Here’s everything we know about this Journey to the West-inspired Soulslike
If you want the full run-down on all the details behind this extravagantSoulslike, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive into everything we know so far about Black Myth: Wukong, from the expected release date to story details to a brief rundown of the controversy embroiling it.
In this guide:
Black Myth: Wukong expected release date
Black Myth: Wukong will launch on PC viaSteamand theEpic Store. It will also be available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Much of Black Myth: Wukong’s story remains under tight wraps, but several hints can be gathered from the source material that inspired the game.
Journey to the West was published in the late 1500s in China’s Ming dynasty and attributed to writer Wu Cheng’en. The novel tells the tale of a Buddhist monk named Tang Sanzang who travels from China to India to obtain religious texts. Along the way, he recruits a number of disciples - chief among which is Sun Wukong, the Monkey King. Originally trapped under a mountain by Buddha for his mischievous doings, Sun Wukong grows during his time as Tang Sanzang’s bodyguard, eventually reaching true enlightenment and becoming a god-like figure who exhibits incredible powers, including super strength and the ability to manifest clones of himself.
To those unfamiliar with Chinese mythology, Sun Wukong is the inspiration behind Son Goku of the Dragonball franchise, which originally began as a loose adaptation of Journey to the West. In the world of video games, Wukong is also known for his appearances in various MOBAs, includingLeague of Legends, DOTA 2, andSmite. While there have been singleplayer games starring the Monkey King in the past, such as Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, Black Myth: Wukong marks the first time that players will be able to control this superheroic simian in a big-budget AAA Soulslike intended for both Chinese and international audiences.
That said, the monkey protagonist featured in Black Myth: Wukongmay notbe the legendary Sun Wukong himself. There are a number of clues that point to this, including the title of the game, which hints at a darker, “black” rendition of a well-known story. The officialBlack Myth: Wukong websitealso states the following:
In the game’s trailers, other questions about the player’s identity abound. An enemy in the first 13-minute gameplay video remarks in Chinese that the player is “another monkey,” and after defeating a wolf demon named Lingxuzi, the monkey protagonist is stopped from delivering the killing blow by a grander version of himself who is dressed in the ornamental armour more associated with Sun Wukong in films and television shows. Furthermore, the 12-minute Unreal Engine 5 gameplay test shows the playerfighting against Kang Jinlong, a dragon with a golden horn who was not depicted as an adversary of Wukong in the original story.
All of these unusual occurrences have caused Chinese players - as well as those familiar with Journey to the West - to theorise that the character controlled by the player is not Sun Wukong himself, but rather a stray clone of the Monkey King who has broken off on his own quest. Considering that Sun Wukong appears alongside his doppleganger in footage, Black Myth’s plot may revolve around reuniting these two different aspects of the Monkey King.
Another fan theory revolves around the Six Eared Macaque, a villain in Journey to the West who disguises himself as Sun Wukong. The game may paint the original version of Journey to the West as a “black myth” where the Six Eared Macaque killed the real Monkey Kong and took his place, assuming all the glory for himself - which would possibly make the playable character the true Wukong out for revenge. While these possibilities are mere speculation at the moment, all would tie in with the title of the game, as well as Game Science’s promises that Black Myth: Wukong tells a tale that goes beyond the typical legend of the Monkey King.
Black Myth: Wukong appears to feature a solid helping of Soulslike gameplay, with parrying, dodging, collectible weapons, and challenging battles against gargantuan bosses all prevelant. While the true identity of the playable monkey may remain up in the air, many of the wonderous abilities of Sun Wukong as presented in Journey to the West seem to be present and accounted for. These abilities include the following:
An extending staff: In Journey to the West, Wukong wields the Ruyi Jingu Bang, a staff that can shrink and extend at will. The staff is fully featured in Black Myth’s trailers, and the “true” Wukong who appears at the end of the 13-minute trailer has the Chinese characters for “Ruyi Jingu Bang” enscribed upon his weapon. In all of the released footage, Wukong can be seen using his staff to ascend to great heights, bludgeon foes, block arrows, and battle celestial enemies in heaven.
Clone creation: Sun Wukong was capable of generating clones of himself from a single strand of his hair in the novel. This ability - which anime fans might associate with Naruto’s clone jutsu - appears when Wukong battles Lingxuzi in the 13-minute debut trailer. It appears to run on a timer, like many of the Monkey King’s shapeshifting skills.
Cloud traversal: If you’re a Dragonball fan, you probably know of Goku’s cloud, the Flying Nimbus. This was based on Wukong’s magical cloud somersault ability, which let the Monkey King travel thousands of miles in an instant. Black Myth: Wukong has shown cloud traversal in its trailers, though whether this will be used extensively in-game - possibly as a fast-travel system - remains to be seen.
Shapeshifting: When it comes to transformations, Wukong’s skillset looks impressively varied. The Monkey King is capable of temporarily turning into a golden cicada, a bestial version of himself that deals excessive damage, and even former enemies when he wields their fallen weapons - as seen in gameplay footage where he turns into Huodaolang, a lupine enemy with a flaming polearm. Sun Wukong held a grand total of 72 different transformations in the book, and one can only wonder at whether Game Science has managed to recreate this vast repertoire in Black Myth.
Time freezing: Wukong boasts prodigeous combat capabilities in all of the trailers, but one of his most useful skills appears to be the ability to temporarily freeze enemies in place, allowing him to charge up his staff for critical blows or dodge away for a momentary breather. This ability works on both regular enemies and even bosses.
Game Science has not officially responded to the controversy, which has spurned larger discussions of casual sexism in the Chinese gaming industry, as well as the ongoing fight for feminist causes in China.
