Wukong Feels Like The Next Killer Soulslike

My Summer Game Fest preview for Black Myth: Wukong was an interesting one. Having missed out on the limited slots during the main event, I was invited to check out the game the following Wednesday. However, there was a problem. I flew back to the UK at 4:30 pm that afternoon. With Wukong, one of my most-anticipated games from the past couple of years, there was no chance I was missing the appointment, so Game Science accommodated me with a slot between 11 am and 1 pm that day. I spent two hours with the game before swiftly jumping in an Uber to LAX.

It was a stressful experience but one well worth having, especially as I missed out on the opportunity at Gamescom last year, with its four-hour-long queues. My time with it may have been brief, but it ultimately cemented my anticipation for the game. It’s good—it’s really good.

A Vibrant Eastern Myth Inspired World

My demo of Black Myth: Wukong involved the opening section of the game. Upon sitting down, I was thrust into Wukong’s vibrant, semi-linear world and confronted with my first set of enemies. Already, there’s lots to unpack.

As I was set free on Black Wind Mountain, I was struck by just how pretty the game was. Souls games always look good and have an air of foreboding about them, and Wukong felt the same, except the gloomy tones I was used to in my Bloodbornes and Elden Rings were replaced with a much brighter color palate, more akin to that of Sekiro.

Alongside its visuals, I instantly fell in love with Wukong’s enemy design. I wasn’t faced with eldrich horrors, instead, I went toe to toe with a bunch of Yaoguai, a Chinese term for strange and mythical beings. The “grunts” of Black Wind Mountain generally consisted of anthropomorphic characters, like myself, each wielding a weapon of their own. I faced swarms of fox-, wolf- and snake-headed creatures of differing difficulty levels, all of which had different movesets for me to contend with. The Yaoguai alone instantly helped Wukong’s story and world take shape.

Following a short trek, it was time for me to face my first boss.

The Oxguard, Guangzhi And The Splashtoad

Arguably, the crux of every good Soulslike boils down to how good its boss battles are—Black Myth: Wukong’s are great. During my short time with the game, I encountered five or six different bosses, each completely different from the last, but each increasingly difficult the further I got.

The first test of my combat skills came against the Oxguard, an ox-like creature who serves as the gatekeeper of Black Wind Mountain. Your primary weapon in Black Myth: Wukong is a staff, which I found refreshing. The speed in which the staff swung made combat feel super fluid, and enforced and encouraged an aggressive style of play. This was further emphasized by the fact that, unlike many other games in the genre, and much to my delight, Wukong doesn’t rely on parrying. Instead, perfectly timed dodges are key to victory.

But, Black Myth: Wukong’s combat goes far deeper than attacking and dodging. Early on, I learned the first of the game’s spells, Immobilize. As the name suggests, Immobilize allowed me to temporarily freeze enemies on the spot, which added a deeper, more thoughtful approach to combat. Spells are on a cooldown timer, so I had to decide on when exactly was the best time to freeze my adversary. I could head into battle and use the spell straight away, allowing me to deal serious damage before the fight had truly begun, or save it for a later time to stop brutal enemy combos. Each boss required a different approach, and there was no one-size-fits-all timing for the spell.

As I progressed further, beating the giant wolf boss, Guangzhi, I unlocked a second, more impressive spell – the Red Tides transformation. After defeating certain bosses, the “Destined One” will acquire the ability to temporarily transform into that boss, utilizing their skills, abilities and weapons. The Red Tides transformation allowed me to use a weapon of the same name, a long, flame-tipped spear, which dealt fire damage to my foes and helped me exploit certain weaknesses.

The Sekiro-like Formula

Black Myth: Wukong is more Sekiro than it is Dark Souls or Elden Ring.

Rather than having the ability to level up certain aspects of my character, the game has a Talent Tree, which allowed me to increase my health and stamina and unlock different skills and abilities. Delightfully, these could be respec’d at any point when resting at one of the game’s shrines, which are akin to bonfires, meaning if I was stuck on a boss, I could reallocate my skill points to better suit the challenge.

I mentioned earlier that the game’s atmosphere closely resembled that of Sekiro, and the exploration felt the same. The game, at least from what I got to play, is pretty linear. There’s a clear order of operations, and your next destination is well-telegraphed. However, exploration was definitely encouraged. Through heading off the beaten path, I discovered a bunch of different items, and an optional boss, the Wandering Wight, which kicked my ass time and time again. Thankfully, I was assured that I could fast travel from shrine to shrine, so coming back to this boss at a later date wouldn’t be an issue.

While probably a lesser point for many, I also loved the fact that I could pause Black Myth: Wukong without fear of enemies finding me hiding behind a tree and swiftly destroying me, which is one of the major issues I have with the Souls series.

Black Myth: Wukong has a complex history, however, it truly feels like it could be ushering in the next era of non-Fromsoft Soulslikes. A vibrant, Eastern mythology-inspired world, fascinating enemy design and thoroughly engaging combat have me excited that it could surpass one of my favorite games from last year, Lies of P.

You can check out all of our coverage from this year’s Summer Game Fest right here.

Black Myth: Wukong

Released

August 20, 2024

Developer(s)

Game Science