Summary
- Black Myth: Wukong impressed gamers with top-notch graphics, fast combat, and epic boss fights, delivering on its promise.
- Players are frustrated by the lack of a mini-map and invisible walls that disrupt exploration, hoping for future updates to make improvements.
- The game could benefit from a quest log for tracking side quests and a more in-depth trading system to sell unwanted items and resources.
Black Myth: Wukong has captured gamers' attention since its reveal four years ago. All the released footage looked impressive, which led some players to doubt whether the actual game could live up to the hype. Despite being the debut title from Chinese developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong delivered exactly as promised. Players are impressed with standout features such as top-notch graphics powered by Unreal Engine 5, fast-paced and varied combat, and well-crafted boss fights with little to no repetition.
However, it's clear that Black Myth: Wukong isn't without its flaws, as certain aspects could have been executed better. Many players have already voiced their biggest concerns with this new action-RPG. With just a few minor tweaks and additions, the overall experience could be significantly improved. From the absence of a mini-map to the abundance of invisible walls that disrupt immersion, here are some issues that need to be addressed.
Black Myth: Wukong - 5 Things You Should Know Before Picking Up The Game
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1 Mini-Map
Some Areas Are Too Easy To Get Lost In
Unlike many action-RPGs or soulslikes, Black Myth: Wukong features no map at all, leaving players to explore its vast areas entirely on their own. While it's clear that the developers aimed to encourage a sense of exploration without players relying on an artificial mini-map, this approach is a double-edged sword due to the game's level design. Early areas might feel relatively easy to navigate due to their streamlined nature, but by Chapter 2 — and especially in Chapter 3 — levels become far more expansive and layered, with numerous interconnected pathways and verticality. What makes this even more challenging is that Black Myth: Wukong's environments tend to blend together, lacking distinct landmarks to aid in navigation.
As a result, requests for the addition of a mini-map have become prevalent within the community. With numerous hidden secrets, optional bosses, treasure chests, and collectibles scattered across vast areas, the lack of any tracking system can frustrate players, especially when they're searching for a missing meditation point. While fans have already created their own external interactive map for the game, it would be ideal if the developers addressed this oversight in future updates.
2 Clarity For Exploration
Invisible Walls Make Exploration Inconsistent
Another issue that hampers exploration in Black Myth: Wukong is the abundance of invisible walls, which break immersion and make navigating the game world even more difficult without a map. Frequently, players find themselves unable to progress despite the environment appearing passable. Conversely, some players might dismiss certain pathways, assuming they lead nowhere, only to miss out on hidden treasure chests or secret areas. This inconsistency makes exploration in Black Myth: Wukong occasionally feel lackluster, leading players to wonder how much better the experience could have been.
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While it's unrealistic to expect the removal of all invisible walls or significant changes to the environment's design in a game as large as Black Myth: Wukong, a mini-map that highlights actual routes and dead ends could provide a simple solution. This would ease exploration, especially for completionists.
3 Quest Log
No Need To Indulge In A Soulslike's Most Divisive Feature
Black Myth: Wukong isn't a true soulslike game, but rather an action-RPG that borrows several familiar elements. However, sometimes this borrowing doesn't fully work. FromSoftware's games are known for their cryptic NPC quests that are almost impossible to decipher without a guide. Many games that follow the soulslike formula have adopted a similar approach, Black Myth: Wukong included. Although there aren't too many side quests in the game, the ones that exist are definitely worth completing, as they offer valuable rewards, including new spells.
A simple quest tracker or log to keep track of active side quests would be a helpful addition to Black Myth: Wukong. It would make it easier to follow up on any NPCs worth revisiting and ensure that players don't miss out on crucial rewards. There's really no reason for the game not to have one.
4 Trading With More Depth
No Options To Sell Unwanted Items Or Resources
The trading system in Black Myth: Wukong also could use some improvements that wouldn't be difficult to implement. There are several NPC merchants in the game who sell useful resources, upgrades, and key items, with their inventories expanding as the game progresses. Additionally, the in-game store at Shrines (similar to bonfires) offers specific goods tied to the chapter area or secret locations, which makes shopping unnecessarily complicated. Moreover, players are only able to sell gold pieces or treasure statues to merchants, and nothing else.
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Given the abundance of consumables and gathered resources, every Black Myth: Wukong player will have items they'd like to sell in exchange for Will (the in-game currency) to upgrade their gear or Cultivate Spirits. However, this option is currently absent. With just a few tweaks, more depth and convenience could be added to this system, allowing players to better manage their resources and enjoy a more flexible trading experience.
5 Respec For Spirits
Most RPG Systems Are Flexible, Except For Spirits
Black Myth: Wukong features excellent character progression, offering several distinct skill trees for staff stances, various spells and transformations, celestial medicine passive buffs, and more. What's even better is that each of these systems is highly flexible, allowing for unlimited respecs with little to no penalty whenever players want to try something new. However, for some reason, this flexibility doesn't extend to the Spirit Cultivation system. Once players upgrade certain Spirits (and there are many), they cannot reclaim the resources spent to invest in newer options.
While players can always farm more Will and Blood of the Iron Bull from enemies, the ability to freely respec Cultivated Spirits — even if it only returns part of the investment — would be a valuable addition. It would encourage more experimentation with different Spirits and make this aspect of the game more dynamic and engaging.
Black Myth: Wukong
- Released
- August 20, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Game Science
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
