Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: WuKong is a third-person action game with RPG elements, developed and published by the Chinese company Game Science.

Plot

Black Myth: WuKong is set in a dark fantasy world inspired by Chinese mythology, its story based on the classic 16th-century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. We play as the titular WuKong, the Monkey King, embarking on a dangerous journey to discover the truth hidden behind a glorious legend.

Mechanics

Although gameplay-wise Black Myth: WuKong may resemble a soulslike, it's not one - it's merely a difficult action game. Nevertheless, its key mechanic is combat against various, challenging, creatively designed bosses. As we traverse the semi-open world and access new, interconnected areas, we'll also encounter many regular enemies and mini-bosses. Many of encountered enemies resembles creatures from Chinese mythology and from the Journey to the West.

Our playable character wields a staff, gradually learning more techniques and becoming more proficient in its use. He also learns magic, including mighty spells and transformations into animals and insects. Acquired skills make us more powerful in combat, sometimes letting us bypass encounters entirely.

It's not always possible though, so we must level up often by defeating enemies. Combat and exploration get us better equipment.

Many enemies and friendly NPCs have their own stories to tell, full of love, hate, greed and wrath. We'll learn them by completing their questlines, getting a better look at the motives guiding them.

Technical aspects

Black Myth: WuKong runs on the Unreal Engine 5, technology made by Epic Games. The game only features a singleplayer story campaign.

Trivia

The mythological Sun Wukong, after whom the game's protagonist was designed, was also an inspired to Akira Toriyama, the Japanese mangaka known for Dragon Ball, when creating its protagonist - Son Goku.

Last updated on 18 January 2024