Attempting to become the next great Soulslike is a task worthy of the Monkey King himself, and although Black Myth: Wukong has the looks to play that part, it’s missing what makes the genre so beloved.
Somewhere between FromSoftware’s formula and games such as God of War: Ragnarok, Wukong sets out to bring the Journey to the West story into one of the most popular single-player genres. But the fantastic art and graphics that initially sell it can only carry the Monkey King so far.
Too much of this game is a boss gauntlet with mechanics that feel like gimmicks more often than not. Staff-based gameplay and incredible scenes only hold the game together for so long when playing feels like an aggravating chore. These games aren’t all about making punishing bosses take up the player’s time. Even though the game shows glimpses of excellence at times, it ultimately misses why we all love Soulslikes so much.
Good Boss Fights Should Be Difficult Without Gimmicks
There are only two types of boss fights in Black: Myth Wukong – those that can be easily killed in one attempt and those that have some of the most annoying gimmicks imaginable. You might be thinking that means I ran into a few bosses who were just tougher to learn, but that’s not what I mean. The first time I encountered this difference was at the end of the second Chapter. Sure, there were a couple of bosses that previously gave me a good fight, but they were well-made.
When you encounter the Yellow Wind Sage at the end of Chapter 2, you get your first introduction to gimmick bosses. The attack patterns themselves aren’t difficult. Instead, it’s the massive amount of wind that surrounds the edges of the arena. When the boss jumps away, which happens constantly, you won’t be able to reach him. Then, you can add the small tornadoes that he spawns as well. If you get hit by them, expect to be stunned and thrown into a cutscene attack. In essence, the moves the boss uses are easy to track, but the extra arena hazards make it an absolute nightmare.
The Yellow Wind Sage is just the start of this trend. Numerous bosses appear in the game over time that have simplistic attacks with a gimmicky mechanic that adds artificial difficulty. One takes away two or your healing Gourds with cutscene attacks. Another cuts your movement speed and stamina in half while removing the ability to transform. They are artificial methods to make the bosses feel tougher. That sounds ridiculous at first, but the best example I can give is Promised Consort Radahn from the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC in Elden Ring.
At first, Radahn seems much more difficult than most of the bosses in Black Myth: Wukong. The attacks are aggressive and tough to learn. But after beating Radahn, most players will likely be able to recreate that success easily. On the other hand, the artificial difficulty found in this game would feel just as detrimental the next time around. Instead of having boss fights that encourage learning, they push you to cheese your way to the end.
Even Wukong Struggles to Connect His Staff
What makes the boss fights feel even worse is the hitboxes. In nearly every single major boss fight, I found myself charging attacks and missing. The boss would be immobile, and I would be directly on top of them. Yet the massive swings or light attacks from my staff would consistently miss their target. When gimmicks are flying around the arena, each one of those attacks could mean the upper hand to me.
At the end of the day, Soulslike games need to prioritize gameplay if it’s going to be satisfying throughout. When the bosses are flying off the screen, or my weapon fails to hit the target in front of my face, it’s hard to get excited about another fight.
Black Myth: Wukong Is Similar to Jedi: Survivor and God of War
Although there are tons of hallmarks from Soulslikes within Black Myth: Wukong, the game is more comparable to games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or God of War: Ragnarok. Instead of full builds, you spend your time looking for upgrades to your main weapons and armor. More importantly, the combat is accompanied by powerful abilities that can be swapped out. These abilities and the speed of the game are what separates it from a standard Soulslike.
This wouldn’t necessarily be bad in most cases. In fact, I love the recent God of War games and the Jedi series. But they are clear in their identity. At times, Black Myth: Wukong attempts to recreate the strength of the narrative, the fantastic cutscenes, and the adventure that defines them. The characters from the Journey to the West even reminded me of how God of War portrays its own version of Norse Myth. But this game never hits the highs of either genre. Writing for the characters never gets expansive, and even our own protagonist is completely silent. That works for RPGs with customizable characters.
Related: How To Use the Black Myth: Wukong Benchmark Tool
Combat is another great example of this genre confusion. Bosses have enormous health pools, and we have plenty of abilities to fight them with. Yet they require basic attack precision and can hit like a truck. These are conflicting pillars at times that make the pacing of the gameplay feel at odds with itself. We have the option to use combos on bosses, but their speed makes single hits more effective in numerous fights. It’s another reason the boss difficulty has such a disparity across the game.
Soulslikes Are About the Inbetweens as Much as the Bosses
Boss battles should be the icing on the cake for any good Soulslike. They are what will be remembered when players finish the game and look back on their latest adventure. However, there still needs to be a cake to place the icing on. And in Black Myth: Wukong’s case, it’s essentially missing. The world we explore is empty, and because of the way progression works, exploration never feels exciting outside of stat boosts. But even those boosts are mostly gathered from boss materials or using Will to allocate more sparks for skills.
Despite looking incredible at times, the world in Black Myth: Wukong is used as a bland path to reach the next boss. Most of the chests contain some basic materials and can help you upgrade your weapon. You still need those if you have any hope of reaching the end of the game. However, finding new weapons and armor behind secret paths is what exploring is all about. After fighting the same weak enemy over and over until I found a small stat change for my Gourd, I started to dread the winding paths.
In many Soulslikes, getting through an area with your currency intact is more of a challenge than the boss itself. Traversing a level and deciding whether you risk your souls to get just a little further is all part of the experience. Dying in Black Myth: Wukong has no consequences. The world contains no lore snippets in most cases, the loot is bland, and the standard enemies are mostly simple creatures that can be spammed with light staff attacks. There is no danger, and you are never truly taking a gamble when you explore just a little bit further down an unknown path. It felt as if I was supposed to treat the time between bosses as an easy break before another gauntlet appeared.
By the time I reached the end chapter of the game, I was exhausted by all the bosses. Even if we all like good icing, we don’t want to eat spoonfuls of it over and over.
Black Myth: Wukong Is Visually Stunning But Ultimately Confused
There is no doubt about how good Black Myth: Wukong looks, and on the surface, it really does stand out among other games of its kind. The way bosses are designed, the music throughout the game, and the animations all come together to form a beautiful package that presents Journey to the West. But the package wasn’t typically enough to keep me genuinely engaged.
More than a few bosses brought memorable battles to the table, but most of them were just a relief to get through. Other aspects, such as exploration, a lack of danger, and a boring protagonist, make most of the journey subpar. Even if it may match other games in terms of graphics and art, this title never truly provides a fantastic Soulslike or action-adventure experience.
Verdict: Not Recommended
Black Myth: Wukong releases on August 20.
Published: Aug 16, 2024 10:00 am