Since Black Myth: Wukong was presented to the world with a promising look at its gameplay, back in 2020, fans of action games and, in particular, lovers of soulslikehave supported the first work of the Chinese studio Game Science to the top of Steam.
But what was my surprise when I discovered, at an event preview which I attended last week, which This adventure that adapts the popular novel Journey to the West is not a soulslike. Or, at least, not exactly.
Black Myth: Wukong contains the usual elements of this very popular subgenre, but at the same time it also has a lot of hack’n slash. «It looks more like god of war than a soulslike» a representative explained to me minutes before taking the controls.
And although it is true that it fits within that definition, The two hours that I was able to try Black Myth: Wukong left me with a taste in my mouth that I have only experienced with the top soulslike. I’m talking about that feeling of coming out of a fight with your pulse racing and a gratifying feeling of victory.
This monkey doesn’t beat around the bush: Black Myth impressions: Wukong
The demonstration took place at the beginning of the adventure and included, among other things, the same section that could be seen in that first gameplayso it has been a perfect way to check if the game lives up to what they promised.
Firstly, let’s talk about combat, which for me is one of the most interesting aspects of Black Myth: Wukong.
As I said before, it has elements soulslike very obvious: actions such as attacking, jumping or dodging consume the stamina meter, which recharges over time; to regain health, we can drink drinks from a clay jar; and when we die, we respawn at the last shrine visited and lose part of the experience gained.
But except for some more details, such as the difficulty (which I will talk about later), that is as far as the elements end. soulslike from Black Myth: Wukong. The rest is hack’n slash. And a hack’n slash with a very particular rhythm and mechanics.
There are two buttons to perform attacks with Wukong’s extendable staff: one for quick attacks and the other for strong attacks (and no, they are not the triggers). However, this is where the peculiarities begin: quick attacks are useful for getting rid of common enemies, but against bosses they do very little damage.
In these confrontations, quick attacks have another purpose: to increase the concentration level shown in the lower right. When the level reaches the maximum we obtain a concentration point, which is used to be able to chain a strong attack in the middle of a combo of weak attacks. AND strong attacks do make a lot of pupa.
As strange as it may sound, in Black Myth: Wukong we cannot simply perform strong attacks; We must first obtain a concentration point using weak attacks or hold down the strong attack button until charging.
I admit that it took me a while to get the hang of this mechanic, because I’m used to the hack’n slash allow me to attack with combinations of weak and strong attacks without any penalty. Here, however, You have to choose the moment very well to make a strong attackbecause if we fail we must reload the concentration meter.
This gives the combat a strategic touch, since it is not a good idea to get involved with mashing buttons. Additionally, some of the staff attacks have long animations that we must take into account, because at those times it is not possible to dodge.
Speaking of dodging, Black Myth: Wukong has a Bayonetta-like system: if we dodge at the right moment, we leave behind a trail of the monkey king that attracts the enemy’s attention and leaves us in a perfect position to distribute firewood.
In addition to the basic attacks, in the demo I got several power-ups to make things more interesting: the first of these was a spell that paralyzed enemies for several secondsespecially useful to have a moment of respite to heal… or to attack without fear of enemy retaliation.
I also got a transformation that turned Wukong into one of the bosses I defeated during the demo: a creature armed with a double naginata with both ends covered in fire. This was going to be a kind of devil triggerbecause when activated the movements were different and more powerful, and the music changed to a heroic melody.
A detail that I found interesting and that also gives a different rhythm to the combat, is that unlike most soulslikewhere confrontations are often an intimate dance, in Wukong there are many occasions when it’s worth holding the trigger and running at full speedeither to dodge attacks or to buy time while spells recharge.
With the experience gained, instead of improving statistics, I was able to buy all kinds of skills in a considerable tree that covered different aspects: upgrades to consume less stamina when dodging, charging strong attacks faster, interrupting enemy attacks with combos own…
But the most striking thing was the stances: by unlocking the relevant nodes, I gained access to a new stance known as tower pose. When activated by pressing up on the D-pad, the strong attack changed to a move in which Wukong stood on top of his staff and stayed in that position while holding down the button.
This was used to dodge attacks at ground level and unleash a powerful and attractive blow if I released the button before they knocked me down. Each stance has its own associated skills and combos, so it’s a good idea to experiment and switch between them mid-fights.
In addition to the skill trees, at the shrines it was possible to make new equipment for Wukong, as long as you had the necessary materials, of course. There are four spaces for clothing that alters the Monkey King’s appearance and statswhich gives it a certain RPG touch.
Let’s now talk about difficulty, which is surely a topic that interests you a lot. First of all: A member of the Game Science team confirmed to me that Black Myth: Wukong will not have difficulty levels. And I’m not going to lie to you: I found the part I played very challenging; I died quite a few times and especially in front of the bosses.
But here’s the interesting thing: I found many of the boss fights intimidating and even seemingly impossible the first time, but I soon discovered that this was not the case. In fact, the one that was most difficult for me of all, must have taken me about three or four attempts, at most.
With this what I mean is that the difficulty is very well measured and reaches that exact balance between being challenging but not maddening, at least in the case of these first bosses. And, more importantly, with this you also get that feeling I was talking about at the beginning, because I came out of the vast majority of fights with my heart racing and jumping for joy.
And what do you want me to say, For me that is what defines a soulslikeeven though Black Myth: Wukong isn’t exactly one.
Until now I have talked about the good, so now it’s time to talk about the not-so-good. These days, other media that were able to test the game at Summer Game Fest have published their impressions and many define it as a boss rush or a succession of boss fights.
And although it’s not exactly like that, I understand why they say it. The forests where the first stages of the demonstration took place gave the sensation of being large stages in which it was easy to get lost, but it was all an illusion: Many paths were actually invisible walls, so progress was fairly linear..
Add to that the fact that fights against common enemies felt more like a formality. Rather than being moments of tension or requiring skill, they were like little stones that stood in the way before the next boss fight. And given the number of bosses per square meter… the comparisons to a boss rush.
Still, don’t let this confuse you: in Wukong’s stages there are materials to collect, as well as paths that lead to treasures, optional encounters… or secret bosses, so It cannot be said that exploration is non-existent. Also, we’re talking about the first hours of the game, so I’m very curious to see if there is any evolution in the level design.
I am also curious about the theme of transformations, which is one of the hallmarks of the Monkey King, because in the demonstration there was a moment in which Wukong transformed into a cicada, giving way to a phase that mixed flight controls with stealth..
However, once I was discovered, I couldn’t activate that transformation again.. And the truth is that if in the end it turns out to be for single use, it seems to me that it would be a bit wasted. But, I insist again, this has only been an introduction to the first hours and there is still a lot of game to see and mechanics to discover.
And the main thing is that I left there with a very good taste in my mouth and a desire to continue playing., which you already know is always the most important thing. And we won’t have to wait too long, well Black Myth: Wukong launches August 20 for PS5 and PC and, later, on Xbox Series X|S.
