Black Myth: Wukong is the latest game to take the internet by storm, selling a staggering 10 million copies in just four days. It’s a gorgeous mythological action game that’s already drawn comparisons to some of the biggest games of all time, particularly Dark Souls. It’s easy to see why that comparison might be drawn, both games use similar third-person action combat and camera angles, but that’s honestly where the comparison ends. Black Myth: Wukong does draw a tiny bit of inspiration from Souls games, but grafts that onto a character action experience that shares more with God of War or Devil May Cry than anything else. It’s a prime example of how far too many things are compares to Souls-likes these days, instead of letting games speak for themselves.
Developed by Chinese developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong is based on the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West, which also served as one of the primary inspirations behind Dragon Ball. You play as an anthropomorphized monkey called the Destined One, based on the religious figure with supernatural powers from the novel, Sun Wukong. Without getting too much in the weeds, your objective is basically to revive Sun Wukong who was wrongfully targeted by the Celestial Court, a pantheon of god-like beings, after he left the court and tried to live on his own. That setup alone bear some commonality with God of War, and it should, as both games are built on legendary myths and stories with larger-than-life beings. Both are stories about battling powers that command the universe, and fittingly both have gameplay to match it. But both games are also designed around set pieces and big story moments.
Wukong’s combat is fast and flashy, focusing on dodges, special spells and abilities, and unique combos. Watching a few minutes of a gameplay video might make you think it’s a Souls-like, because visually, the combat does look quite similar. But that interpretation is genuinely misguided, and drastically misrepresenting what kind of game Wukong is, in general. The only elements Wukong has is purely in basic structural elements — it has a bonfire-like checkpoint system and bosses with different phases, but that’s about it.
There’s a misconception that Souls-likes are all about combat, about that punishing difficulty that you have to overcome. That’s not the case, as the true core of Souls-likes is actually about baking intentional, iterative design into every facet of the game. Yes, that brutal combat is a part of it, but equally important is the cryptic way the narrative is delivered, fine control over your characters stats and abilities, and most crucially the way the world and level design supports your evolution as a character.
That last detail is the most vital piece that Wukong is lacking, and something that should be more appreciated in Souls-likes as a whole. In every good Souls game, especially FromSoftware’s own entries, the world itself feels like a vital character. Elden Ring is all about exploring The Lands Between, piecing together lore and uncovering items to experiment with new builds and playstyles. Bloodborne wouldn’t be what it is without the winding streets of Yharnam, forcing players to clue their way through the labyrinth. Even last year’s surprise hit Lies of P puts a huge emphasis on its dystopian Steampunk setting of Krat, tying your characters advancement directly to the narrative as you uncover the events that happened there.
That sense of place and setting is something Wukong simply doesn’t have. Environment only serve as pathways to the next boss — there’s no sense of exploration, no way the world is truly tied to your character. Wukong’s storytelling is a bit all over the place, but it’s mostly fine once the stakes are set up properly in Chapter 2. But it’s still a completely linear story, and the gameplay surrounding it is linear to match that. Again that’s not a problem, it’s a deliberate design choice, but a clear example that Wukong isn’t a Souls-like.
Character action may be the more fitting moniker, but even then Wukong pulls ideas from a few other games to make for something unique. Its skill system has a lot in common with something like Devil May Cry, unlocking multiple combat styles and stat boost, but still locking you into a specific play style. You could also argue Wukong is a “boss rush” game that puts a huge emphasis on boss battles, but strings long little enemies to fill the gaps between them — similar to something like Asura’s Wrath. That singular focus on big bosses is both a strength and a detriment to the game. Bosses are flashy affairs that feel fittingly epic, and more often than not pose a challenge, but it also makes it apparent that the game doesn’t have anything to offer outside of that.
Black Myth: Wukong isn’t some kind of genre-changing experience — it’s a beautiful action game that smartly takes inspirations from multiple games, but doesn’t always capitalize on its own ambitions. It does some things well, but fails in other ways, and that’s exactly what you’d expect for the first big AAA game from a studio. But Black Myth Wukong should be talked about in its own context, not one that compares it to games that are integrally different.
