Black Myth: Wukong Review

Black Myth: Wukong Review. In recent years, video games have been pushing the limits of storytelling, graphics, and gameplay mechanics, offering players immersive experiences like never before. Black Myth: Wukong, developed by GameScience, is one such game that promises to deliver a revolutionary action-packed adventure steeped in rich Chinese mythology. Based on the classic novel Journey to the West, this game is ambitious, beautiful, and challenging. Yet, it also comes with frustrating technical issues that detract from an otherwise stellar experience.

Black Myth: Wukong Review

Black Myth: Wukong draws its narrative from the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. While many adaptations of this tale exist, GameScience’s version focuses on a more mature and mystical interpretation of the lore. In this story, players take on the role of "The Destined One," a mute monkey who embarks on a quest to retrieve six relics of Sun Wukong, the legendary Monkey King.

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Story and Setting: A Unique Take on Journey to the West

Although the story offers an intriguing premise, players unfamiliar with Chinese mythology or the original novel may find themselves lost at times. The game introduces many characters and events from Journey to the West, often without proper context or explanation. While die-hard fans of the source material will appreciate the rich references, newcomers may need to resort to online resources to fully grasp the significance of certain characters, such as Zhu Bhajie or Sha Wujing.

This lack of exposition creates a sense of detachment from the protagonist's journey. However, what the narrative lacks in clarity, it compensates for with breathtaking visuals and a variety of unique art styles used to present the story's antagonists. These animated vignettes, showcased at the end of each chapter, range from stop-motion to anime and storybook-style animation, adding depth and variety to the game's storytelling.

For those seeking to dive deeper into Chinese mythology, these vignettes offer a refreshing artistic touch, making each boss fight not only a physical challenge but also an emotional and cultural exploration.

Combat Mechanics: Elegant Simplicity with Depth

At first glance, Black Myth: Wukong appears to share many similarities with Soulslike games, particularly in its punishing difficulty and checkpoint system. However, as you delve deeper into the game, it becomes clear that GameScience has crafted a unique blend of action and strategy. While it retains the intense, dodge-heavy combat found in Soulslike games, Wukong introduces a variety of mechanics that set it apart from the rest.

One of the game's core mechanics revolves around the Focus Meter, which fills up as you land attacks and successfully dodge enemy strikes. Once the meter is full, players can unleash powerful Focus attacks, adding an element of strategy to the fast-paced combat. Do you spend your Focus points on a varied combo mid-battle, or do you hold out for a devastating charged strike later? These decisions add a layer of resource management that is both satisfying and challenging.

Additionally, players have access to a selection of spells, each with its own mana cost and utility. Whether freezing enemies with Immobilize, using Cloud Step to create decoys, or briefly turning into a statue with Rock Solid, each spell adds versatility and creativity to the combat system. Transformations are another key feature, allowing the protagonist to morph into previously defeated creatures, complete with unique movesets.

Boss Fights: Where the Game Shines
The boss fights in Black Myth: Wukong are where the game truly excels. Each encounter is carefully designed, requiring players to master enemy attack patterns and fine-tune their loadouts. The diversity of bosses, combined with the variety of powers at your disposal, ensures that no two fights feel the same.

In terms of difficulty, Wukong rivals even the most challenging games in the action genre. The satisfaction of defeating a particularly tough boss after learning its patterns and refining your strategy is immensely rewarding, even if the journey is fraught with frustration.

Technical Issues: A Beautiful but Flawed Experience

While Black Myth: Wukong excels in many areas, its technical issues cannot be ignored. Even on a high-end gaming rig equipped with a GeForce RTX 4090, the game suffered from frequent crashes, glitches, and audio issues. The PlayStation 5 version was unavailable for review, but based on the PC experience, the game feels like it's barely holding together at times.

Some of the most notable bugs included falling through the ground during crucial boss fights, characters randomly switching between English and Chinese, and entire cutscenes losing their dialogue audio. These glitches severely impact the flow of the game, pulling players out of the immersive experience that the developers worked so hard to create.

While it's not uncommon for games of this scale to suffer from technical issues at launch, it is frustrating when these bugs occur during critical moments. For example, one of the most disheartening crashes happened right after defeating a particularly difficult boss, forcing a repeat of the entire encounter.

However, despite these issues, the core gameplay and world-building in Wukong remain strong enough to keep players engaged. It’s a game that, while rough around the edges, is worth sticking with for its ambitious scope and satisfying combat.

Visuals and Audio: A Feast for the Senses

If there's one aspect of Black Myth: Wukong that stands out above all else, it's the game's stunning visuals. Every environment is brimming with detail, from the trees' chipped bark to the way snow deforms as you move through it. The game's world feels alive, with each location offering something new to discover.

The character animations are also top-notch, with fluid movements that make every battle feel dynamic and exciting. Even the small details, like the protagonist's hop-step when locked onto an enemy, add to the game's sense of polish. Unfortunately, these animations are sometimes at odds with the game's inconsistent frame rate and glitches.

Complementing the visuals is an equally impressive audio design. The battle music, with its pounding drums, and the serene exploration tracks featuring flutes and chimes, create an atmospheric experience that enhances every moment of gameplay. However, as mentioned earlier, the game's audio can be glitchy, with dialogue dropping out during cutscenes and poor lip-syncing between English dialogue and character animations.

Exploration and Level Design: Wide-Linear Adventure

Black Myth: Wukong offers a wide-linear level design, meaning there is a clear path from checkpoint to checkpoint but plenty of opportunities to explore off the beaten track. For players willing to stray from the main path, there are valuable rewards to be found, including rare crafting materials, special enemies that drop new abilities, and treasure chests that permanently increase your stats.

The game’s environments are vast and beautiful, but their size can sometimes be overwhelming without proper navigation tools. A map feature would have been a welcome addition, as certain areas, especially in the second and third chapters, are sprawling and packed with secrets. This lack of navigation tools, combined with the difficulty in determining which obstacles are climbable and which are invisible walls, makes exploration a bit cumbersome.

Nevertheless, the rewards for exploring are well worth the effort. Hidden bosses, powerful upgrades, and unique lore items await those who take the time to venture off the main path.