrow Captain Kalpa-Wave The Second Sister Old Ginseng Guai Buddha's Right Hand Centipede Guai Green-Capped Martialist Elder Amourworm Yellow Loong Zhu B

It’s clear that Game Science is very aware of the discourse around its game; it’s just actively choosing not to say anything. That isn’t really a problem in itself – while it’s a clear effort to wait the allegations out and hope they’re simply forgotten, I can understand a smaller studio choosing to just shut up and let the game speak for itself instead of creating a politicised firestorm around a decidedly unpolitical game with a statement. It’s not great optics-wise, but there’s logic behind

I was completely blown away by Black Myth: Wukong 's first trailer in 2020. Boasting jaw-dropping visuals and flashy, action-packed combat, Black Myth: Wukong immediately drew me in with its gritty interpretation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West . It's been on my most-anticipated games list ever since. While the game has always looked like a Soulslike, there's been some confusion about whether it actually is or is something more akin to character action games like God of War or Devil May Cry . After spending 30 hours exploring Black Myth: Wukong 's world and battling countless bosses, I can safely say that the game is something that will appeal to Soulslike fans, but may alienate those hoping for something e

  • Share

Reviews