Few games have ever left me as awestruck and, at the same time, as frustrated as Black Myth: Wukong. It’s undeniably one of the most ambitious and visually stunning action games out there, packed with exhilarating combat, challenging yet rewarding gameplay, and a world that’s steeped in rich Chinese mythology. However, for all its brilliance, it often feels like it’s teetering on the edge of stability.
Frequent crashes on PC (despite running on high-end hardware with a GeForce RTX 4090), falling through the ground at the worst possible moments, random shifts between English and Chinese in dialogue, and complete audio dropouts during crucial cutscenes are just a few of the technical issues I encountered. It’s a bumpy ride, and there were moments when those bumps really soured the experience—but in the grand scheme of things, the journey was still worth taking.
https://youtu.be/Wl05yGSDpxY?si=CDqPkRrUpJg7ekPt
A Journey Inspired by a Classic
The story serves as a loose follow-up to Journey to the West, the famous novel by Wu Cheng’en. While many might recognize elements of it through adaptations like Dragon Ball or Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, this interpretation doesn’t make much effort to familiarize newcomers with its references. Characters, events, and mythology are presented with little context, leaving me frequently searching online just to understand the significance of certain encounters.
You play as The Destined One, a monkey warrior embarking on a roughly 40-hour quest to recover six relics tied to Wukong’s past. While the core narrative lacks emotional depth—partly due to a silent protagonist and underdeveloped side characters—each of the six main chapters concludes with breathtaking animated vignettes that provide backstory on their respective antagonists. These sequences, done in a variety of unique art styles like storybook illustrations, stop-motion, and anime, are truly mesmerizing. It’s a shame the main story doesn’t evoke the same level of engagement.
An Action Game with Soulslike DNA
At first glance, Black Myth: Wukong appears to be a Soulslike, with its checkpoint system, stamina-based combat, and heavy emphasis on dodging. However, it leans much closer to traditional action games, sharing more DNA with titles from studios like PlatinumGames than with anything from FromSoftware.
Several key Soulslike mechanics are missing:
- No penalty for death—you respawn at the last checkpoint with no need to retrieve lost resources.
- No shared currency system—leveling up, buying items, and upgrading gear all operate separately.
- Equipment progression is straightforward—new gear typically replaces old gear without much need for build optimization.
This makes the experience more forgiving but not any easier. If anything, some of its toughest fights gave me more trouble than anything in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. Yet, every challenge felt fair, requiring a mix of skill, pattern recognition, and strategic loadout adjustments to conquer.
Combat: Simple, Elegant, and Brutal
Fights in Black Myth: Wukong thrive on a balance of fast reflexes and careful resource management, primarily revolving around the Focus Meter. Every attack and perfect dodge fills this meter, granting Focus points that can be spent on enhanced moves. For instance, mid-combo Varied Attacks let you weave in special strikes, while charged heavy attacks can be powered up even further depending on how many Focus points you invest.
In addition to melee combat, The Destined One has access to a small but impactful set of spells, each with its own utility:
- Immobilize freezes enemies, setting up devastating follow-ups.
- Cloud Step creates a decoy while you go invisible, reposition, and strike from the shadows.
- Rock Solid turns you into a stone statue that deflects attacks, allowing for powerful counters.
- Ring of Fire pushes enemies back while granting health regeneration and stat boosts.
- Pluck of Many, my personal favorite, summons multiple clones to overwhelm enemies.
Beyond spells, transformations allow you to take the form of bosses you’ve defeated, adopting entirely new movesets and abilities. For instance, after defeating a fire-wielding wolf, you gain his lightning-fast dash attack, which can later be upgraded into a devastating flaming leap strike. These transformations don’t consume mana, but their long cooldowns make them a strategic tool rather than a constant crutch.
Another layer of depth comes from Spirit Skills, which act as single-use transformations tied to a cooldown system. These are obtained by absorbing the essence of powerful foes and can be upgraded over time, ensuring that even early-game skills remain viable. For example, one of my favorite moves was a devastating headbutt attack, which provided a crucial extra stagger in tough fights.
All these mechanics blend beautifully, ensuring combat remains fluid, tactical, and rewarding. The Destined One is powerful, but fights demand strategy—especially since mana restoration is scarce, forcing me to carefully consider when and how to use my abilities.
Exploration, Level Design, and the Need for a Map
While boss battles are where the game truly shines, the regular encounters are no slouch either, thanks to a wide variety of enemies and thoughtful level design. The game follows a wide-linear approach, with clear main paths interwoven with rewarding side areas. Venturing off the beaten path often yields valuable rewards, including:
- Rare crafting materials for new weapons and armor.
- Special enemies that grant powerful new Spirit Skills.
- Curio items to enhance character builds.
- Chests that permanently increase health, mana, or stamina.
However, Black Myth: Wukong sorely lacks a map. While its environments are breathtakingly detailed—complete with real-time snow deformation, intricate foliage, and some of the best character animations I’ve seen—navigation can be frustrating. The second and third chapters, in particular, are vast and full of secrets, making it easy to get lost. The unclear distinction between climbable obstacles and invisible walls only adds to the frustration.
Technical Issues Hold It Back
For all its beauty and ambition, Black Myth: Wukong struggles with technical shortcomings. Among the most glaring issues I encountered:
- Frequent crashes, including one right after defeating a grueling boss.
- Audio bugs, where entire cutscenes would play with no dialogue or subtitles.
- Language inconsistencies, where characters would randomly switch between English and Chinese.
- Lip-sync issues, making the English dub feel awkward.
- Untranslated journal entries, which still contain placeholder text.
Worst of all was a game-breaking bug during a particular boss fight, where I kept falling through the world during a phase transition. After multiple failed attempts, I somehow got past it—but with no clear explanation why.
These are the kinds of issues that demand post-launch patches. There’s a precedent for games recovering from rocky launches (Cyberpunk 2077 comes to mind), and I hope Game Science is committed to fixing them. Because despite these flaws, Black Myth: Wukong is absolutely worth playing—it just deserves a smoother experience.
Verdict
As a debut action game, Black Myth: Wukong delivers in many ways, but its technical issues and localization shortcomings may frustrate players at launch. Its combat is spectacular, balancing resource management with fast-paced, skill-driven gameplay that rivals even the toughest Soulsborne encounters. The world is visually stunning, the boss fights are thrilling, and its mix of abilities and transformations keeps things fresh throughout the adventure.
That said, the lack of a map, underwhelming story presentation, and numerous bugs hold it back from reaching its full potential. If Game Science can iron out these issues, this could stand among the best action games of its kind. Until then, it’s a great game with some rough edges—but still well worth the journey.
