Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong isn't a soulslike according to its developers. But it's hard to picture how that's the case, as every element of it borrows, riffs, and builds upon the genre popularized by From Software. Put the two side-by-side, and the similarities are far greater than their differences.

This doesn't mean that Wukong is a bad game by any measure. But it does mean it isn't the original masterpiece some claim to be. Instead, it's merely a decent first outing, with potential for greatness.

I received a copy of the physical media edition for the PlayStation 5, released for the Christmas market of 2024, and spent the last month playing through the main campaign. In the end, I'm still uncertain what the plot of this thing is, exactly, and why there's so much hubbub about the game in the first place.

Because while Wukong is not a bad game, it's nowhere near the greatness of genre-defining titles like Bloodborne or Dark Souls 3, both over a decade old at this point. Moments of Wukong play it so safe, it feels like a product predating the iconic outings made by From Software.

That doesn't mean Wukong is bad by any measure. By all accounts, this is a superb first game for any studio. Especially for a company that previously specialized in mobile games! It gets the important things right, and that matters more than anything.

The combat mechanics are a blast, the animations stellar and, for the most part, Wukong captures that elusive "fun" quality that makes it worth returning to.

Compared to its peers, Wukong's battle system is fast-paced and reactive instead of full-on aggressive. It leans heavily on trickery, dodging, and striking with precision – all things that I'm terrible at. I usually play tanks, knights, or support units. Classes that don't require much mobility. So adjusting to Wukong took a long time for me, and I can't say the poor tutorials and unintuitive mechanics helped any.

Wukong begins with the Monkey God taking on the forces of Heaven and getting his furry ass handed to him. In an epic opening sequence, we get a glimpse of the arsenal available to us, but I can't say that it's entirely useful at this point. Sure, it's a tantalizing glimpse of what we can do, but it doesn't help in understanding why or how.

As the game properly gets going, Sun-Wukong, our protagonist, is reincarnated as a young monkey with none of the skills he once possessed. Right away, we're thrown into a series of increasingly difficult boss encounters, none of which explain themselves in any meaningful fashion. The gameplay loop, at least, is clear: Wukong makes his way through mobs of uninteresting enemies from one boss encounter to the next. In between, he collects souls and experiences to reactivate his dormant powers.

The boss battles range from spectacle to frustrating gimmicks. There are over 100 of these to discover, and only a handful of them are great. The rest range from decent to forgettable to shamefully tedious. I'd have preferred for half as many enemies with a stronger emphasis on quality.

On a technical level, there's little to complain about. Every boss battle looks and sounds spectacular, and the animations are crisp and clear. The art design in Wukong is on a level of its own, delivering breathtaking sights at every turn.

After a few encounters, Wukong eases up a bit and lets the player in on some of the mechanics. It's not a lot, but enough that if you manage to push past the frustration, Wukong becomes a more rewarding experience. The basics (fast attacks build up stronger ones, which in turn unlock mana-powered special moves) quickly become second nature. The dodge mechanic feels less like a gimmick and more like a dance between you and the enemy.

It doesn't last, and Wukong is a frustrating experience because it goes from fun and engaging to beating your head against a wall too quickly. One moment you'll progress just fine with just enough difficulty to make the triumphs feel well-earned, the next you're tackling a monster with an impenetrable move set and area attacks that kill you with a single hit.

It's here that Wukong is at its worst. Luckily, most of these areas are optional, and only a scarce few mandatory boss fights end up unwieldy. It's just a shame the game rarely makes it clear what is and isn't optional. Instead, you end up running back and forth in mostly linear corridors trying to figure out the correct path one time too many.

Despite these complaints, I enjoyed my time with Black Myth: Wukong. If that sounds contradictory, it is. This is an experience of polar opposites, and it won't appeal to everyone.

Some will delight in the hardships, while others will see them as arbitrary inclusions that only sour an otherwise rollicking adventure. I adore the art design while intensely disliking the UI and fiddly controls. I love how fluid the dodge mechanics are, and still cannot figure out certain combinations to activate special moves. Accessibility options are nonexistent and most with ADHD or autism will struggle with a game that doesn't seem to want them to partake in the fun.

As a physical media release, Wukong is fantastic. The game is entirely on the disc as far as I can tell, and only the DLC and expansions require downloading. My experience was almost entirely bug-free, and I applaud the developers for supporting game conservation by releasing a full package like this.

While Wukong isn't for everyone, it's a solidly built action adventure that should satisfy soulslike cravings for the time being. If nothing else, it's a promise of a great future for newcomer developers, one that has me excited about where they'll go next.