This video-game adaptation of a classic Chinese novel will come to all major gaming platforms soon. Black Myth: Wukong is heavily anticipated by video game fans around the world. Here’s everything you need to know about this magnum opus!

Black Myth: Wukong is an action, role-playing videogame developed by Game Science, a Chinese indie developer. The game is based on the 16th-century Chinese classic novel – Journey to the West. The game drew comparisons to Souls, a series of action, role-playing video games by FromSoftware.

What Black Myth: Wukong is based on

The game takes direct influence from Journey to the West, a classic Chinese novel. Chinese novelist and poet Wu Cheng’en wrote the novel during the reign of the Ming dynasty. This book is one of the most famous literary works in all of Chinese literature. It is one of four books that make up the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It traces the famous pilgrimage of a Buddhist monk, Xuangzang. He traveled to Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent to find sacred Buddhist texts, called satras. He returned after making several attempts that led to nothing but failure coupled with enormous suffering.

Gameplay & Mechanics of Black Myth: Wukong

Players follow Sun Wukong (Monkey King) as he fights a variety of adversaries. He has the ability to transform into flying insects or even a large giant. Additionally, players can also clone, somersault, leap to incredible heights, and manipulate the weather. Developers released two gameplay videos – one in August 2020 and another in February 2021. The gameplay suggests a 3rd-person action type simulation. It combines exploration with elements of the skill-based battle.

Enemies vary from groups of monkeys, foxes to large armies. The boss fights include a giant wolf, a spider, and even a sword fighter. Furthermore, Wukong wields his signature magic iron staff. It can also grow in length and is extremely powerful.

Recent Developments

The developers released a 13-minute gameplay trailer on August 19th this year. It contained a major development that fans did not quite expect. It was revealed that the game had now moved to Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). This comes as a pleasant surprise for all fans of Black Myth: Wukong.

There is a heavy influence of Chinese mythology, Taoism, and Buddhism in the game. It is set in 7th-century China. The trailer shows glimpses of breathtaking gameplay supported by superb visual effects. Both aspects are equally high in quality. In addition, there is distinct detailing in the world design of the game.

The game will be released for Playstation 5 as well as for Xbox Series X/S. By moving to UE5, the gameplay will be even richer and smoother. The game will also support NVIDIA ray tracing, DLSS, and Dolby Atmos. The game is expected to have a high level of gameplay difficulty. The trailer showed two boss combats, both of which had elements inspired by Journey to the West. The game will contain several more, each of which will be incredibly challenging.

Enemy AI will be unique with several new combat variations. Additionally, there is a ‘special skill-meter’ that fills up during combat. A new split shadow mechanism is present, which gets activated once an attack is dodged. Successful execution of this will add extra points to the skill meter. Once filled up, it can allow the player to perform unique attacks on enemies.

When can fans expect Black Myth: Wukong?

Game Science had initially planned for an early release in 2023. With a proposed shift to UE5 on the way, there is still no clarity on a definite release date. Developers have not given an official word regarding the release yet. An FAQ on their website said, “it shouldn’t take 500 years”. This could mean that the game’s release could be closer than expected. But there are a few challenges. Game Science is planning to bring the game to PC as well. This could delay the release even further. The game will be a one-time buy, with additional DLCs. Fans can expect the game’s release sometime in the near future.