Black Myth: Wukong Review
Journey to the East
Black Myth: Wukong made quite a splash when it was first announced in 2020, thanks to its impressive graphics and and snappy, action-focused gameplay. Four years later, the game has finally launched, bringing with it a massive wave of hype-fueled players. Much of what Black Myth: Wukong promised, it delivers: spectacular visuals, a reenactment of Sun Wukong’s story, and a swift, seamless combat style. On the other hand, the game’s plot and storytelling lean far too heavily on knowledge of the source material, Journey to the West, which may alienate those unfamiliar with it.
Black Myth: Wukong acts as a sequel to the Journey to the West, and the game doesn’t go out of its way to explain terms, characters, or events derived from the novel. However, it’s still possible to enjoy Black Myth: Wukong’s original narrative to a certain degree. The game begins with a bang. Sun Wukong has become Buddha but longed for freedom and peace, so he leaves the Celestial Court. His divine peers don’t take kindly to his departure and go after him. The opening scene showcases a battle worthy of the high production expectations that Black Myth: Wukong has cultivated over the years. By the end of it, Wukong is sealed away, years pass, and the player’s journey begins with The Destined One, an apparently ordinary monkey who is the spitting image of Sun Wukong but without his divine powers. To restore the hero’s former self, The Destined One must recover six relics, each holding a piece of Sun Wukong’s spirit.
At the end of each chapter, an animated cutscene in varying styles summarizes the story’s events.
The major story beats in Black Myth: Wukong unfold at the start and end of each chapter, during confrontations with some bosses, and at other scattered moments. Players relying solely on the campaign to understand the plot might find it lacking. The narrative leans on a bestiary that, along with detailing the origins of every enemy in the game, reinforces the tale being addressed in each chapter. Each bestiary entry starts with a poem and then a beautifully written mini-story. Within these tales are numerous terms and denominations that Black Myth: Wukong makes no effort to explain, assuming players are already familiar with them. This creates a roadblock to fully understanding the story and compels those interested in the plot to look up external sources.
In the end, Black Myth: Wukong delivers a subtle narrative heavily anchored in the source material and the subjectivity of events. It’s hard to stay engaged because the narrative doesn’t provide the necessary foundation to properly understand what is happening. The game still succeeds in showcasing the expansiveness and wonder of its mythology, giving players a taste for more with each new monster entry or with its spectacular cutscenes that play at the end of chapters. Plus, Black Myth: Wukong knows how to set the scene and tease, providing motivation to delve into Journey to the West to fully
The gameplay in Black Myth: Wukong tries to be its strongest suit but only partially succeeds. The game plays as a more traditional action RPG without resorting to the frenzy of a hack ‘n’ slash or the unhurriedness of a Soulslike. The Destined One has light and heavy attacks and combos when mixing these up. There’s a stamina bar, but depleting it doesn’t prevent new attacks from being executed. Having no stamina only removes any potential stagger generated by the player’s strikes. The game doesn’t have a dedicated guard button, so players must rely on dodging. Attacks and perfect dodges charge the focus bar, which can be spent to unleash charged heavy attacks. There are also spells and transformations in The Destined One’s arsenal that enhance and increase the strategic options for each combat.
Every journal entry is well-crafted and expands the game’s lore.
From the start, Black Myth: Wukong shows that most regular enemies are extremely weak. Many die with a simple light combo, and even the more resilient ones aren’t challenging. Bosses, on the other hand, are the highlight of Black Myth: Wukong, with over a hundred for players to face. With so many bosses, it doesn’t take long to encounter several with similar skill sets. However, the main bosses are entirely different from each other, often requiring a specific build and a cautionary approach. Black Myth: Wukong has a robust skill tree that can increase the protagonist’s attributes, learn new moves, or enhance spells. The equipment system is standard, but some set gear comes with specific bonuses, like debuff resistance or skill bonuses.
Since resetting the skill tree at every shrine is possible, the player seems encouraged to rebuild their protagonist before each major encounter. The Yaoguai Kings are the biggest threats—and the biggest thrills—of Black Myth: Wukong. A player might spend more time concocting potions and choosing the right gear and spells than actually fighting the enemy. Conversely, those who dislike changing builds for each encounter can rely on their dexterity and memorize the boss’ pattern to claim victory.
The biggest issue is that the protagonist only has one light combo variation, or two if you equip a spear, leading the combat to languish in repetitivity. For countless hours, most confrontations boil down to spamming light attacks and eventually landing a heavy attack. While spells and transformations try to refresh the gameplay, they also become repetitive quickly. The real highlight is the big-baddie bosses and their skill sets, which present a novelty in how to deal with each new challenge, even if the offensive approach is ultimately the same.
Exploration also includes collecting resources to make medicines or new gear.
Between boss battles, players run through the vast regions of Black Myth: Wukong. The game is divided into six chapters, each with its own biome, enemies, and peculiarities. Initially, exploration seems promising. The lack of a mini-map as a guide gives the impression that the game rewards those brave enough to search every nook and cranny. However, it doesn’t take long to feel the exploration’s tug-of-war, balancing between rewarding and frustrating. Scouring the world to find crafting items, currency, gear, and sometimes quests and secret bosses is satisfying, but banging against countless invisible walls or getting lost due to the lack of notable landmarks saps the desire to keep exploring further.
The villain here is Black Myth: Wukong’s level design. The game doesn’t offer enough visual references to help determine where the player is, so it’s common to wander in circles or backtrack without realizing it. Or, worse still, heading toward the main objective when the intention was to keep exploring. Wukong’s level design makes a compelling case for why obvious indicators like yellow paint sometimes are a necessary evil. The game also has a rather vague sidequest system, which requires players to decipher philosophical monologues from NPCs or re-explore old areas, hoping to stumble upon the quest objective.
In the various media offered since its announcement, Black Myth: Wukong has drawn industry attention for its visual presentation. Everything looked grand, from the settings to the characters, bosses, and combat scenes. In the PlayStation 5 release version, while Wukong still has impressive graphical quality, the frame rate takes a bit of a hit. Black Myth: Wukong has three graphical modes on PS5: performance, quality, and balanced. The game shows off its graphic prowess in quality and balanced modes, but the FPS cost is staggering and wildly hinders the gameplay.
The scenery of Wukong is exuberant and nicely accentuates each chapter’s zone.
In performance mode, the game’s FPS remains relatively stable most of the time, especially in battles. The game is still breathtaking, but some objects lag in texture loading during gameplay and cutscenes, breaking immersion. Many boss fight cutscenes are visually stunning, especially when accompanied by an engaging soundtrack featuring traditional instruments and a mystical melody. During more intense battles, Wukong embraces modernity by incorporating electric guitar solos, surprisingly maintaining the immersive spiritual journey.
Overall, Black Myth: Wukong is a good game. Developer Game Science delivered on its promise of high-quality graphics, though some of its greatness was lost on the PlayStation 5. The action gameplay is entertaining and easy to learn, but despite its clever attempts to innovate, it still feels repetitive after dozens of hours. Crafty players can alternate builds to modulate and refresh their battle experience, but it’s only a temporary solution.
The biggest bummer in Black Myth: Wukong is its narrative. With each new story beat introducing more elements without explaining previous ones, the narrative becomes increasingly confusing and somewhat disconnected. It’s a shame because the game’s mythology is incredible. Occasionally, the bestiary makes subtle connections between more common enemies and chapter bosses, which often reference Sun Wukong’s journey to the West. However, these references will only be picked up by players who know the source material or look it up externally.
Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.
A wide range of skill builds
Lore and backstory are exquisite
Exploration can feel rewarding at times
Breathtaking visuals and a gorgeous soundtrack
English lip sync is egregious
Exploration can be a drag sometimes
Combat gets repetitive a dozen hours in
Narrative highly dependent on source material
Recent Comments