"Black Myth: Wukong - Ambitious, Gorgeous, and Buggy as Hell"

I've never experienced such a roller coaster of emotions while playing a game as I did with *Black Myth: Wukong*. On one hand, it's one of the most ambitious and visually stunning action games I've ever played. The combat is top-notch, challenging, and immensely satisfying, set against a backdrop of rich Chinese culture that’s both unique and captivating. Yet, despite all its strengths, the game often feels like it’s held together by a thread. I encountered numerous crashes on my PC, even with a high-end setup featuring a GeForce RTX 4090. The PlayStation 5 version wasn’t available for review, so I can't comment on that. But between falling through the ground during critical boss fights, experiencing audio dropouts, and sudden language switches from English to Chinese, the technical issues were hard to ignore. Still, despite these bumps, the overall journey was worth the ride.

*Black Myth: Wukong* draws its narrative inspiration from the classic novel *Journey to the West* by Wu Cheng’en. However, if you’re not already familiar with the source material, the game does little to bring you up to speed. Playing as The Destined One, a monkey who sets out on a 40-hour quest to locate six relics of Wukong, the story feels somewhat detached due to a mute protagonist and underdeveloped side characters. Despite this, each of the game’s six chapters culminates in breathtaking animated vignettes that explore the backstory of the chapter’s main antagonist. These vignettes, each done in a different art style—from storybook illustrations to anime—are genuinely beautiful and moving. I found myself wishing that the main storyline could evoke the same emotional depth.

Initially, I thought *Wukong* was a souls-like game, given its checkpoint system, stamina-based combat, and dodge-heavy fighting style. But it turns out that *Wukong* has more in common with traditional action games like those from Platinum Games than with anything From Software has made. The usual souls-like mechanics are absent—there’s no penalty for death aside from respawning at the nearest checkpoint, no corpse runs to recover lost loot, and no shared currency to level up stats or purchase items. This streamlined approach feels right for *Wukong*, focusing on keeping you in action rather than bogging you down with menus or retracing your steps. It’s a refreshing departure that makes the game more forgiving and distinct.

However, when I say *Wukong* is more forgiving, I don’t mean it’s any less challenging. In fact, I found some of its toughest challenges to be even more difficult than those in *Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree*. The game doesn’t offer difficulty options, so each encounter demands precision, strategy, and skill. But overcoming these challenges never felt unfair—each victory was the result of learning attack patterns, timing my moves, and making the best use of my abilities.

Combat in *Black Myth: Wukong* is elegantly simple yet deeply satisfying. It balances fast-paced action with careful resource management, largely revolving around a Focus Meter that builds as you land hits and dodge enemy attacks. You can spend Focus points to unleash powerful attacks or chain combos, adding a layer of strategy to the fast-paced combat. The game also offers a small but versatile selection of spells, each useful in different situations. Whether freezing enemies in place, creating decoys, or turning into a statue to reflect attacks, the spells are a blast to use.

One of the coolest aspects of *Wukong* is the ability to transform into powerful creatures you’ve defeated in battle. These transformations don’t cost mana but are tied to a cooldown, offering a fresh moveset and special abilities. For example, after defeating a wolf with a fiery dual-blade, you can transform into him and use his lightning-fast dash attack against your enemies. Additionally, Spirit Skills, earned by defeating powerful enemies, allow for quick, devastating attacks and can be leveled up to stay relevant throughout the game.

The variety of combat options, combined with the game’s incredible boss fights, keeps the action exciting from start to finish. *Wukong* introduces new elements at a measured pace, ensuring you never feel overwhelmed. The Destined One is undeniably powerful, but managing your resources, especially mana requires thoughtful strategy.

While the boss battles are the highlight of the game, the regular enemy encounters also offer plenty of variety. The levels are wide-linear, with a clear main path and plenty of opportunities to explore off the beaten path. The rewards for exploration are significant, ranging from rare crafting materials and new Spirit Skills to treasure chests that permanently boost your health, mana, or stamina. This makes the time spent exploring feel worthwhile.

As GameScience’s debut action game, *Black Myth: Wukong* is a great success, despite its technical issues and localization problems. The combat is fantastic, blending resource management with fast, reflex-based gameplay that rivals the best in the genre. The game’s world is a visual and auditory treat, and the boss battles are both challenging and exhilarating. The story has its moments but relies too heavily on prior knowledge of *Journey to the West* and could benefit from a map to enhance exploration. However, the game’s strengths far outweigh its flaws, making *Black Myth: Wukong* a must-play for action game fans, especially if GameScience can iron out the bugs.