When it comes to action roleplaying games, heavy hitters like Elden Ring and Dark Souls have entered the zeitgeist of gamers everywhere. These games usher in a floodgate of imitations that capture the distinct formula of the former to various degrees of success. This makes it more challenging than ever for newcomers like Black Myth: Wukong to make a lasting impact.
Black Myth: Wukong, instead, takes the foundation laid out by FromSoftware and delivers a game that eloquently sidesteps out of the derivate label that often plagues similar games of the genre. Instead of simply aping elements of what makes games like Dark Souls tick, GameScience has created an entertaining and challenging game that elevates the genre forward.
Black Myth: Wukong takes the classic Journey to the West story and transforms it into a sweeping action title, spread across several chapters that feature distinct biomes to explore. The game first opens on a cinematic clashing of gods, as players are given control of the Destined One (Sun Wukong) at the height of his power before, in classic videogame fashion, is sent tumbling down to the forest below the clouds, robbed of your Godhood along with all the abilities that come with it.
From here, as the Destined One, players must make the journey out of the forest and up the mountain to eventually confront the other gods who have robbed him of his Buddha-like status, gradually regaining his skillset in the process.
Your journey begins in the forest, with most of your special moves and spells locked away behind a sprawling skill tree, with what, at first glance, may appear intimidating, but thanks to GameScience smartly allowing the player to respec at any time, Black Myth: Wukong encourages experimentation (no pun intended) alleviating the worry of being locked into a particular play style.
“Black Myth: Wukong encourages experimentation…”
Black Myth: Wukong features three distinct stances for the Destined One to master when using his choice of pole staff, including the Smash, Pillar, and Thrust stances. Each stance brings with it a varied and distinct play style appropriate for different situations. My personal favourite, however, is the final of the three stances, which unlocks around the 10-hour mark of the game, allowing the Destined One to pummel foes in a volley of hits, similar to something like a lance or rapier.
Combos are everything in Black Myth: Wukong, with sustained chain attacks or varied combos resulting in a meter filling up that grants the Destined One a focus point, which can be stacked and then unleashed all at once using a heavy attack. This not only deals a considerable amount of damage, often staggering enemies, but can also be used to pull off specific moves that add to the chain and open up even more diverse combos that make battles in Black Myth: Wukong immensely satisfying.
“Black Myth: Wukong also features a well of transformations and magic abilities, which consume the magic gauge but are paramount in slaying more formidable enemies and bosses.”
And if that wasn’t enough, Black Myth: Wukong also features a well of transformations and magic abilities, which consume the magic gauge but are paramount in slaying more formidable enemies and bosses. Transformations, in particular, are rather unique in that they can be earned via fighting rare enemies that grant the Destined One the ability to transform for a short time. The transformations themselves are varied in rarities, with some of the more exotic forms granting impressive boons, such as the ability to poison targets. Transformations can also be levelled up, ultimately making them a fantastic option to use in the heat of battle.
One of the more unique aspects of Black Myth: Wukong’s approach to combat is the focus on dodging rather than blocking or parrying. In fact, players don’t even have access to a parry till much later in the game, and even then, parrying costs a significant amount of magic, making it more of a special move to use sparingly than a core game mechanic.
Dodging, on the other hand, is hugely beneficial and an integral game mechanic, with successful last-minute dodges granting the Destined One a boost in focus, complete with a cool bullet-time animation and ghostly afterimage. Not only does this look awesome, but it choreographs to the player the best opportunities to dish out damage without worry of retaliation.
Black Myth: Wukong’s ebb and flow of dodging, chaining together combos, staggering enemies, and perfectly timing your transformation-based moves all cumulate in one of the best playing action games of the year.
In terms of difficulty, Black Myth: Wukong feels very well balanced, with each and every encounter posing a significant threat to those who jump in blindly, but one that never feels unfair or overly punishing, particularly thanks to a steady stream of unlockable moves and stat upgrades that will always ensure the Destined One is where he needs to be on his pilgrimage to Godhood.
Outside of stat upgrades and special moves, Black Myth: Wukong features weapon, armour and potion crafting, which can be done by collecting resources strewn about the game world. Like everything else in the game, it feels very flexible, meaning players are encouraged to mess around and find what works for them without too much worry about wasting resources or commitment.
Interestingly, Black Myth: Wukong features no death planes or areas in which you can fall, which mostly works for its benefit but can potentially limit the cheese potential found in other Soulslike titles. It also sometimes makes traversal a bit clunky with the players’ collision with invisible walls. This can sometimes crop up, combined with an unwieldy camera when crammed into a corner, which can lead to some minor frustrations.
Finally, on a side note, Black Myth: Wukong is a fantastic day-one PC port, exhibiting no hitches or framerate issues sometimes associated with shader compilation. Ultimately, Black Myth: Wukong bucks the trend of derivate Soulslike titles and sets a new standard in the hardcore action roleplaying genre, making it a must-play game of the year.
