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

The action of Black Myth: Wukong is set in a dark fantasy world inspired by the mythology of the Middle Kingdom. The game's story is based on the classic 16th-century novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en. The player takes on the role of the titular Chosen One - the Monkey King, who embarks on a dangerous journey to discover the truth hidden behind the magnificent legend.

Gameplay

Is Black Myth: Wukong a soulslike?

Although Black Myth: Wukong draws some elements - such as camera work - from the soulslike subgenre, it is essentially a demanding action RPG. It does not offer the option to choose the difficulty level, but we don't lose experience points at the moment of death, unlike the "full-fledged" representatives of the mentioned genre.

One of the main elements of the game are demanding fights with various, ingeniously designed bosses. The game features exploring subsequent, interconnected locations, but it is not an open world title. Progress is made more difficult because of encountering both "ordinary" enemies and minibosses. A significant portion of enemies resemble characters and creatures found in Chinese mythology and in the Journey to the West.

The Monkey King uses a staff during battles, gradually mastering more advanced techniques of wielding it. The protagonist also learns magic - including powerful spells and transformations into animals or insects. The skills we acquire increase our chances in combat, and sometimes allow to avoid it.

However, this is not always possible - therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of the hero, using experience points gained from defeated enemies. In this way - and also by exploring the world - we also acquire better equipment, which can tip the scales in our favor in many battles.

Both enemies and characters who are peacefully inclined towards the protagonist are the source of stories full of love, hatred, greed, and anger. We get to know them by performing sequences of quests associated with them. In doing so, we also discover the motives that guide individual characters.

Game modes

The game only offers a single player mode, presented in the form of a story campaign. It lacks a coop option and other forms of multiplayer fun.

Engine

Black Myth: Wukong was created using Unreal Engine 5 – technology from Epic Games.

Benchmark Tool

Before the premiere of Black Myth: Wukong, its creators published a Benchmark Tool on Steam for free - it allows to check how the game performs on our PC and to compare it with the system requirements.

Fun fact

The mythological Sun Wukong, the character after whom the game's protagonist was based, was also an inspiration for Japanese mangaka Akira Toriyama when creating the first chapters of the Dragon Ball series and its main character – Son Goku.