Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game that closely follows the events of Wu Cheng’en’s seminal novel Travel west. The work, based on Chinese mythology and Buddhist folklore, follows a monk who encounters a spirit named Sun Wukong, also known as Monkey King, during his search for sacred religious texts. Although the central story is still unknown, Game Science’s Soulslike depicts Wukong’s encounters with Yaoguai, various creatures and demons from Chinese myth, set in beautiful oriental landscapes.
My hands-on demo begins at the base of the summit of Black Wind Mountain, in a place called the Forest of Wolves, populated with lush greenery, alpine trees, and all manner of wind-weathered stones and shrines. The path to the top is guarded by scattered groups of foxes and wolf-like humanoids wielding axes, shields and bows. While these enemies don’t pose a challenge, they serve as great punching bags for learning combat basics like dodging, charged staff techniques, and early spells like Immobilize, which freezes enemies in place for a chance for a burst attack.
Black Myth: Wukong Trailer Release Date:
Wukong’s main weapon is a bō staff, called Ruyi Jingu Bang in inspirational literature, which he can shrink to the size of a needle for safe keeping in his ear. The Monkey King possesses an arsenal of weapon combinations, including the ability to charge Jingu Bang and collect focus points, allowing him to unleash flashy heavy attacks. Although you can’t save the focus points you gain from charging his weapon – Wukong automatically attacks when you release the button – you can can collect focus points to use later in the battle by landing enough light attacks on an enemy. Learning the timing of these weapons and how to use them alongside your growing library of mystical spells is critical to success against major opponents, such as the game’s many bosses.
While there are at least half a dozen optional and required bosses in the Forest of Wolves, I spend my time challenging two of the tougher opponents. The first is a flamespear-wielding wolf named Guangzhi, who rushes me down and overwhelms me with flamebending moves and punches. After defeating him on my fourth attempt, which I can do by relying on the cooldown of my immobilization spell, Guangzhi drops his double-tipped spear, called Red Tides, which fits into one of Wukong’s empty spell slots instead of his magic replace staff. When I activate this ability, Wukong temporarily transforms into the wolf I just defeated, allowing me to use the boss’s fiery powers to inflict Scorch Bane, a status effect that sets enemies on fire, dealing damage over time causes. Notably, Wukong’s health pool is separate from the Yaoguai he embodies, making this new ability a great tactic to use when you’re low on health against Black Wind Mountain’s ravenous bosses.
I run past another optional boss – a gigantic humanoid with a disproportionately golden head – and maneuver a bamboo-laden ridge, eventually reaching my destination: Guanyin Temple, where Lingxuzi, a building-sized dog who is appointed by a mysterious character known as the Black Wind King. The towering white wolf leaps into the air and scales the entire arena in seconds, tasting my blood after a swift attack. As Lingxuzi licks his lips, I freeze him in place and begin a series of light attacks and targeted heavy attacks. Of course, this is a Soulslike, so I end up dying multiple times as I slowly memorize the Yaoguai’s moves and tactics over the course of about five tries. When I finally triumph, I equip a rare wolf mask that I loot from Lingxuzi’s corpse, granting me a damage buff against critically wounded enemies.
Black Myth: Wukong looks to present an immersive world full of striking character designs, boss battles that require skill mastery, and beautiful environments. I’m eagerly awaiting the game’s release, not only for its excellent combat and promising character building, but also to experience its version of the prominent Chinese folk tale.