Black Myth: Wukong Previews are Now In! What do the Critics Say?

It takes but a passing glance at our Community Hub to be able to see that Black Myth: Wukong is one of the games we're most excited about as of late. A Soulslike with a different angle and a bit of an edge? A bit of a bite? Oh, sign us right on up. The fact that Wukong specifically deals with one of the most important pieces of Asian literature is immensely impressive, too, but so far we've been kept in the dark about its specific gameplay loop.

Sure, we did have some idea of what Black Myth: Wukong might be like, and we did know the core mythology that we should expect to see in action, but the gist of it? None. None up until now, that is. As of very, very recently, we've finally received the first batch of official previews, and they are glowing. Here's what we now know!

READ MORE: Official System Requirements for Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong PC Preview Summary

It should go without saying, but it's still very early days for Black Myth: Wukong, and while a whole lot of people have already played a preview build of the game, the full experience is still mostly shrouded in mystery. The bits we do now know, thanks to the aforementioned preview event, mainly concern the combat and the exploration loops. Arguably, those are the really important bits anyway, so let's get to it!

Broadly speaking, Black Myth: Wukong is a Soulslite from the look of things. Sure, all  the usual trappings of the sub-genre are present and accounted for, but it doesn't seem like the game will be quite that hardcore, Metroidvania-esque, or build-oriented.

Instead, Wukong is going to tell us a story that has been present in the modern media for hundreds of years, only in a different way. This immediately gives the game a bit of a fixed structure, and thus informs the rest of the experience. Here's what we've learned from the critics with hands-on time!

"The world of Black Myth: Wukong doesn't give me a Dark Souls, let alone Elden Ring, kind of vibe..." - Austin Wood, via GamesRadar

Something immediately worth pointing out is that the developer, Game Science, very deliberately and pointedly does not call Black Myth: Wukong a Soulslike. Instead, the game is an ARPG that submits to some of the tropes established by FromSoftware while also looking to strike out on its own.

So, even though Wukong does have a flask to heal up with, and even though he's going to rest up on bonfire-like checkpoints to save his progress, he's also going to get color-coded gear drops, improve via skill trees, and do other such things you'd never see in a Soulslike. It's a mash-up, then, and if you go into Wukong expecting a Fromsoft-type experience, you'll be sorely disappointed.

"Black Myth: Wukong feels more like the modern God of War games and less like Dark Souls so far. It also feels great to play, looks stupidly good in motion, and might be the best action RPG I've experienced since Lies of P." said Austin Wood. That's remarkably high praise, even this early on!

"A compelling world of striking character designs, boss fights requiring skill mastery, and gorgeous environments." - Alex Van Aken, via GameInformer

Another very important consideration to keep in mind about Black Myth: Wukong, is that the game is seemingly very focused on its boss fights. It's not a hugely non-linear experience from what hands-on time the critics have had with it, but it is a highly curated one. Expect astonishingly beautiful vistas and finely tuned combat encounters every so often, but the crux of the matter falls squarely on boss fights, for sure.

"While [regular] enemies aren’t challenging, they serve as great punching bags to learn combat fundamentals like dodging, charged-up staff techniques, and early spells like Immobilize, which freezes enemies in place for a burst-attack opportunity." explained Van Aken.

The challenge, instead, comes from the major boss fights that Wukong will be dealing with through the majority of his adventure. Van Aken details the flame-enhanced, spear-wielding wolf-man Guangzhi, for example, who dropped the awesome Red Tides spear upon defeat. Instead of it being a replacement for Wukong's bo-staff, it's an ability unto itself: using Red Tides, Wukong turns into Guangzhi!

Indeed, the Journey to the West's Sun Wukong has the ability to transmogrify himself into a variety of other forms and many of the bosses found in Black Myth may, therefore, be playable themselves via yaoguai transformations. A heck of a thing, that.

Is Black Myth: Wukong worth getting excited over?

Though there's much we still don't know about Black Myth: Wukong, the recent preview event happening as part of the Summer Game Fest has shed some crucial limelight on the game regardless. We now know that it's a fairly specialized ARPG that simply shares some of its DNA with the modern Soulslike niche. We also know that it's far more focused on boss fights, specifically,  rather than run-of-the-mill ARPG chaff-clearing. Exploration will, therefore, possibly be more limited and/or tuned than we might've expected.

For more details on what Black Myth: Wukong is and is not, we'll need to wait until August, of course. So far, though, we're extremely intrigued by what's been put on show, and we cannot wait to see more of it in action. Stay tuned!

CHECK OUT: Everything You Need to Know About Black Myth: Wukong's Release Date on PC