Black Myth: Wukong – Everything You Need to Know

While August has titles like Star Wars Outlaws and World of Warcraft: The War Within to look forward to, Game Science’s Black Myth: Wukong is perhaps one of the most hyped. It’s topped Steam’s most wish-listed game charts for several weeks in a row and the hype for it is palpable. Launching on August 20th for PS5 and PC, here are 15 things you should know before buying.

Boss Rush

Without getting into details about the story, the most basic way to describe Black Myth: Wukong based on various previews and footage thus far is that it’s a boss rush-style game. Multiple bosses have been showcased, and while there are some smaller enemies and areas to explore on top of a cinematic narrative, the boss fights are the main attraction.

Combat Basics

By now, it’s clear that Black Myth: Wukong isn’t a Souls-like title, despite having some similar elements, like a stamina bar. From the outset, the protagonist, the Destined One, can utilize Light and Heavy Attacks, comboing them together in various ways. He can also use different stances, like Pillar Stance, to climb atop your extendable staff to evade attacks and restore Focus if you’re up there long enough. You can then transition into other moves, like a heavy slam attack. Thrust Stance can poke at foes from afar and even knock bosses down. You also have magic, including spells like Immobilize to stop enemies and bosses in their tracks.

Perfect Dodges

Aside from the ability to twirl the staff and destroy incoming projectiles, the Destined One doesn’t have a traditional block – dodging is your means of evading damage, with up to three available at a time, after which there’s a short cooldown. If you dodge an attack perfectly, an afterimage is left behind while time briefly slows down, potentially allowing for some punishing blows. Perfect dodges also restore Focus, allowing a decent balance between evading and unleashing powerful Heavy attacks.

Transformations (and Their Weapons)

The Transformations are one of the more intriguing elements of Black Myth: Wukong. After defeating certain enemies and bosses, you can transform into them briefly during battles. Taking down a boss named Guangzhi will allow you to transform into him and utilize some of his moves. Transformations also serve as a means to use different weapons, with Guangzhi possessing a flaming blade staff to inflict burn damage over time (as noted by GameSpot in its hands-on preview from June).

“A Lot of Spells and Transformations”

While much has been made about the straightforward skill trees, Black Myth: Wukong seemingly emphasizes build variety through spells and transformations. A spokesperson for the developer told Eurogamer, “There are a lot of spells and transformations,” and the variety in combat allows one to “create their own combos and find their own style. This is a level of freedom we want to give to our players.” It may not beat the likes of Elden Ring anytime soon, but it still leans more towards action RPG than your typical character action game.

Might

Transformations have a separate health bar, so taking damage doesn’t affect the Destined One directly. If you’re in a bad way, transforming can be ideal for staying in the fight or surviving until the next checkpoint. Forms can last until their health is depleted, but there’s another resource to consider – Might, which depletes upon performing different attacks. Transformations are also on a cooldown like spells, so deciding the best time to use them is important.

Respawning Enemies and Fast Travel

While you have Shrines that act as checkpoints for restoring health and respawning, you do lose some XP on death. Enemies will also respawn, though there are several ways to evade them and rush back to your last death spot. It’s also possible to teleport between Shrines if you want to revisit previous areas.

Loot

Players can discover different kinds of loot while exploring and defeating enemies, including armor with more defense, attack power, resistance to status effects, etc. There are different rarities, including Rare and Epic, with the latter including Special Effects. For example, the Ginseng Cape allows for gaining a large amount of Focus when using the healing Gourd. On top of loot dropping from enemies, you can also craft different staves and armor sets using materials.

Set Bonuses

Another interesting element of the loot system is set bonuses. If you equip multiple pieces of armor belonging to the same set, then you’ll gain specific effects. While these effects have yet to be detailed, it does add even more customization, especially if you can mix and match different sets for a myriad of bonuses.

Ray Tracing and Nvidia DLSS 3.5

As revealed in March, ray tracing and Nvidia DLSS 3.5 are supported, with the former including fully ray-traced water caustics and reflections, global illumination and shadows. DLSS 3.5’s Ray Reconstruction is also supported, thus ensuring better performance and image quality.

PC Requirements

Playtime

Despite the epic premise and setting, Game Science isn’t going for a massively long adventure. Speaking to IGN in September 2020, producer Feng Ji revealed it would take at least 15 hours to beat the game. Many things would have changed in that period (like the move to Unreal Engine 5), and it’s possible that said playtime only referred to the main quest.

Even if Black Myth: Wukong is a linear experience, it offers optional bosses – some beyond your current combat abilities – to tackle. A spokesperson also told Eurogamer in June 2024 that some levels are “much, much bigger” than those in recent hands-on previews, so there should be some hidden areas and secrets to uncover.

Tells a “Complete Story”

In September 2020, IGN China visited Game Science and went hands-on with the title after it was first revealed. At the time, the developer expressed hope that Black Myth: Wukong would be the start of its own universe based on Chinese myths. Producer Feng Ji also revealed two more Black Myth titles, though their development status is obviously unclear.

However, Black Myth: Wukong will still present a “complete story.” “In this whole game, we are intentional in telling a complete story not only about the battles but also about the characters. We pour our heart into building characters with life and blood, and after playing the game, we wanted players to feel not how strong they are, but how related they are to the main character’s experience,” a spokesperson told Eurogamer.

Delayed for Xbox Series X/S

One of the odder developments before the game’s release is a delay to the Xbox Series X/S version. Game Science revealed that it’s optimizing the title to “meet our quality standards.” However, Windows Central’s Jez Corden reported hearing “whispers and rumors” that there was some exclusivity deal for the title on PlayStation.

A spokesperson for Microsoft later told Corden that it’s excited about the game’s launch on Xbox Series X|S and “is working with Game Science to bring the game to our platforms.” However, it couldn’t “comment on the deals made by our partners with other platform holders.” Whether or not that means an exclusivity agreement is in place, Xbox Series X/S players will have to wait to get their hands on the game.

Potential DLC

Future projects in the Black Myth universe aside, Game Science said it “may” release additional content for Wukong post-launch. There are no microtransactions at launch, but there could be DLC and “non-pay-to-win” in-game purchases. The latter potentially points towards skins for the Destined One that are simply cosmetic, but we’ll need to wait and see.

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