Black Myth: Wukongreview scores are in and they signal great things about the upcoming Journey to the West adaptation. The highly-anticipated action-RPGis set to arrive on August 20and the review scores are mainly positive.
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As the first AAA game by the Chinese game developer Game Science,Black Myth: Wukonginvites players totake the role of the Monkey King and his famous journey to the West. The developer has recentlyshared the final trailer, showcasing Wukong’s famous transformations alongside a plethora of bosses.
Earlier this week,a free benchmarking toolalso went live on Steam, allowing players to test performance and change settings for an optimized playthrough.
But the final piece of the puzzle in the buildup to a game’s release is, of course,the review scores. For Black Myth: Wukong, those are finally in, andthey paint a promising pictureof Game Science’s take on the Journey to the West.Here’sthe review roundup from a variety of major publishers
Publication
Review Score
Gamingbolt
Hardcore Gamer
DOT Esports
It seems thatBlack Myth: Wukongwill join the ranks of exceptionalsoul-like gamesnot developed byFromSoftware, the genre’s pioneer. While it’s often described as soul-like,Black Myth: Wukongappears toplay more like a traditional action-adventure gamerather than solely focusing on the soul-likeframework.
While that may be disappointing for hardcore soulslike fans,Black Myth: Wukongalso encourages the player to figure out how a boss moves and attacks while integrating certain core mechanics often found in soulslike titles.
Inhis review,The Gamer’s Joshua Robertsonsaysthat the game'‘is the most polished, intricate, and entertaining souls-like outside FromSoftware’s portfolio,despite its shortcomings.
Black Myth: Wukong Is An Action Game With Souls-like Inspirations
Black Myth: Wukongwill undoubtedly appeal to the souls-like audience thanks to its focus on boss fights. However,it does lack an interconnected level design, a core element of the genre that lets the player explore and find shortcuts as a reward.
Based on the reviews, the Chinese mythical action-adventure guns have a more linear level design, which puts players in large areas ripe for exploration. But the lack of a map often renders the exploration a bit frustrating, say the critics.
Looking at the reviews, it becomes obvious that Game Science’s main goal was to encapsulate one of the most influential Chinese folklore into a typical action-adventure formula with souls-like inspirations rather than deliver a pure Soulsborne experience, asLies of Pso magnificently did last year.
Again, based on the reviews, the developer seems to have achieved its objective despite being criticized for the game’s level design and the lack of a map.
It’s worth noting that the game does not have a review score below 75, with one notable exception coming fromGameRant’s Dalton Cooper, who gave it a 3/5, saying that'‘it’s far from the best in the genre, but it’s also not the worst game that has followedDark Souls’ footsteps.’'
Black Myth: Wukong is sitting on a pretty solid score of 88 onOpenCritic, followed by 83 onMetacritic. Those who are fans of the genre and the novel will get to embark on theJourney to the West when the game arrives on PC and PlayStation 5 on August 20th.
Black Myth: Wukong
WHERE TO PLAY
An action-RPG set against the backdrop of Chinese mythology, Black Myth: Wukong is a Soulslike adventure game retelling the story of Journey to the West.
