Black Myth: Wukong is an upcoming action-RPG focusing on traditional Chinese folklore that has gained traction since its surprise announcement last year.
This is the first large-scale project from Chinese indie developer Game Science and it looks incredibly ambitious. So much so that Game Science founder Feng Ji wants viewers to “forget” the footage that was revealed as it was intended to attract developers to join his studio and feels it does not represent the team’s best work.
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Who Is Developing Black Myth: Wukong?
The studio behind Black Myth is Game Science, a Chinese indie studio based in Hangzhou and Shenzhen. It was founded in 2014 by former Tencent developers.
Previous titles include the mobile and PC free-to-play games 100 Heroes and Art of War: Red Tides. Before launching Game Science, many of the developers that were at Tencent’s Quantum studio were working on an MMORPG called Asura West (also based on Journey to the West) that allegedly underperformed for Tencent, although it’s unclear if this is why some of the team departed.
While Game Science is currently a very small team, it is using the early announcement to draw new talent to the studio to help finish Black Myth.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Story
While we don’t have many specific details about Black Myth’s story at this time, we know it’s based on the classic Chinese tale Journey to the West, one of “the four masterpieces” of classical Chinese literature. A portion of this original story focuses on Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, who appears to be the main character in Black Myth: Wukong.
In Journey to the West, Wukong’s story follows him from birth through his journey to learn Taoism and become immortal, while mastering language and combat along the way. He also acquires the 72-methods of heavenly transformation, allowing him to transform into many different animals and objects at will.
Who Is The Main Character?
In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is known for his incredible speed and strength as well as the ability to transform into various animals and objects, all of which was displayed in the gameplay trailer for Black Myth. He wields a magical black iron staff that can grow in size or shrink based on its owner’s commands.
According to the book, Wukong possesses a number of abilities including:
Shapeshifting into different people, animals, and objects
Cloning himself or various forms of himself
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An incredible leaping ability allowing him to leap 108,000 li (or over 33,000 miles) at a time
Weather manipulation
Spells to control gods and spirits
Various forms of armed and unarmed martial arts combat
A special breathing method that grants him immortality
Black Myth Gameplay
With two gameplay trailers released (including the recent Year of the Ox update) we have a good look now at what to expect from Black Myth: Wukong. Black Myth is a 3rd-person action/RPG, mixing environmental exploration with skill-based Souls-like gameplay. Wukong is armed with his signature magic-imbued black iron staff weapon, and at one point we catch a glimpse of it growing in length and sweeping an entire army off their feet in one fell swoop.
During the original trailer we got a glimpse of an ability that allows Wukong to transform into a golden cicada to traverse the world and evade enemy detection. Opponents appear to range from small groups anthropomorphic monkeys, tigers, and foxes to massive armies (a la Dynasty Warrior) which Wukong must defeat all by himself.
In the updated trailer, Wukong appears to use new abilities including transforming into a skull-filled boulder that can deflect attacks, parrying large groups of enemies, freezing enemies in place before striking them, and transforming into three flying creatures that can rain down lightning from above.
Some of the standout fights in the trailers feature giant boss enemies including a giant wolf-like creature, a giant rolling spider made entirely of bones, a lightning-wielding sword fighter and mage, a large fire-breathing rat-like creature, a smaller, yet equally terrifying flesh-covered mouse, a giant humanoid ox, and many more.
When Is Black Myth: Wukong’s Release Date?
No release date has been announced at this time, but Game Science is aiming for a PC and console release. A FAQ on its website states that it “shouldn’t take 500 years,” so hopefully we see Black Myth: Wukong sooner rather than later.
For more like Black Myth: Wukong check out our review for the Souls-inspired Mortal Shell including the first 16-minutes.
Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.
