Black Myth: Wukong was released for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version to be released at a later date. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics and won Game of the Year awards. It sold 20 million units in its first month, making it one of the fastest-selling games of all time. An expansion for the game is planned for release.
This sequence demonstrates the Destined One wielding a staff to perform a variety of attacks. Switching the staff stance (indicated by the bottom right HUD icon) alters how the staff can be used.[9] Dodges and parries, whether through a varied combo or spell, negate damage from incoming strikes.[10]
The player controls the Destined One, a monkey protagonist based on Sun Wukong from the Journey to the West.[6][11] The protagonist's weapon is a staff, which is based on the Ruyi Jingu Bang from the novel.[11][12] The staff can extend and shrink in size during combat.[11] The different staff stances—the smash, pillar, and thrust stance—provide versatility in fights.[6][13][14][15] The combat mechanics involve resource management.[16] Focus can be accumulated by landing light attacks, executing well-timed dodges, and other means.[17][18] A focus point is gained when the meter for focus is filled up.[16] These points can be used to initiate heavy attacks.[18] A heavy attack can be executed on its own or as a varied combo, which is triggered during light attacks.[19] Stamina is depleted by sprinting, dodging, and attacking.[20][21]
Spells have cooldowns and consume mana.[3][11] They are categorized in mysticism, alteration, strand, and transformations.[22] The protagonist uses transformations to shapeshift into a different creature or being.[11][23] An example is the transformation Red Tides, which takes the form of Guangzhi, a wolfman who wields a flaming glaive.[11] The transformations come with their own movesets and health.[11][23] They are available on cooldown, but do not cost mana.[16] They last until their might, which is depleted by attacking, or health runs out.[11]
Spirits provide a skill and passive effect if they are equipped.[24][25] Defeated yaoguai chiefs may leave behind their spirits, which are acquired if they are absorbed into a gourd.[26] Spirit skills function as transformations to do a unique attack.[25] Qi is used to activate spirit skills.[3][25] An example of a spirit is the Wandering Wight, who does a headbutt attack.[24] Vessels provide a passive effect and an activation effect, which consumes qi, if they are equipped.[27] For example, the Plantain Fan can create a hurricane that staggers enemies.[27]
The game follows a mostly linear progression interspersed with expansive areas.[11] There are keeper's shrines, which act as checkpoints for the player, along the way.[28] Players can reallocate their character's sparks, which are skill points, to change the character's playstyle without restrictions or costs.[29] The game's difficulty cannot be changed by players and is variable throughout a playthrough.[30] After a playthrough is completed, there is a New Game Plus[31] and a Challenge mode dedicated to fighting bosses.[32][33]
Synopsis
Setting
The game (left) features characters from the Journey to the West (right, first edition), such as Rakshasi who wields the Plantain Fan.[34][35] In the novel, Sun Wukong borrows the fan from her to extinguish the fires on the Flaming Mountains.[34] In the game's scene, Rakshasi hands the fan to the Destined One.[36] During gameplay, the fan creates hurricanes in fights.[36]
Black Myth: Wukong is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West.[3][11][14][23] It has six chapters, each focusing on a specific location: Black Wind Mountain, Yellow Wind Ridge, The New West, The Webbed Ridge, Flaming Mountains, and Mount Huaguo.[37] The game is set in a world with gods from the Chinese pantheon, including Buddhist, Daoist, and other deities.[38] Many yaoguais, who are beings with preternatural abilities and strange appearances, inhabit this world.[39]
Each chapter concludes with an animated cutscene providing a reflection and exploration of the narrative and thematic elements of the game.[43] For instance, the first three cutscenes resonate with Chinese philosophy, while the fourth cutscene relates to the theme of love.[44]
Plot
After escorting his master Tang Sanzang and retrieving the Buddhist scriptures in a perilous pilgrimage to the West, Sun Wukong ascends to Buddhahood. Yet, he rejects life in the Celestial Court and chooses the simple joys of life on Mount Huaguo instead. The Court grows mistrustful of his choice to forgo the life above and sends an army led by Erlang Shen to force him to submit. Sun Wukong duels Erlang Shen, but he is incapacitated by the circlet that binds him to the Court and is sealed in stone on the mountain. He is severed from his six senses, corresponding to six relics scattered across the mortal realm. Over the next few centuries, the monkeys of the mountain send out young warriors to recover the relics in order to revive Sun Wukong. The Destined One, one of the monkeys, sets out on this path.
The Destined One traverses through Black Wind Mountain. He meets the Keeper of Black Wind Mountain, who helps and guides him through this place. Along the way, he passes through Guanyin Temple, which was devastated by a fire and has since been rebuilt. The Destined One defeats the Black Bear Guai, who has the "Craving Eyes" relic enshrined atop a pagoda. He takes the relic, while the Black Bear Guai surrenders.
The Destined One proceeds to the barren Yellow Wind Ridge. Occasionally, a mysterious Headless Monk, who sings and plays a sanxian, appears and provides help. The Destined One defeats the Yellow Wind Sage, who uses Bodhisattva Lingji's severed head to contain the "Fuming Ears" relic. The Headless Monk, revealed to be Lingji, places his head back on his body and hands over the relic to the Destined One.
The game features statues of the Twenty-Eight Mansions, such as Kang-Jin Loong[b] (left) and others, from the Yuhuang Temple in Jincheng.[42] The character design of Kang-Jin Star in the game, shown in the image on the right, is based on the statue in the image on the left.
The Destined One continues to The New West, a cold mountainous place. Yellowbrow, who possesses the "Hubris Nose" relic and assumed the guise of Maitreya, sends Kang-Jin Star after the Destined One. During their last battle, the Destined One causes her to crash into and separate the Gold Cymbals imprisoning Zhu Bajie, an old friend of Sun Wukong. Zhu Bajie joins the quest to gather the relics. The Destined One defeats Yellowbrow at New Thunderclap Temple, but Yellowbrow flees toward the relic kept in a frozen lake and falls into the icy waters. Maitreya fishes the relic out of the lake for the Destined One.
The Destined One and Zhu Bajie arrive at The Webbed Ridge. The Fourth Sister of the spider guai family watches over and aids the Destined One. The Second Sister captures Zhu Bajie and brings him to the matriarch, the Violet Spider, but the Destined One goes to rescue him. The Violet Spider is defeated by the Destined One and flees to the Hundred-Eyed Daoist Master, who betrays her and violently takes the "Envious Tongue" relic back from her. The spider sisters and the Destined One attack and defeat the Hundred-Eyed. Zhu Bajie and the injured Violet Spider, who both fell in love a long time ago, share a last glance at each other before he sorrowfully walks away toward the relic.
The Destined One and Zhu Bajie fight their way to the Flaming Mountains. They meet someone who claims to be the Bull King and Princess Fair Fox's daughter Pingping, but the Bull King could tell his son Red Boy disguised himself as her to deceive them. The Bull King attempts to give the "Grieved Body" relic to the Destined One, but Red Boy takes it by feigning defeat after a battle with the Destined One and consumes it for power. After Red Boy is defeated by the Destined One and Zhu Bajie, his mother Rakshasi pleas for mercy and offers her Plantain Fan, but Red Boy refuses to submit and takes his own life. After his death, the relic reappears for them to take.
In the game, the battle between Erlang Shen and the Destined One happens near a building based on the Wulong Temple in Langzhong.
The ending is determined by the following optional storyline: In the Great Pagoda located in The New West, Maitreya guides both Erlang Shen and the Destined One to Mount Mei, where they confront each other. Here, the Destined One defeats Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings. Erlang Shen, who took Sun Wukong's mind relic after their battle many ages ago, unleashes Sun Wukong's memories from his third eye to the Destined One and shares his realization that their fight back then allowed Sun Wukong to set a path to break free through a mortal death.
The Destined One and Zhu Bajie return to Mount Huaguo, where they retrieve Sun Wukong's armor and Jingubang. They enter a realm, shaped by Sun Wukong's lingering memories, through the stone on the mountain's summit. The Old Monkey ferries them through its waters. However, they encounter versions of their current selves, which prompts the Old Monkey to reveal that the mind of Sun Wukong is the Destined One. He says that Sun Wukong's mind is lost, as the mind is an essence unique to every life and is destined to fade away at life's end. Thus, he explains, Sun Wukong can never return as he was, but the universe will always bear him a successor—this successor is the Destined One. At the journey's end, the Destined One defeats Sun Wukong's broken shell. The five relics, obtained during the journey, unite with the Destined One. As the shell dissipates, Sun Wukong's circlet appears on the shell's head and falls into the shallow water. In one of the two endings, the Old Monkey places the circlet on the Destined One and the Destined One remains trapped in the stone. In the other ending, having regained Sun Wukong's memories, the Destined One does not wear the circlet. The latter ending provides the "Freed Mind" relic in a New Game Plus playthrough.[48]
Black Myth: Wukong is a game developed and published by Game Science.[6][12][50] On February 25, 2018, the decision was made to create a single-player game.[51] In December 2018, the development team moved from Shenzhen to Hangzhou.[51] They wanted to create a single-player game in their own style with a focus on traditional cultural themes.[49] They discussed themes such as xianxia and wuxia, but were most enthusiastic about the Journey to the West.[52] Ultimately, they decided to do the Journey to the West and tell a story following the ending of that tale.[53] The series' title Black Myth was adopted to reflect the dark themes explored through Chinese mythology.[53] The game's title became Black Myth: Wukong, as the character Sun Wukong was the biggest common denominator between the novel and game.[53]
The development team selected characters to feature in the game and, based on these ideas, came up with thirteen levels (such as Lion Camel Ridge, Kingdom of Women, Black Wind Mountain, Yellow Wind Ridge, and Flaming Mountains) for the game, but created six of them in the end due to schedule constraints.[53] By the end of 2018, they realized basic game functions and had basically formed the level for Mount Huaguo.[51] Hereafter, they started working on the level for Black Wind mountain.[1][51]
Black Myth: Wukong was first announced with a trailer showcasing gameplay in its pre-alpha build on August 20, 2020.[54][55] The trailer demonstrated the game built on Unreal Engine 4.[54] It showed the protagonist exploring the environment and fighting various foes[54] in the level for Black Wind Mountain.[2] Game Science did not contact video game publications beforehand and simply released it online on social media.[56] Within one day, the trailer had nearly 2 million views on YouTube and 10 million views on Bilibili.[57] It was released to attract potential employees to help build the game.[1][58] Therefore, the principle of the trailer was to show the level for Black Wind Mountain in its current state, rather than make adjustment for the sake of the demonstration.[1] The development team started with seven people and had thirty people around the time of the announcement.[2] In the past, they recruited within their own personal network, but they realized that this was not enough for the project.[1] The popularity of the trailer far exceeded their expectations and had resulted in over 10 thousand applicants, but they maintained their plans to recruit between ten and fifteen people for the time being to not expand too quickly and lose their original vision.[1] By the end of the development, as shown by the game's end credits, the team had expanded to 140 people.[59]
In the trailer, the battle between the Destined One and Kang-Jin Loong occurs near a building based on the Dule Temple in Tianjin.
Black Myth: Wukong was developed on Unreal Engine 5.[61][62][63][64] It was initially developed on its previous iteration, Unreal Engine 4.[1][61][30] The move to the newer version was revealed through a trailer on August 20, 2021.[65][66] Game Science explained that, in 2021, they had switched to Unreal Engine 5 as this would help with their pursuit for realism in the style.[30] In designing the environment, the team conducted on-site studies of various real-world locations in cooperation with local cultural institutions.[44][49] They made scans of scenes, such as buildings and statues, at many locations to use them in the design.[44][49][53] They spent four years and traveled across China to undertake this endeavor.[53] It resulted in an asset library far exceeding the actual needs of the game.[53]
Motion capture performed by several actors was used for the movement of different characters.[67][68] The actor Yin Kai provided the motion capture for the Destined One and several other characters.[67] He, a practitioner of martial arts, remarked that most of his performances were for actions done by the protagonist during combat.[68]
The sound, including the music and voices, was co-produced by 8082 Audio.[69][70][71] The music employs both Western orchestra and traditional Chinese instruments.[72] The game features an adaptation of the theme song "Yungong Xunyin", originally composed by Xu Jingqing, from the 1986 television series Journey to the West.[73] The artist Xiong Zhuying performed the Shanbei storytelling, using song and the instrument sanxian, for the character Headless Monk.[74] For the English voiceovers, Game Science was keen and supportive for voice actors to explore different regional accents (such as Brummie for Yin Tiger).[75] PitStop Productions, the studio for the English voiceovers, approached this on the basis of individual characters to keep the voices fairly broad rather than characteristic to an area in the game.[75]
The animated cutscenes were done in distinct art styles by different animation studios. The sixth animated cutscene "Unfinished" adapted the style of lianhuanhua, with elements inspired from baimiao (an ink line drawing technique) and traditional murals (such as those in Dunhuang).[76] Other styles included stop motion[77] and anime.[78]
Black Myth: Wukong had a budget of $70 million throughout its six years of development, as reported by Bloomberg.[79] This was partly contributed by the investor Hero Games.[79][80] Feng Ji stated that they could not undertake such a project at the beginning of their video game studio, so they made two mobile games before they cautiously began the project, as they previously worked at Tencent and thus knew the possible risks from experience.[81] Yang Qi stated that they did not have high expectations for profitability initially, because they considered the costs for research and development to be high.[49] Their initial expectation was that the game would sell between 3 and 5 million units, which would be enough to exceed product viability and thus continue with future projects.[82] The Zhejiang Provincial Tax Service quoted a statement by a Game Science financial manager, made in the context of a 2023 tax incentive for research and development expenses, that the costs was estimated to have exceeded 300 million yuan ($42 million); this does not represent the whole budget, but details research and development costs incurred by Game Science, not including other contributors such as Hero Games or Tencent, applicable to a tax policy to encourage technological innovation in various industries.[83]
Future
Feng Ji said that they planned Black Myth: Wukong to be the first installment in a Black Myth series, which would explore different stories in Chinese mythology.[1][2] The game was internally referred to as B1, meaning Black Myth One, in reference to its status as the first work in the series.[1] They have ideas for two other titles in the series, but have not publicly revealed them.[1]
Hero Games' Daniel Wu, an investor, confirmed to Bloomberg that there will be an expansion for Black Myth: Wukong.[79] During a 2024 interview on China Central Television, Feng Ji said that many people were asking about an expansion and rumors about a Chinese New Year release were circulating, but clarified that the development team intends to achieve higher quality standards, so they do not regard an expansion to be completed soon and will need time to explore new technologies or themes.[84] Yang Qi, addressing rumors suggesting that there was a lot of cut content usable to release an expansion soon, clarified that this was not the case and that assets were generally repurposed elsewhere.[82]
In January 2023, Game Science published a promotional short film celebrating the upcoming Year of the Rabbit which revealed that Black Myth: Wukong would be released in the summer of 2024.[88][89] During The Game Awards 2023, they released a trailer announcing the release date as August 20, 2024.[90][91] In June 2024, they disclosed that the Xbox Series X/S version of the game was delayed for optimization to meet their quality standards.[92][93] Reports suggested that this may be due to the technical limitations of Xbox Series S;[94][95] some sources suggested a memory leak on Xbox as the possible issue.[96][97]IGN reported that the delay was, according to an unnamed source, because of an exclusivity deal with Sony and not technical issues.[98]Microsoft responded that the delay was not due to Xbox limitations "that have been raised to us."[96][99]Giant Bomb's Jeff Grubb stated, after speaking to his sources, that Sony had no marketing deal in place to keep the game as an exclusive.[100][101]
Black Myth: Wukong received four editions: Digital Standard Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Collector's Edition.[85] The Digital Standard Edition contains the base game.[85] The Digital Deluxe Edition, additionally, provides in-game bonus content and a selected digital soundtrack.[85] The content consists of the weapon Bronzecloud Staff; the equipment Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, and Folk Opera Buskins; and the curio Wind Chimes.[85] The two physical editions, the Deluxe Edition and the Collector's Edition, contain an activation code for the Digital Deluxe Edition on WeGame for JD.com purchases or Steam for overseas purchases.[102] The Deluxe Edition comes with the physical collectibles: Steel Case, The Constricting Headband, Chaos at the Peach Banquet (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime (necklace), Thunderstone (ring), Gold Sun Crow (pin), Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate.[85] For the Collector's Edition, these are: Steel Case, Confront Destiny (protagonist figurine), Teaching of the Heart Sutra (color print on silk scroll), Wind Chime, Thunderstone, Gold Sun Crow, Stamps and Postcard, and Warranty Certificate.[85] A physical disc is not included in any edition.[85] Game Science stated that they are exploring options to offer physical discs, but that limitations in offline resources have made it difficult to offer physical discs simultaneously with the release.[102]
Black Myth: Wukong was the most-wishlisted game on Steam from May 2024.[50][103] Pre-orders for the game launched on June 8, 2024.[104] This came with the in-game content Trailblazer's Scarlet Gourd, which is also obtainable through in-game progression.[85] As reported in early August, ahead of the release, the game ranked first on Steam's global top sellers chart.[105] When the game's preload went live shortly before release, the download bandwidth usage on Steam reached its highest peak ever at 70 terabytes per second, superseding the previous record held by Cyberpunk 2077 in 2020.[106] Hero Games, a marketing partner, reportedly sent some content creators an email with an activation code for the game and guidelines to not discuss topics including politics, feminism, and other things in their coverage of the game at launch.[107]
Queen Studios with its INART and MORFIG brands is the official producer of figures for Black Myth: Wukong.[108][109] They made the Confront Destiny protagonist figurine of the Collector's Edition.[108][110] During the Wonder Festival Shanghai 2024, they revealed several upcoming figures of in-game characters.[108][111] In September and October 2024, the game's music was featured in a series of concerts, produced by the Poly Culture Group and Game Science, across China.[112]
In October 2024, Game Science announced that, with the master disc ready, the physical edition for PlayStation 5 would be available "very soon".[113] This comprise a physical disc containing the base game and a voucher code to redeem the Deluxe Edition content.[114][115] It was released on December 12, 2024.[116][117]
Reception
Reviews
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2024)
On the day of release, Black Myth: Wukong reached over 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam, which placed it as the second highest game of all time by this metric, surpassing other popular games such as Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077.[148][149] Within hours after launch, it became the highest single-player game by concurrent players of all time on Steam.[149][150]Bloomberg reported that this ascent could help the game "seal its place in industry lore."[151] On August 22,[152][153] the game reached an all-time peak of over 2.4 million concurrent players on Steam, only following PUBG: Battlegrounds.[152][153][154]
Game Science announced that Black Myth: Wukong sold 10 million units, derived from data as of August 23, 2024, at 9 PM (UTC+8), and reached 3 million concurrent players across all platforms.[152][155][156][157][158] The game became one of the fastest-selling titles of all time.[159][160] The physical editions were in high demand, with 700 thousand people signed up to purchase a supply of only 30 thousand units on the retailer JD.com for example.[161]
Hero Games' Daniel Wu, an investor, shared to Bloomberg that Black Myth: Wukong had sold 18 million units within two weeks.[79]Bloomberg described this as "one of the fastest starts the global gaming industry has seen."[79]Sony revealed that it was the most-downloaded PlayStation 5 game in North America (United States and Canada), Europe, and Japan during August 2024.[162][163]
During the Tokyo Game Show 2024, Ken Kutaragi, former CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, noted that Black Myth: Wukong sold 20 million units in the first month.[164][165][166] On October 1, 2024, during the Unreal Fest Seattle 2024, Epic Games' Bill Clifford revealed that the game surpassed 20 million units sold the previous week and showed a video message from Feng Ji, who conveyed that one of their best decisions may have been to develop the game on Unreal Engine and that they will continue to collaborate closely with Epic Games and create the next generation of immersive virtual experiences.[167]
Accolades
Black Myth: Wukong received awards, which are humorously called kasayas in fan communities, from different awards ceremonies.[168]
Beth Park, for her role as a lead performance director on Black Myth: Wukong, was selected as a BAFTA Breakthrough in 2024.[179]
Impact
Black Myth: Wukong is widely regarded as the first AAA game from the Chinese video game industry.[180][181]Nikkei Asia reports that it is seen as a new standard bearer for games in the Chinese video game industry, which is dominated by mobile games but gradually shifting toward console games, and could inspire Chinese developers to pursue ambitious projects that draw international audiences.[182] For instance, during the pre-release, Soulframe Liang, the director of Phantom Blade Zero, commented that, if Black Myth: Wukong succeeds in the domestic and international market, people would be confident about other games in their industry and that he thought that it would indeed be a large success.[103]The Diplomat reports that the success of Black Myth: Wukong reflects a broader trend of the Chinese video game industry, following their Japanese and Korean counterparts, to harness organic popularity to stimulate global appeal of creative and cultural exports.[183] The South China Morning Post reports that analysts expect the success of the game to positively impact the Chinese video game industry, as government agencies may become more inclined to encourage domestic studios to pursue AAA projects.[181] For example, as Reuters notes, the Chinese state media's highly positive response to the game signals a recognition of the industry's potential value in terms of both culture and export.[180]
The popularity of the game boosted PlayStation 5 sales in the Chinese market.[184][185] For instance, sales reached the top for video game hardware and doubled compared to the same period last year on Alibaba's Tmall in the week leading up to the game's launch.[184][185]Sony said that third-party titles, specifically mentioning Black Myth: Wukong and another game, were key contributors to the increased sales in their Game and Network Services division during the three-month period ended September 30, 2024.[186] The game also led to a substantial increase in tourism to the real-world locations featured in its scenes.[187]
Some in-game characters, such as the Fourth Sister[188] and Pingping,[189] have become popular subjects for cosplay.
↑ The character appears as Kang-Jin Loong for her dragon form and Kang-Jin Star for her humanoid form in the game.[46]
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↑ Smith, Nat (August 30, 2024). "All Black Myth Wukong chapters and how long to beat". PCGamesN. The name of the location in chapter four was changed from The Webbed Hollow to The Webbed Ridge, as indicated by the shift to the latter name in later references such as Toms, Ollie (October 4, 2024). "Black Myth Wukong Chapter 4 map". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
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