How does the legendary Monkey King compare to our rating system?
Black Myth Wukong is a action role playing game made by Game Science Interactive. It's a single player game with a story-driven campaign. It was released on August 20, 2024. Ignoring the accusations made to the developers and criticisms from journalists, where does the Monkey King actually end up?
Story Exposition:
In Black Myth Wukong, you play as one of the monkey kings descendants, known as the Destined One. Your task is to locate the six relics that the Monkey King scattered throughout the land after losing in a fierce battle. At the start of your adventure, you discover that numerous yaoguai in the region appear to be familiar with you and start interfering with your travels, without fully understanding the reason you continue your journey and slowly start unveiling the mystery of the relics and the abandoned world little by little.
Call of the wild, Monkey style:
The first battle in the game is a tutorial that starts as soon as you gain control of the Destined One. It's easy to learn the basics of combat, and the quick combos are straightforward, but the heavy attacks take some practice. As you'll soon discover, one of the most important aspects of the game is dodging and there are very few counters that can be used. Unlike in most games, counters are geared more towards a player's preference than an essential gameplay element. While advancing through the initial chapter, the game demonstrates the various elements that you may encounter throughout the game.
Throughout Chapter 1 you find yourself checking out every nook and cranny only to find that the road is very linear and doesn't allow much for exploration. There is constant fighting as you venture through but you will find a small reprieves as stronger enemies only appear once and many of the weaker enemies will only respawn upon each rest; but fear not my young simians if you are the type who enjoys stronger enemies you will find that some elites will always respawn along side the weaker enemies. Chapter One also shows you that throughout the game if you listen closely to NPCs dialogues they will give you hints of hidden areas and hidden bosses only accessible when certain actions and/or certain enemies are found and defeated.
Monkey See, Monkey Don't do:
Black Myth Wukong offers stunning visuals and foes that provide a reasonable level of challenge, enabling you to gather enough interest to keep you engaged but not enough to take you out of the experience. The main feature of the game is the combat however early combat is a bit of a hassle as when you first start out all your skills and abilities are locked behind a skill tree. Player's can use this skill tree to customize their character's skills and abilities by investing "Sparks" into a it. However, this can be a bit daunting, as player's don't want to waste their sparks on skills they don't like. Fortunately, there are shrines in the game that allow player's to reclaim sparks they've invested in, so they can customize their character's skill set to their liking.
In order to earn "sparks" player's will need to accumulated them in one of two ways through leveling up after collecting enough experience points or through meditation spots that are scattered throughout the levels. The meditation spots offer a fantastic vantage point of the surroundings and an opportunity to relax amidst this demanding journey. As you traverse through you will find many strong opponents that will need different techniques to defeat easily but they can be all defeated even when a player is slightly under-leveled you can make things easier by grinding at least 20 levels more than what is required for the chapters. Which in turn will increase the amount of time that is needed to beat the game.
The final score: 3.7 out 5
Rating Score Card and Importance Value
Black Myth Wukong is beautifully crafted game overall. The bosses present a unique level of challenge that allows a players to progress at their own pace and each have unique character design. The controls are easy to grasp yet provide enough variety for players to feel a sense of freedom and customization. While the game is exceptional, it caters more towards players who enjoy titles such as "Elden Ring," "Ghost of Tsushima," and "God of War 2018." The storyline may get a bit confusing if players aren’t paying close attention, as many of the myths and narratives draw inspiration from the philosophies found in "Journey to the West." Without prior knowledge of this book, some jokes, dialogues, and character backgrounds can be missed. Nevertheless, despite the cultural differences, the game exudes a mystical allure that beckons exploration and sparks the imagination. Black Myth Wukong is a game that definitely warrants a purchase.
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