Black Myth Wukong
Black Myth Wukong

Black Myth Wukong – Action games are defined by the dance. You know, the back and forth between you and (preferably) a boss, dodging, parrying, landing a sick punish, backing off, occasionally getting hit, managing your health pool, taking risks. Pulling off the big comeback or, heartbreakingly, dying before you land the final blow. Getting back up. Dusting yourself off. Trying again. Finding little moments of perfection. The perfect dodge. The gutsy parry. The risky combo for the kill. Dodging that one move that’s had you stumped all fight at just the right time. Action games come alive in those moments. Visit here https://goal123.city/

So I hope you’ll believe me when I tell you I wish I liked Black Myth: Wukong more than I do. Because there are parts of it where it sings. But it’s also dragged down by a lot of little annoyances and it takes an awful long time to get to that point, and I wouldn’t blame you if you’d dropped off long before you see the best of what Wukong has to offer. And that’s a damn shame.

Monkey Man

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start at the beginning. If you’re unaware, Black Myth: Wukong is more or less a sequel to Wu Cheng’en’s seminal Chinese novel Journey to the West. I wasn’t overly familiar with the novel prior to playing Black Myth: Wukong, which was a bit of a problem. Developer GameScience understandably references events and characters from the novel, but it doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining them outside of readable journal entries. These are fun, but there’s a lot here, so it might be a good idea to brush up on the story of the original novel (and have a decent idea of what a kasaya is) before you hop in.

You step into the shoes of The Destined One, a monkey who is seeking out the six relics of Wukong. Conveniently, The Destined One also looks just like Sun Wukong, but I’m sure that’s just a coincidence. Black Myth: Wukong’s story isn’t anything to write home about: The Destined One never speaks, wading through Chinese myth like a staff-wielding grim reaper, and the characters he encounters, while beautifully animated and extremely well-voiced, don’t often get enough screen time to make much of an impact. There’s more here if you are familiar with the original novel or willing to dig into who these characters are, but if you’re going in blind, there’s not enough to carry you without a lot of reading.

By far the best part of the game’s storytelling, though, are the beautifully animated cutscenes that play at the end of each chapter and give you some background on that chapter’s big bad. Each has its own unique visual style that I won’t spoil, but all of them look incredible, and I loved watching them. I wish the rest of the game’s storytelling had that kind of verve to it.

Souls-like? More Like Soulslite

It’d be easy to label Black Myth: Wukong a Souls-like, but that’s only half-right. Yes, there’s a stamina bar you have to manage; shrines that function as bonfires and serve as checkpoints you’ll return to when you die and respawn; and an emphasis on dodging enemy attacks and punishing them while they recover. But crucial elements of the formula are missing. First, there’s no penalty for dying aside from respawning at the last shrine; your experience isn’t a lost item you have to retrieve. You just keep it. Secondly, gear is less important. There are weapon and armor upgrades here, but you mostly craft them and just swap the old stuff out for something better when you get it rather than holding onto something and upgrading it over time. Finally, you just use your experience to upgrade your skills. Nothing else.

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It’s an interesting series of design choices, and it mostly works. For the most part, Wukong functions as a traditional action game with Souls-like features. A Soulslite, if you will. But combat, at least against bosses, largely plays out the same way. You’re dodging attacks, some of which are intentionally delayed to catch you panic-dodging, and dishing out the hurt when you get an opening. You’ve got a traditional light attack combo, but landing hits and timing your dodges well builds Focus. Build enough, and you’ll earn a Focus Point, which can be spent to initiate a Varied Combo, pumping up your combo damage and options, or cashed out to power up your heavy attacks for even more damage. Build multiple Focus Points and you can cash out for absolutely massive damage.

But that’s not the only monkey business you can get up to. You’ll also get access to spells that can turn the tide of a fight. The first you’ll come across is Immobilized, which does exactly what it says on the tin, freezing enemies in place so you can whack them with your staff and potentially stagger them for even more free damage. And yeah, it works on bosses. Then there’s Cloud Step, which makes you invisible and leaves a decoy in your place. It’s ideal for escaping tight spots, and if you come out of it with an attack, you’ll get some nice damage. Rock Solid turns you to stone, and if you time it right, you can use it as a parry and open enemies for even more damage. And so on. These spells have a mana cost, but they’re also annoyingly on a cooldown, so you’ll need to pick your spots.”

Ultimately, Black Myth Wukong is what I like to call “Peak Fine.” It’s great when it finally opens up and lets you play it, and has a number of memorable bosses to fight. There’s a lot to explore and see and do, and I imagine most players will miss a good chunk of the game’s optional content on their first playthrough. But even at its best, Wukong never reaches the highs of the genre’s greats, and never completely comes together in the way the best action games do. It’s not bad, but it’s not special. It’ll take you to the dance and it has a few killer moves, but how much you enjoy it will depend on how much you’re willing to put up with when you get there, and how much you don’t mind if it steps on your toes now and again. Me? I prefer an Action Jackson that lets me lead now and again, and that can hit the high notes.

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