Black Myth: Wukong review – "A great action RPG that feels like God of War for Chinese mythology"

GamesRadar+ VerdictWith strong combat and a fascinating world that mostly rewards exploration, Black Myth: Wukong is a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology.TODAY’S BEST DEALS$26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at AmazonPros+Fun, dodge-focused combat+Incredible world and atmosphere+Loads of secrets to findCons-Combat can get repetitive-Annoying level design-Minor stuttering on PC GamesRadar+ Verdict GamesRadar+ Verdict With strong combat and a fascinating world that mostly rewards exploration, Black Myth: Wukong is a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology.TODAY’S BEST DEALS$26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at Amazon With strong combat and a fascinating world that mostly rewards exploration, Black Myth: Wukong is a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology. TODAY’S BEST DEALS$26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at Amazon TODAY’S BEST DEALS$26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at Amazon TODAY’S BEST DEALS$26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at Amazon TODAY’S BEST DEALS $26.59at Walmart$50.39at CDKeys$64.99at Amazon $26.59at Walmart $26.59at Walmart $50.39at CDKeys $50.39at CDKeys $64.99at Amazon $64.99at Amazon Pros+Fun, dodge-focused combat+Incredible world and atmosphere+Loads of secrets to find Fun, dodge-focused combat Incredible world and atmosphere Loads of secrets to find Cons-Combat can get repetitive-Annoying level design-Minor stuttering on PC Combat can get repetitive Annoying level design Minor stuttering on PC Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. Why you can trust GamesRadar+Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about our reviews policy. You could blast throughBlack Myth: Wukongas a 20-hour boss rush, but you could also spend over 40 hours hunting down every boss, collectible, and NPC. A full half of the game is in the margins. I gave myself time to backtrack, and I’m glad I did, but as I reflect on Black Myth: Wukong after 34 hours, the stuff I know Ididn’tfind hogs a lot of my headspace. That said, most of what I found was good, often great. Black Myth: Wukong can be incredibly frustrating on occasion, but it’s an overall rock-solid action RPG with dozens of fantastic bosses in an absorbing, refreshingly weird world. A world worth wandering (Image credit: Game Science) Fast Facts - Black Myth: WukongRelease date:August 20, 2024Platform(s):PC, PS5Developer:In-housePublisher:Game Science Fast Facts - Black Myth: Wukong Release date:August 20, 2024Platform(s):PC, PS5Developer:In-housePublisher:Game Science Release date:August 20, 2024Platform(s):PC, PS5Developer:In-housePublisher:Game Science (Image credit: Game Science) The presentation can be confusing, but the ending – that is, the ending I got, as there are multiple – helped several details click in my brain. And even when the experience seems to be on a tangent, it is always eye-poppingly gorgeous. Rather than the way it adapts Journey to the West as a story, Black Myth: Wukong hooked me because of how it reconstructs it as a space. Every area is dripping with detail – lively forests and quiet snowfields, intricate temples and rough-hewn crags. “What comes next” becomes a powerful lure. There is so much to see and explore – arguably too much to see and too little to explore. Black Myth: Wukong is a stunning Unreal Engine 5 game capable of both stylized art and realistic graphics, but its visual language is terrible. Many levels are oversized and end up spreading encounters and collectibles too thin, the world littered with invisible walls blocking off what looks to be navigable terrain. Where you can and can’t go feels bafflingly arbitrary and limiting. This turns those gorgeous environments into minefields of disappointment. Will I find a cool secret, or an inexplicable dead end? Over time, this blunts the joy of exploration. Similarly, many levels are so visually cluttered that it can be hard to make out key items. It’s dangerously easy to miss a permanent health pickup, for instance, when it’s locked in a tiny gold box on a tiny gold shrine in a dimly lit room flooded with particle effects. Black Myth: Wukong is crying out for a map and clearer indicators like light beacons. Monkey business (Image credit: Game Science) (Image credit: Game Science) PC Performance I was extremely hungry for skill points in the first half of the game but soon found that maxing out one staff style and sticking to it felt optimal. Combat would benefit from more interplay between the three styles. There was no need to use anything other than thrusting style once I unlocked it. Pillar style felt clunky and smash seemed like a worse thrust. Each style also only has a few nodes for new attacks, and there’s sadly no way to expand your light attack combo, so be prepared to see the same attack animation about a million times. Combat gets a little same-y – it doesn’t help that many normal enemies are so slow, weak, or easily staggered that they’re non-threatening – but chaining Focus heavies and slow-mo perfect dodges is so dang fun that I was never close to bored. Sound design puts in a lot of work. The woodythunkof your staff battering a shield, the resonantgongof cracking iron-skinned monsters, the glassyswishas you spin around a boss in slow motion – you feel details like this in the heat of the moment, like tiny rewards for playing well, and it makes duels more impactful. Black Myth: Wukong is at its best in boss fights. There are dozens and dozens of bosses, back-to-back at times, and most of them are real spectacles. Some are rehashed, but the audio-visual feast is delightful. Levels sometimes feel like mere appetizers before the next boss. I did notably beat most bosses on my first try. To put the difficulty in perspective, the final boss took me two attempts. The hardest optional boss I found took me seven or eight tries. I’m good at action RPGs but I’m not the God King Of Space, so as I said, this game is not very hard, though a few bosses seem to be packing comically bad hitboxes. The thing that killed me most was a frankly horrific platforming section that is thankfully the only one of its kind. Build a better Wukong (Image credit: Game Science) Despite an underwhelming skill tree, there’s deep character progression in Black Myth: Wukong. To go with armor set bonuses, you can upgrade your favorite gear to keep it around, boosting its stats and subtly changing its appearance. I was partial to a double two-piece armor setup that gave me extra Focus from perfect dodges and a parry-style spell called Rock Solid. Your healing gourd, which refills whenever you rest, can be upgraded for more uses and customized through different drinks and soaks. Some drinks heal for less but come with an attack buff or mana refill, for example, while soaks can make your gourd heal extra, mitigate status effects, and much more. You’ll naturally increase your base health, mana, and stamina through items primarily found after bosses, and you can further boost stats of your choice using collectible stones that, again, you can reallocate whenever you want. Staffs can be upgraded almost Monster Hunter-style using parts from bosses. Equippable accessories called curios bring boosted stats, conditional attack buffs, and more. Gathered materials are used to craft medicine to temporarily boost your stats or cure statuses. It wasn’t hard to maintain a stock of medicine for damage reduction, attack boost, and max health boost, and these became my boss fight snacks. And we still haven’t gotten to the magic. (Image credit: Game Science) The most varied spells are the transformations. Proper transformations let you fight as vanquished enemies for a short time, dealing damage without getting hurt yourself since these alternate forms have their own HP. Lesser, equipable spirits provide passive stat bonuses and function as special attacks tied to a Qi meter. You can sneak in spirit attacks during normal staff combos, and while I only found five transformations, I had nearly 50 different spirits, and I’m sure there’s plenty more of both. There’s a running theme of harnessing the strength of your enemies, and this brings some welcome variety to fights. I’d regularly open with Immobilize, get in a staff combo, finish with a spirit, then launch right into a transformation. You can spend most of a boss fight playing as anyone but the Destined One if you invest into transformations. 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More about black myth wukongAfter being labeled a Dark Souls copy, Black Myth: Wukong is now getting its own imitators on the Nintendo storeAs the live service wars continue, analyst says games like Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 prove it’s hard to predict the next hit: “All bets are off"LatestNosferatu ending explained: your biggest questions answeredSee more latest► More about black myth wukongAfter being labeled a Dark Souls copy, Black Myth: Wukong is now getting its own imitators on the Nintendo storeAs the live service wars continue, analyst says games like Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 prove it’s hard to predict the next hit: “All bets are off” More about black myth wukong After being labeled a Dark Souls copy, Black Myth: Wukong is now getting its own imitators on the Nintendo storeAs the live service wars continue, analyst says games like Black Myth: Wukong, Palworld, and Helldivers 2 prove it’s hard to predict the next hit: “All bets are off” 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decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: 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