Black Myth Wukong Review: Beautiful, Brutal, and Absolutely Worth Your Time

Every once in a while, a game comes along that completely redefines what you expect from its genre. Black Myth: Wukong is that game.

Developed by Game Science and built on Unreal Engine 5, this action RPG dropped in August 2024 and immediately became one of the biggest gaming events of the year.

It sold over 20 million copies in its first month, and after spending more than 50 hours with it, I completely understand why.

This is my new favorite Soulslike game and one of the best action RPGs I have ever played.

A Journey Rooted in Legend

Black Myth: Wukong is based on Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

You play as the Destined One, a monkey warrior following in the footsteps of the legendary Sun Wukong. Y

our mission is to collect six relics corresponding to Wukong’s six senses, and the journey takes you through some of the most breathtaking environments you will ever see in a video game.

Here is something I really want to emphasize.

If you have not read Journey to the West, you are going to have a hard time understanding what is going on or who anyone is.

I highly recommend reading the book before playing. The story assumes you already know the source material, and that familiarity makes every encounter and plot twist so much more meaningful.

The entire game is a wonderful celebration of Chinese culture.

Every chapter draws deeply from the novel’s themes, characters, and mythology.

Game Science spent years traveling across China, scanning real-world temples, statues, and landscapes to build the game’s environments. That dedication shows in every single frame.

If you are interested in how each chapter connects to the original novel, I wrote a full series breaking down the Journey to the West references throughout the game:

• Chapter 1 References
• Chapter 2 References
• Chapter 3 References
• Chapter 4 References
• Chapter 5 References
• Chapter 6 References

Combat That Keeps You on Your Toes

Combat in Black Myth: Wukong feels like playing a dexterity build Dark Souls character.

Your monkey warrior is fast, aggressive, and constantly in motion. There is no real block mechanic, so you are going to be dodging a lot.

You need to read enemy attack patterns, find your openings, and land a few hits before getting out of danger.

This is not a game where you can turtle behind a shield or cast spells from a distance.

The combat is built around that fast, dodge-heavy foundation, and then you layer different builds and options on top.

You have three staff stances to work with. Smash stance hits hard and slow, Pillar stance lets you vault off your staff for aerial attacks, and Thrust stance is all about quick piercing strikes.

On top of the staff techniques, you have access to spells and transformations.

You can freeze enemies in time, create clones of yourself, or transform into powerful creatures you have defeated.

The spirit system lets you collect defeated enemies and bosses and use their abilities as special attacks, almost like collecting combat Pokemon.

The combat stays fresh throughout the entire experience because there is always a new ability or strategy to experiment with.

A Soulslike With a Generous Heart

Let me be clear. This game is still challenging. I died plenty of times, and some boss fights really pushed me. But Black Myth: Wukong is noticeably more forgiving than other Soulslike games, and I mean that as a huge compliment.

Save points are conveniently located near bosses. You are not running through five minutes of enemies just to get back to the fight that killed you. That alone makes the experience far less frustrating than many games in this genre.

There are not a lot of traps or gotcha moments where you suddenly get killed out of nowhere.

And those difficult encounters where you have to walk along a narrow bridge while enemies shoot arrows at you? Those enemies stay dead after you kill them, which is a really welcome design choice.

Nothing felt unfair. Every death was a learning experience, and the generous checkpoint system meant I never lost significant progress.

This is one of the things that makes it my new favorite Soulslike, hitting that perfect balance of being challenging enough to feel rewarding without being punishing enough to feel miserable.

A Visual Masterpiece

I am not exaggerating when I say Black Myth: Wukong is one of the best looking games I have ever played.

Game Science pushed Unreal Engine 5 to its limits, using Nanite for incredibly detailed geometry and Lumen for dynamic global illumination that makes every environment feel alive.

The environments are absolutely stunning.

Lush forests, snow-covered mountains, scorching deserts, and ancient temples overflowing with intricate detail.

I constantly stopped to admire entire walls full of statues and environmental details. Every area feels handcrafted with an obsessive level of care.

I usually install visual mods in games like this to enhance the graphics.

I did not use a single mod for Black Myth: Wukong because everything already looked so incredible. There was nothing to improve.

PC Performance

I played on PC with an RTX 4080 Super at 4K resolution with DLSS set to 50%. The result was a perfect locked 60 FPS throughout nearly the entire game. Everything looked fantastic with no complaints about visual quality.

Black Myth: Wukong does not have native HDR support. However, you can enable the NVIDIA HDR option through the NVIDIA app, which I used on my OLED TV.

It made a noticeable difference and really brought out the colors and contrast. Definitely worth turning on if you have the hardware for it.

I did experience a couple of glitches where the frame rate dropped to the single digits out of nowhere, requiring a restart to fix.

Fortunately, the game autosaves everywhere, so I never lost any meaningful progress. A minor annoyance at worst.

Overall, the PC performance was very solid for a game this visually demanding. With a modern GPU and DLSS enabled, you should be in great shape.

Music and Sound That Bring the World to Life

The soundtrack in Black Myth: Wukong is absolutely phenomenal. It features an incredible blend of traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng, erhu, pipa, and dizi combined with modern orchestral arrangements.

The result is a soundscape that feels both ancient and cinematic at the same time.

Every chapter has its own distinct musical identity.

One of my favorite touches is in Chapter 2, where a headless priest serenades you with a sanxian as you explore the desert.

His songs gradually transform into the region’s soundtrack. It is a brilliant piece of design that seamlessly weaves music into the world.

I played the entire game with Chinese audio, and the voice acting was fantastic.

The performances feel authentic and emotionally powerful. I strongly recommend playing this way, as the Chinese voice actors bring so much life to every character.

One caveat though: a couple of sections are not subtitled when playing with Chinese audio, including one important scene connected to getting the good ending.

It is a frustrating oversight in an otherwise incredible localization effort.

The One Thing I Would Change

If I have one complaint about Black Myth: Wukong, it is the missable content. Even though I thoroughly explored every area over my 50-plus hour playthrough, I still missed a couple of boss fights and items. They are relatively minor, but it is still frustrating when you are trying to see everything.

What makes it worse is that these things are needlessly missable.

An NPC will simply no longer be in their location after a certain point in the story with no warning or indication. They are just gone.

I know the Dark Souls games do this too, and I find it equally annoying there.

Locking players out of encounters and items because they progressed the story feels like an unnecessary punishment for completionists.

This is a minor complaint in the grand scheme of things and does not come close to ruining the experience. But it is the one thing I would change if I could.

Final Verdict

Black Myth: Wukong is a masterpiece. It delivers incredible combat, a stunning world rooted in Chinese mythology, some of the best visuals in gaming, and a soundtrack that perfectly complements every moment.

I finished the game in just over 50 hours, which is the perfect length. Long enough to feel substantial without dragging on until you lose interest. Every minute felt purposeful and engaging.

Game Science has delivered something truly special.

For a studio making its first major AAA title, the level of quality on display is remarkable. T

his is not just a great Soulslike or a great action RPG. It is one of the best games of 2024 and an absolute must-play.

If you have any interest in action RPGs, Soulslike games, or Chinese mythology, you owe it to yourself to play Black Myth: Wukong.

Just make sure you read Journey to the West first.

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Images in this review are from the Black Myth: Wukong page on Steam and used under Fair Use.