The Souls-like phenomenon is alive and well with many pretenders to the crown releasing and testing the most hardened of gamers. Forums, like a roaring bonfire, are alight with discussions of best weapons, playstyles and character builds. The one thing missing, however, is a large primate with an even larger stick. Thankfully Black Myth: Wukong has answered the call with a title that not only vies for top spot, but surpasses the masters in many ways, heading speedily to the peak of the mountain on a cloud you can stand on.
Basing its premise on Chinese mythology, it may be a prerequisite to read Journey to the West, the excellent tale that has inspired some fantastic games in the past such as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and the cult TV show Monkey. If familiar with these, the plot should be tangible enough, with a god-like ape deity rejecting his peers for the premise of fun, becoming trapped in the process. It then becomes the task of one insignificant monkey to find the gifts of the sages scattered in various areas and free the god from his imprisonment. That is all you really need to know to enjoy this, but it is impressive how heavily the lore is leaned into. Much like its predecessors in the genre, every character and battle can be researched, and it’s easy to get lost down the rabbit hole.
One of the biggest gripes this reviewer had with games like Dark Souls and Elden Ring is the need for a precise build to suit playing style. It often felt when approaching a certain point that you had royally screwed yourself with the choices made, not having the speed or the strength to handle the next trial due to decisions early on. It was these trials that meant Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice became a firm favourite. With no real emphasis on builds, the game purely relied on skill. Black Myth: Wukong follows the same mentality with a dedicated skill tree, decked out with some excellent techniques, backing up a skill-based dodge and attack system.
With this approach, all battles seem fair and just a matter of getting better or finding the right gap in the boss sequence to unload. Playing more like Devil May Cry than the slow methodical sword swinging of its rivals, all boss battles are frantic and exciting and very much a welcome approach for those feeling they can force their way through with overzealous jumping and spinning. Speaking of the boss battles, each is superbly presented and varied, providing real excitement and spectacle. Plenty of optional bosses are littered around the 40-odd hour playtime and none seem shoehorned in, all matching their environments and being fully developed and fascinating beings in themselves.
The environments are a visual treat and it’s a pleasure to wander them. Although more linear than something like Elden Ring, this only enables each to be developed more in terms of the detail of every plant or grain of sand. This isn’t to say there aren’t secrets to find and characters to interact with either. On this playthrough there were many characters to help and hinder, again with their own personalities and quirks, such as an excellent headless musician and a brave but inept horse.
Exploration is encouraged and ensures that monkey man can find crafting materials and secret items to increase health, mana and stamina. Each level up provides new abilities, most following closely to what a monkey king would require, and all are incredibly fun to see in action. From creating duplicates to aid in battle to becoming stone to guard from attacks, it really feels like each encounter is just an excuse for more fun.
As previously stated, progression follows a very similar route to any Souls-like, replacing bonfires with incense burning shrines. From here, weapons can be upgraded, medicines created and fast travel points accessed. All shrines are placed in a favourable manner, allowing for saving and recouping just before a boss battle, often inviting that feeling of “one more go”. While reviewing, countless hours were lost through pure stubbornness, coming so close to victory and feeling like the next attempt will be the monkey’s nuts.
