Black Myth: Wukong review in progress

The souls-like genre expands its roster with Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong, a tale about mysticism, celestials, and other ancient Chinese traditions mixed in to weave a livelier world than most. However, Black Myth: Wukong is perhaps one of the friendlier games to land in the genre.

One of the more standout aspects is that it is designed with quality of life in mind. You won’t lose XP or Will (souls) on death. In fact, nothing happens other than it is treated like you just rested. There’s also free respec for your build, too. So, if you want to mess around with different playstyles, you can. We’d say this is more of a strength rather than a hardcore disgrace to souls-like etiquette. There’s some customisation to combat styles with items, and Spirit combos (more on this later) offer you various playstyle changes. It helps you to see a lot more of the depth that the game has to offer.

There’s a reason for this, though. That’s because Wukong is a never-ending boss gauntlet. Plenty of bosses are skippable. But, exploring comes with a boss density penalty. For example, one small village with two larger spaces, a few streets, and a grove below it has three bosses. Two are optional while another is a main boss. You’ll often fight a major boss, walk less than 100 metres, then fight another unskippable boss. Then guess what’s after that? Another shrine to rest at, some stairs to climb, and yet another main boss. Chapter 1 is especially culpable of this as it is fairly linear with limited exploration. You’re running from boss to boss to boss with a few trash-filled areas between them.

Another downside to Black Myth Wukong is the combat. You’re largely stuck with your starting weapon and can only upgrade it. You’re then essentially spamming the same light attack combos, with the added variation of what heavy attack you like to use. You want to light attack spam a lot too, as it generates a resource called Focus. Focus is spent on improving heavy attacks. Lots of builds will improve the amount of Focus you can get as it enables stronger heavy attacks or more resources to spend on other abilities. Spam your light attack like crazy with the occasional heavy attack thrown in – that’s the game. 

Some of the more refreshing and stronger points of the game are the Spirits, Drinks, and Soaks. Spirits are a feature that gives the combat some uniqueness. Some bosses or elite enemies can drop spirits. These spirits give you a special resource metre that fills as you fight and rest. Activating it gives you a special ability, depending on what you’ve equipped from your collection. It’s all largely flavour and there’s a lot to collect as you explore and progress.

As for the Drinks and Soaks, these are perhaps the most interesting parts of the game. Your Gourd is Wukong’s take on the Estus Flask, which you can upgrade for more charges. However, you can select what you drink to heal your character. One drink offers the basic large heal. There’s another that does a smaller heal but adds a heal over time that grants more than your flat basic one. Many options add a lot to player preferences and choices that give the game an added wow factor.

Soaks, meanwhile, add time-limited character modifications and buffs, which are activated when drinking from your gourd. There are many different buffs and effects out there, such as a smaller heal over time, bonus damage mitigation, defence, elemental resistance, or stamina restoration. You can find them and mod them in as you explore and get rewards. As you upgrade or find better drinks, you can even add two Soaks. Combining multiple Soaks can make your character very tanky, better suited to certain tasks, or you can use them strategically in an area to farm resources or Will. It’s a nice bonus that makes some tasks and enemies easier to deal with.

If I had to give the game a score I’m looking at a 6 or a 7. Its pros are its unique additions and twists to the Souls-like genre. It also gives the player plenty of reasons to explore for the most part, namely to track down various builds and rewards. The graphics are gorgeous, and the game runs well, which is a bonus for PC players. But, it’s hampered by an endless boss gauntlet and repetitive combat. Spammy combat against never-ending bosses that pad your damage gets old pretty fast. It’s artificially padded with many bosses that are more of a challenge to your resources rather than skill. It’s one where if I was playing it for myself I’m not sure I’d finish it. 

Bosses are largely not too hard either, with the toughest maybe taking no more than six attempts to beat. Most bosses are often beaten in one or two tries. The game certainly isn’t difficult thanks to the Spirits, Drinks and Soak buffs, and other build aspects like magical spells that the game wants you to use. You often unlock magic during boss battles. They are designed with builds and scenarios in mind. Some spells like Immobilize want you to combo with your light attack spams for bonus damage. Other spells like Cloudy Step want you to combo with a craftable gear set and work with crit builds. Spells are very strong, and there’s some similarity with Elden Ring’s summons and spells being the game’s easy mode. However, Black Myth actively encourages magic use in its design.

I’ve still got a long way to go before I can give it a proper score. But, even so, I get the impression that I’ve largely seen most of the core game design already and there are few surprises left in store.