Black Myth: Wukong played – Beautiful and very different from what we expected

Black Myth: Wukong is beautiful and quite deadly. We played the action adventure game from China for the first time and faced the first merciless bosses

InBlack Myth: Wukongthe monkey may be loose, but I can’t really concentrate on my hero anyway. Most of the time I’m busy dodging in panic or making desperate parries, while lightning-fast bossesseem to dance around me effortlessly.

And when I say lightning fast, I mean it. The best way to see for yourself is to check out the new gameplay:

There are, of course, two questions that are burning under my nails: Will Black Myth be as badass a Soulslike as its Japan counterpart Sekiro? And how good is the gameplay under the fancy graphics hood?

May I ask you to the Souls dance?

At first glance, Black Myth: Wukongseems like a classic Soulslike You have a health and stamina bar, light and heavy attacks, as well as a block and a dodge step. You save at shrines, which you also return to when you die – relieved of a few resources, of course, while the enemies away from the bosses get up again

So far, so typical of the genre. However, I quickly notice a big difference when playing: the standard enemies, who, just like me, wear animal heads on human-like bodies,are surprisingly resilient The fox companions and raven pathfinders are at most a problem in a pack (or swarm?)

So, at least with simple enemies, you don’t have to learn complicated choreographies. Sometimes you have to block fire arrows from a distance or dodge them in time. Even at the start of the game, a new, large enemy appears every 10 to 15 minutes

Black Myth: Wukong thus feels more like aBoss-Rush-Action-Adventurethan a typical Soulslike, in which the levels become a challenge in themselves. That’s why the developers are reluctant to use the term themselves

Attack is the best defense

But it is definitely appropriate for the bosses. This is where the combat system really comes into its own. In my nimble monkey form, I only carry a staff, not a shieldTherefore, parrying is only possible to a limited extent– and not at all easy, because the bosses are usually incredibly fast and hammer at me with brutal fury

If you dodge perfectly, an image of the character will briefly appear at your last location to distract the boss. Then it’s time to hit the boss with everything you’ve got.

Combining fast and heavy attacks releases particularly effective combos, but your stamina is also constantly draining. The same applies to the health bar if you are careless. The latter is at least partially replenished with a sip from the pumpkin flask you brought with you

The fast-paced battles play surprisingly smoothly even with a mouse and keyboard, but everything is much smoother with the controller.

Stroke after stroke

In the demo, I fought six bosses within an hour and a half, all of which had their own attack patterns and pitfalls. For example, a giant wolf that climbs onto the roof of a shrine and then drops down on me with a particularly powerful leap. Or a warrior with a wolf’s head who wields a burning lanceand uses it to inflict fire damage as well as nasty cuts on me.

The design of the enemies, just like the game world, is inspired by China and the traditional saga “Journey to the West”. In addition to beastmen, I encounter all kinds of strange and fascinating creatures – for example, an extremely scary-looking giant blue baby or seemingly slumbering monks by the wayside, from which long bony snake necks suddenly emerge.

The previously unseen boss also turns out to be a (nasty) highlight: the dragon is hiding in a secret cave, which I stumble into more by chance while exploring. A little later, it rains lightning and a mighty tail lashes out at me. At first it seems completely hopeless to do any damage at all, until I notice the containers on its back. Note: There are certain timings, spells or staff techniques for each opponent that make the fight much easier

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How difficult will Black Myth: Wukong be?

Since Black Myth is often mentioned in the same breath as games like Sekiro, this question was of course particularly important to me. According to the developer, however, Black Myth is more reminiscent of Jedi: Fallen Order than Sekiro in many aspects and offers more of a “soulslite” experience that can be tailored to your own player type:

“We designed with two types of players in mind: hardcore and casual. There are many spells and transformations in the game that can be used to make battles easier. But hardcore players can do without them. […]

Skills and transformations are designed so that you can use them to interrupt boss attack patterns. If you are passive and retreat, fights are often very hard. But if you play aggressively and, for example, ignite the white wool with the help of the first boss transformation, you have a much easier time. Or you can use the time spell to freeze him briefly. “

Creativity should also be emphasized, partly because the main character doesn’t always take himself quite so seriously:

“In ‘Journey to the West’, Wukong is actually a very humorous character who doesn’t take himself too seriously. He uses all kinds of ways to defeat enemies and often not even violence. We want the players to also try everything possible to defeat the bosses. “

He who experiments, wins

Take the nasty electric dragon, for example. I can avoid its area attacks by changing my staff technique. Similar to Nioh, youhave different optionswith the staff depending on your fighting style

While the regular style relies on a combination of fast and heavy attacks, there is also a slow and powerful variant, as well as one that is more defensive. I use the latter to climb onto my staff and soften up the large-area ground attacks when I press the button that is normally reserved for the heavy attack

Addspells and transformations, which I gradually unlock when I defeat bosses. I can use them to freeze an opponent in the middle of an attack, for example. Because the special abilities have a cooldown time, strategy and timing are required when using them

Thanks to the transformations, my hero becomes a fire-blade wielding wolf man himself. Useful when I face the giant white wolf, which is susceptible to fire damage. If I manage to make it burn, the fight becomes much easier

Similar to Elden Ring, the “Easy Mode” in Black Myth is integrated directly into the gameplay According to the developers, they want to motivate players to experiment with play styles and tactics in order to make opponents easier. Hardcore players, on the other hand, can take a very purist approach and only focus on perfect dodges and elegant parries

By defeating bosses, you will also become stronger and level up your monkey hero. You can either improve and expand his staff, give his attacks more oomph or increase his health and stamina in different skill trees. Over time, you will also unlock new armor and bonuses

Like a grab bag

By the way, Black Myth does not have an open world However, later levels are supposed to be a bit more spacious than the one I played. In general, exploration and discovery are also rewarded in straightforward sections. It is important to the developer to always honor this:

“As players, we understand how frustrating it is to follow a path and then find nothing. That’s why we try our best to always reward players with secrets, hidden bosses and more. “

I can confirm this after my first play session. For example, I once stumbled through a secret gate behind a waterfall into the aforementioned secret boss. Treasure chests or materials are also hidden along the way – sometimes even with a twist. Once, for example, I wanted to dig up a flower and promptly pulled an enemy out of the ground by its “hair”. Oh dear

Sometimes enemies can also be bypassed via alternative paths. And then there’s a friendly old man who sometimes offers me help. Before a level with a particularly large number of enemieshe transforms me into a tiny cicada This means I can simply fly past all the monsters until my transformation bar runs out. According to the developer, there will be more situations later on where I can run around enemies using a different form

Beautiful and clearer than Elden Ring

No matter which corner of a level I end up in, I can’t stop being amazed. Because Black Myth: Wukong looks really fantastic thanks to the sharp textures, lots of details and realistic lighting

(The game world is not only extremely pretty and detailed, but also looks incredibly realistic thanks to the lighting.)

When the light falls through the treetops onto temples, I make my way through a bamboo forest or walk on narrow planks and let my gaze wander over mist-covered mountain peaks,I really feel transported to ancient China

The cutscenes accompanied by traditional music and Far Eastern sounds, which introduce me to bosses, but also friendly encounters like the one with the old man who helps me, also contribute to this

Unlike Elden Ring and the like, where you have to painstakingly gather most of the story snippets, Black Myth is intended to offer a more cinematic, clear story, according to the developers in an interview:

Although Black Myth: Wukong is more reminiscent of an action-adventure game, itshouldcontain role-playing elements. For example, through decisions in the optional side missions and the main story. However, according to the developer, you will not be able to make any major changes to the original storyline of “Journey to the West.”

I have not yet been able to see or play this. The atmospheric, polished down to the last detail and extremely finished-looking part that the developers showed in London was for the most part already on display at Gamescom last year.It remains to be seen whether the rest of the game can keep up with this section, which was perfectly selected and optimized for press and co. I would have liked to have seen and tried out other parts of the game so shortly before release

Black Myth Wu Kong - View Screenshots!

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In addition, it remains to be seenhow well the boss rush principle can sustain Black Myth in the long term Soulslikes also thrive on the fact that the world itself is so dangerous and varied, constantly presenting me with new problems and challenges. Since simple enemies offer so little resistance here, there is a much greater risk of simply rushing through and leaving a lot to the left – or the sections between bosses become a chore

In the demo, however, the pacing works. So far, Black Myth: Wukong offers an elegant and pretty boss hunt with massive, fun fights and plenty of potential for more. If the rest of the game is similarly convincing at launch for PC and PS5 on August 20, 2024 (the version for Xbox Series will come a little later), not only Souls fans can prepare themselves for a highlight.

Editor’s verdict

I still remember the first trailers for Black Myth and how I meticulously analyzed every minute for my preview back then. Look, you can transform! You can heal yourself with a pumpkin bottle! And look at this combo and that spell! A lot of it came true, some of it is completely different. But the most surprising thing for me is definitely how polished the demo looks. The developers definitely didn’t want to leave anything to chance here. Black Myth not only looks fantastic, but also plays incredibly smoothly. Every dodge roll is spot on, every punch feels powerful.

So what I have seen and played is already convincing. However, there are still some unanswered questions. I’m particularly curious about the story, quests and decisions, but also about how later boss fights will feel when I have more skills and techniques at my disposal. Will the same strategy always work? Will it be too easy if you use everything? Or will there always be new, creative solutions that make each boss exciting and special in its own way?

Are you looking forward to Black Myth or are you skeptical about the action adventure game from China? Let me know your opinion in the comments!