2/5 ★ – Smabbott's review of Black Myth: Wukong.

Spectacle sells I guess Black Myth Wukong is a true mess of an experience. You strip away the gorgeous art and rendering techniques built upon through the power of Unreal Engine 5, what you are left with is very simplistic level design which prioritises visuals above all else. The structure of each level is the most game corridor structure you’ve ever seen. The sense of exploration is basically non existent bar very obscure secret areas which reward the player with just more random encounters and items which don’t help really, compared to what you’ve already got. The story of the Journey to the West is held in high regard within Chinese mythology. The fact that a game from China has had such a great reception from the west is a step in the right direction. Learning about this intricate tale was so immersive. But despite the admittedly gorgeous 2D and stop motion cutscenes to show these mythologies, gameplay is king. So believe me when I say spectacle will sell anyone on anything because this is a rough time. Animation fidelity is pivotal to the construction of this genre. Black Myth Wukong is a Souls-Like, to say otherwise is ridiculous. You have a stamina bar, a stagger system. Resting at bonfires, animation tells and timings (sometimes) and a heap of boss battles. So yes, it is definitely a souls-like. It isn’t a great one though. There was never a point where the game wowed me with its mechanics. Through its three play-styles with smash, pillar and thrust stance; I focused primarily on smash. The smash stance consists on mashing one button until you can mash the other. I know this seems redundant when talking about this genre. But the limited flow of variety through the staff animations, the combat gets repetitive fast. Even with the added spells that add variety, there’s no depth to anything. Even with the perfect dodge creating a smear frame as you speed up for the next attack make the combat feel trial and error because the timing of the dodge does not fit with the onslaught of bosses in this game. So let’s talk about them. The bosses are the most bland bosses I’ve seen from a critically acclaimed game in this genre. Yes they may look beautiful with gorgeous model designs and presentation. But the mechanics of each fight feel random within their mass and weight. No fight was memorable and I mean that completely. I cannot remember a single name of a boss I fought in this game. Every mechanic prioritised dodging out of the way of a 7 hit combo of simple hits, bullet Hell projectiles or mad particle effects on screen. The fights all blended into each other as nothing stood out as unique apart from the spectacle and visual design. The animation quality of this game is poor. Every fight has complex animations at the point where the enemy will start the combat chain but when they are done, they’re static. It takes you completely out of the experience as a boss will hit you relentlessly jumping all over the place and then will just stand there looking at you. There’s no walk, there’s no personality to idle animations. Every boss feels like they don’t exist until the code inputs a command. The moves of these bosses are infuriating. The game is a souls-like and as such should play like one. But the speed of every encounter in this game makes the whole experience aggravating. I don’t want to say I’m a veteran at these kind of games, but you need to be able to see tells of a move before it goes off. There were many instances where the boss would fly up into the air, hover and then dive bomb at you with no visual or audio indication that they were going to do so. The amount of moves a boss will do is ridiculous for this genre. The player will have to dodge 10 attacks before getting a couple of hits off. But unfortunately, like Dark Souls 2, there isn’t that much of a visual indication that you have done damage to the boss until you gain a critical hit. The game relies on the player to read what is going on to actually be fair. But it does a poor job communicating that fact. The spectacle of each boss will hide the many inconsistencies of the game for many players. It didn’t for me. I played the opening of the game and agreed that it was one of the coolest openings I had ever seen from a game. But then the game began and the very simplistic designed levels took over, clunky animation and combat overtook the whole experience. It took me so long to beat this game because after a few attempts at a boss I would Alt F4. The game was miserable at points. I don’t think I’ve raged at a game so much in my life. I hated my time playing it and I’m glad it’s over. The reception of this game would have you believe it’s game of the year. It’s not even close. Spectacle cannot carry a game. But I guess for some it can. Black Myth Wukong is what happens when you prioritise that aspect above all others and fool everyone into thinking it’s deeper than what it is. Because under the surface, there is very little going on.