Black Myth: Wukong Review- An Action Adventure with Cinematic Brilliance

Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG that elegantly straddles the line between the demanding combat of Soulslike games and the adventurous exploration of classic RPGs. However, the comparison to Soulslike games stops mostly at its shrines for revives. We would put this game closer to a God of War or Nioh style as it’s a linear action-adventure game with Boss Rush-type levels. Whether you’re seeking intense battles against creatures drawn from Chinese mythology or a more forgiving experience with equally engaging encounters, this game delivers a journey that resonates with a broad spectrum of players. Its stunning presentation and generous design philosophy truly set Black Myth: Wukong apart.

You’re not just playing a game; you’re embarking on a visually spectacular odyssey, where you wield a staff as a highly agile monkey, armed with a suite of powerful spells set on a polished and well-performing engine is also technically impressive and a great benchmark for current gamers. It’s been a long time since a game has left such an impression on me.

Black Myth: Wukong Review- An Action Adventure with Cinematic Brilliance

Based on the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West, the game places you in control of the “Destined One,” a reincarnation of Wukong, a legendary monkey who once rebelled against Heaven. Your mission? To remind the various Yaoguai (mythical creatures) that Wukong is back in the game, ready to reclaim the glory Wukong deserved. The smooth gameplay and combat can often make you feel like you are in an anime, which is why I think it resonates with many gamers. It has all the right elements of visceral combat, amazing art, wonder, and imagination that beg you to explore it. The polish is clear, and minor details, like the character flourishing after combat or while in battle, show how much the developer Game Science cared for its presentation.

Black Myth: Wukong offers a captivating blend of cinematic moments and challenging gameplay. The game’s chapters are interspersed with interactive artworks that summarize the story’s progress, connecting back to the source material. There are even some wonky but cool music videos/aminations that help tell the story. A particular one with a white fox was incredible to watch.

While these story elements might be difficult to follow for those unfamiliar with the original tale, they add a layer of depth and authenticity that enriches the experience. The narrative can be somewhat opaque, however, as we must suffer with a silent protagonist again.

We dislike this game design choice – especially after one of the best prologues in recent memory with a fantastic voice actor for the “original Wukong”. Why could we not have that throughout the game? Sure, the Destined One, the player that you control, might not be able to have the same voice, but anything would have been better than nothing. It feels like a huge missed opportunity, and I hope we stop seeing this, especially since the rest of the game is so well-voiced. The sheer spectacle and dramatic encounters make the journey worthwhile, but it would have been nice to get some feedback from your character.

Gameplay

The level design is mostly linear, and some parts of Chapter 2 are not the best, but it is a worthwhile journey. As you progress, you also gain keys to areas you passed before, so you can travel back to even near the start of the game for some powerful unlocks. This is optional, but it was great to go back and find those mysteries and unlock every secret piece of armor. A charge buffing staff, for example, builds directly into the smash stance and buffs your damage. There are already some builds out there than help melt a bosses life.

The enemy types you encounter here are also great. A big criticism of some recent games like Dragon’s Dogma 2 or The First Descendant is the sheer lack of different enemy types as you progress. Elden Ring, a masterpiece itself, repeats bosses, and this is fine with us as long as they have varied mechanics or fight patterns. Black Myth: Wukong bosses are varied and incredible to play with, and even the one huge-head boss that I found a repeat-off with was different enough and required a different strategy.

There were some frustrating moments for me with certain bosses, like a certain crouching one near a temple, but I was able to backtrack and get some upgrades to my staff and come back and learn from my previous mistakes. You could also take a different branching path to level up and complete that area or try to brute force your way. That is what makes gaming incredibly fun and rewarding, and there is plenty of this here. The game features 90 unique bosses, each with distinct mechanics and designs.

This is not to say the game is perfect, the bosses certainly have some very bad “cheese” and can lead to some “wtf was that?” moments but aren’t the worst we have ever seen. The typical enemies are hiding behind corners or mobs, jumping you randomly, but combatting this with your given tools is still a great deal of fun. That being said the majority of bosses we defeated in one or two tries, with some of the more difficult bosses requiring multiple attempts. Keep in mind that we are mediocre at these types of games.

The combat in Black Myth: Wukong is fluid and dynamic, with an emphasis on stylish staff maneuvers and well-timed dodges. Combat involves combos of light and heavy attacks, different stances, and special abilities. The game offers some deep strategic challenges based on the encounters during its chapters. Players can upgrade their abilities through a skill tree using “Sparks” and customize their builds with equipment and relics, with the flexibility of free re-specs. There is no parry without using up mana with a spell that turns you into a rock, if you time this perfectly it can help stagger large bosses and turn the tide.

Alternatively, you can build into going invisible and leaving behind a clone to charge a 3-focus point heavy attack that causes massive damage. There is enough variety here to keep it fun, but you still only play with a staff throughout the game (or will you?)

Speaking of focus points, this is an important part of combat. You have to string together light attacks to gain a meter that provides focus points, which you can then spend during combos or a charged heavy attack to unleash a powerful hit.

***Spoiler warning, boss fight*** (also mediocre gameplay warning)

You will also fight mid-tier enemies that you can then capture and embody during battle (spirits), and you can also eventually find full-body transformations that you can turn into for a set time during battle. This really helped me during some tougher fights. Defense-wise, Black Myth is rooted in the Soulslike tradition—dodging enemy attacks, managing stamina, and strategically using health-restoring Gourds (akin to flasks). There is no block, however; as mentioned above, you have a parry spell that is there if needed.

But unlike many Soulslike games, Black Myth: Wukong strikes a balance that makes it accessible to a wider audience. You do not lose all your progress or “souls” when you die but instead get resurrected at your last shrine to try the level repeatedly, where you can craft spells, tweak armor, increase spirit level, brew power-ups, and so on. It is a great system that doesn’t rely on heavily punishing the player.

The game’s linear but richly detailed environments offer a more focused experience than the sprawling open worlds of games like Elden Ring. Thankfully, the world feels authentic and meticulously crafted, encouraging exploration without overwhelming the player.

There are a lot of nooks and crannies to visit for secrets or unlocks, and it’s rewarding throughout and respects your time. Not once did I feel like I fought through a tough horde of enemies just to get some measly gold, even if it occurred in some chests it still felt great.

What did not feel great, however, was the camera. Elden Ring suffered from the same issues: a large enemy locks you in a corner, and you cannot tell what you are doing sometimes. You are spamming dodge to try to get to a better visual area. It was frustrating at times. For example, in a later chapter, you can drop down into a path with a chest at the end, and suddenly you are surrounded by a dozen or so enemies, all hitting you at once while surrounded by walls that the camera is running into – we got through it but not without some gamer rage.

Performance and Benchmarks

Visually, Black Myth: Wukong is breathtaking. The attention to detail in the environments, from the intricate architecture to the atmospheric lighting, is simply awe-inspiring. The game’s world is a visual feast, with every corner offering something new to marvel at. While the game’s design includes some typical video game constraints, such as invisible walls, these are easily forgiven, given the overall beauty and immersion. The game boasts high-quality visuals and designs inspired by Chinese mythology, although it occasionally experiences frame rate issues. Maybe about 1% of my time with it I did experience some frame drops or hitching but other than that it’s been incredible.

Black Myth: Wukong does feature path tracing:

The game includes Nvidia’s DLSS Frame Generation, an AI-driven technology that enhances gaming performance by generating new frames, integrating low latency for responsiveness, and utilizing the advanced features of NVIDIA’s Ada Lovelace architecture. This technology, combined with NVIDIA Reflex, significantly boosts performance while maintaining high image quality. It also includes AMD’s FSR 3.0 for upscaling and frame gen.

In Black Myth: Wukong, advanced ray tracing techniques, including full-resolution multi-bounce indirect lighting, reflections, and caustics, are employed to create a visually stunning and immersive experience. These techniques enhance realism, particularly in lighting, reflections, and shadows, elevating the overall graphical fidelity of the game.

Team Green is taking the cake here, although we wish we had an RX 7900 XTX to compare with the performance numbers, the optimization, DLSS, and frame gen are working wonders to make this game perform well. AMD is playable, however, with lower-end cards performing close to Nvidia’s lower-end offerings.

Unreal Engine 5 is doing well here not to require an enormous amount of RAM like Resident Evil 4 and many recent games.
Here are the minimum requirements:

Performance:
Black Myth: Wukong 1920×1080 (medium), RT OFF

GPU	Average	1% low
RTX 3070	105.6	84
RTX 3080	123.7	98
RTX 4060 Ti	111.7	86
RTX 4070 Super	143	107
RTX 4071 Ti	169.5	132
RTX 4080 Super	196.3	154
RX 6700 XT	103.8	85
RX 6800 XT	133.4	106

Black Myth: Wukong 1920×1080 (Cinematic), RT Very High

GPU	Average	1% low
RTX 3070	27.8	20
RTX 3080	33.2	24
RTX 4060 Ti Super	37.8	29
RTX 4070 Super	64.2	51
RTX 4071 Ti	73.1	58
RTX 4080 Super	85.3	67
RX 6700 XT	12	9
RX 6800 XT	19.3	13

Black Myth: Wukong 2560×1440 (Cinematic), RT Very High

Black Myth: Wukong 2560×1440 (Cinematic), DLSS Quality

GPU	Average
RTX 4070 Super	64.9
RTX 4070 Ti Super	87.4
RTX 4080 Super	101.2

Conclusion:

In summary, Black Myth: Wukong is a remarkable achievement—a game that not only meets but exceeds the lofty expectations set by its early trailers. Black Myth: Wukong has garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews and achieved the second-highest concurrent player count on Steam, praised for its engaging gameplay, polished experience, and absence of microtransactions.

Most gamers who play on 1920x1080p can fully enjoy this game, but max settings require a much more powerful card. Our 4080 Super ran this game perfectly with Full settings on, and it was a blast to play.

It’s a generous, beautifully crafted adventure that offers both challenge and spectacle, making it a must-play for fans of action RPGs. Game Science has truly announced itself as a major player in the genre, and Black Myth: Wukong is a clear statement that they are here to compete with the best.

Happy gaming!

Nvidia provided this review key, this was not in exchange for a positive review and does not change our review process or influence our scores. Thank you, Nvidia!