Black Myth: Wukong

After the action party called Stellar Blade, I thought I was done for a while with this type of experience. I needed a break. Needed to get away from frantic button mashing and rolling away at just the right time. However, fate had other ideas and just as I am not one to turn down an assignment, I am not one to shy away from a challenge. After watching the credits of the incomparable Elden Ring, I've realised that I can actually play this type of game without destroying controllers. I know in advance that I will be frustrated, even pissed off, but there is something very beautiful in the challenge. Especially if it's done well. Thankfully, that's exactly what Black Myth: Wukong manages to do. It's a sometimes delicate balance between giving up and wanting to continue. A mixture of exposing yourself to torture and a little madness. Because who would even want to subject themselves to something like this? It is precisely these factors that make it so rewarding.

In many ways, it is precisely this acceptance of the challenge that is one of the game's greatest strengths. When, after a grand cinematic introduction, you take control of the main character, you have a long journey ahead. Filled with so many experiences both in what the game paints and the emotions it conveys. Set in dense forests with gorgeous vistas, it quickly becomes clear that this is something special in terms of visuals. It's eye candy in its purest form and incredibly delicious technically. There are little things that break the illusion, some textures and effects that tell you that the machinery is working. But as smoothly as our hero moves and fights, the environments are just as beautiful no matter who they are. It's possible to experience this largely just for the technically high standard of the visuals. But fortunately, there's a lot more beneath the stunning surface.

The issue of a developer-determined difficulty level that cannot be adjusted is often a topic that comes up for debate. Black Myth: Wukong is a difficult game. Enemies hit hard, timing is required, and several of the game's bosses are of the really tough variety. I'm in the camp that likes to argue that the ability to choose difficulty is only a good thing. But when I play this, I absolutely understand the choice of the challenge to be there. Because even though the adventure offers some exploration, especially after the fairly linear first chapter, this is very much about getting from boss to boss. The set-up is classic Soulslike, with generous rest stops between all the duels where you can upgrade both skills and equipment. It's also here that the aforementioned comparison to the Souls games is evident, but as you don't lose any experience points when you die, it's far more forgiving. The game doesn't penalise you in that way, and you're completely free to collect more experience between duels to become stronger and unlock skills. It's an approach that yours truly favours and another of the game's strengths that makes it less frustrating.

There are two really good advantages to this. One is, of course, that with a bit of classic grinding you can level up, get stronger and unlock more skills that make battles easier. You can simply run around and slay some enemies to collect experience points and although it may take some time, you can also take the opportunity to explore a little more. The second and perhaps more important thing is that every time you give it another go at taking down any of the toughest of enemies you also get better. I can't tell you how many times I've felt like I wasn't going to make it through a particular boss on the first encounter, only to finally defeat it after a few tries. The combination of the character getting stronger along with me getting better is one of those game mechanics that I love and it also reminds me of old time games. When frustrating passages or enemies simply needed to be memorised and practiced to be defeated. There's really no difference between this and that type of game in essence.

Because, it takes patience. Everything you get into a fight with has a pattern. Over time, you learn what each creature throws at you and when you get a really good round and eventually defeat it, that's when this predetermined difficulty level works perfectly. The feeling is simply amazing once you get the hang of it. When I faced the first chapter's final boss, it took a bunch of tries but each time I felt I was getting a little closer to succeeding. By our final battle I was focusing properly, stopping to check how much life it had left and just trying to get past attack by attack and deal damage at the right time. I was surprised myself when I felled it because I didn't realise I'd taken its health down. But that's how Black Myth: Wukong works to a large extent. You have to be methodical and utilise everything in your arsenal.

This brings us to the game's combat system. It's been a long time since I felt as in control as I do here. It's a smooth, agile dance where there are perhaps a few too many buttons to press to utilise everything there is. But you learn and in addition to the classic blows you hand out with your stick, there is a lot to dig into. The first is the focus points that you build up over time, which then allow you to deliver a more powerful attack. But there are also a lot of special abilities that are important to take into the heat of battle. There is a fairly extensive skill tree with both things that give you more life, stronger attack and defence but also a lot of different attacks and other things. One of the game's first noticeable attacks is one that freezes enemies in place so you can deal damage or take the opportunity to regain life. There's a lot of strategy involved versus just dealing damage, and as important as finding openings for this is timing to avoid taking hits. One hit can cause a lot of problems, and it's multiple attacks that drain your life properly.

I'll admit that I'm not very good at this particular bit of avoiding and timing a perfect move. But this also means that you can take on the bosses when you feel that your skill is sufficient. A really good player can of course run to them much earlier despite a lower level and just use their skill to defeat them. For me, it's very much about being strong enough and having the patience to learn every move and know what to do beforehand.

Our story is rather laid back and that is presented rather vaguely and I feel this is the game's weaker part. The lack of a more focused narrative and a unified adventure gets a little thorny when it sometimes feels like you're running from one encounter with a big beast to another. I would have appreciated a little more breathing space and exploration as there are times when the pace becomes a little strange. There are some secrets to take on and when at one point I was running around mostly aimlessly and came across a huge frog that is not a must to defeat, I definitely saw the advantage of the game's design regarding not having a map. The path is marked out between the different resting places and even if it takes a bit of searching at times, the game is good at leading you on.

Black Myth: Wukong has definitely given me a refreshing feel for this type of game. As I mentioned earlier, it's almost a sort of echo of classic action games wrapped in much nicer graphics. It's that very approach and feel that this succeeds so incredibly well with. There is definitely the scent of an adventure here, and experience points and skill trees give it a bit of depth like a role-playing game. But if you take it down to its simplest form, it's a bit like experiencing a classic action game embroidered just enough. There are a lot of limitations in the environment that stop you. Some of these are not entirely successful as the game is a bit unclear on showing where you can move and not. It feels a bit odd to be standing by a staircase or a low ledge and not be able to get up it but apart from some poorly designed such places, the mix of something linear but three-dimensional is still good. Each chapter feels very much like a journey in its own right and to give more credit to the travelling part, I'm constantly propelled forward. Sure, I personally would have liked a clearer story but the drive is always strong to get to the next area. At the game's resting places, I can also easily fast-travel back to a previously visited area, which is also convenient if you want to explore more or there are plenty of enemies to grind for XP. The enemies reappear whereas bosses are gone once they've been defeated, meaning you won't have repeat challenges.

Black Myth: Wukong is a powerful game in many ways. I am not a huge fan of the model it was inspired by, but I still appreciate all the elements of Chinese mythology and even if I would have preferred a little more story, it is noticeable that the game has something to lean on. In Elden Ring, for example, I also missed a slightly clearer thread, but here there are a lot of elements in both places and characters that are as strange as they are appreciated. Every time the game breaks off with something like this, it becomes a good contrast to the game's layout and appreciated elements of one's journey. It simply captures the feeling well and the model it leans on gives it all a good feel and atmosphere.

As in the case of Stellar Blade, I also appreciate that the game, despite a fairly repetitive approach, manages to vary, especially by drastically changing the environment between the game's chapters. It's also quite a long journey in terms of pure playing time, which of course varies for different players depending mainly on how good you are at it and how much other exploring you do. There are plenty of secrets to discover and things to add to the game time, for those who wish. There are always new things to discover and deviating from the path often brings great rewards and exciting discoveries.

It's the sheer entertainment value that makes Black Myth: Wukong great. Every time I've picked up the controller to continue my journey, I've had a blast and every time I've taken a break, I've longed to continue. It is precisely this part that I want to highlight a little extra because it is of course what ultimately gives the game the rating it gets. I've thought a lot about how to justify it, but I've come to the following conclusion: it's a technically brilliant game. But it also feels like a kind of mix of Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry and several others in the genre. For many moments I sat and thought that this is very much what I would want from a future Zelda game, for example. I don't really know why those feelings were aroused but I think it has to do with the singing environments and exploration. Its difficulty is also well balanced with a lovely sense of achievement and if you judge the game by its genre, which I think is fair, it feels like it does everything it should do almost perfectly.

In the end, it feels like the only thing that matters is whether a game is fun to play. If the experience we get touches, engages, entertains and we hope for and then get something fantastically fun. When the credits rolled earlier this year in Stellar Blade, I was very happy with the game as an action fest. Black Myth: Wukong is even better and thus, by logic, should get a higher rating. It is a challenging and fantastic action game that should not be missed by anyone who feels that a challenge of this kind is worth taking on. As frustrating as it can be, as difficult as some of the encounters can feel, I read something online that is worth taking into this: You only have to win once. That's something to take with you every time a giant beast looms and seems impossible to overcome. Because once you do, it's all worth it.