For the last couple of weeks, I've been brushing up on my Journey to the West knowledge, not least because of its obvious surge in relevance, but also its status as one of the most influential written works of all time, its presence inescapable across a whole host of modern media. From its episodic, monster-of-the-week structure to the rambunctious and hilariously overpowered Sun Wukong, it might as well be the original shonen anime and, the more I read, the more impossible its massive reach becomes to ignore.

Game Science's take on the classic novel is not the typical homage or adaptation, but rather something of a follow-up, opening with the Monkey King, wholly disinterested in the Buddhahood awarded to him at the end of the titular journey, clashing in the clouds with the forces of Heaven, themselves quite unable to trust the innocence in the chronically mischievous Wukong's return to a simple, earthly life. Overwhelmed and stricken down, you pick up some five hundred years later as the Destined One, an auspicious monkey tasked with retrieving the scattered relics of the defeated Great Sage, their unification capable of returning him once more to the land of the living.

It's something of a retelling, too, with each of the six largely stand-alone chapters transporting the Destined One to destinations from the original journey, complete with their assorted villains and supporting casts. It's an approach those intimately familiar with the source material will no doubt appreciate; however, it's a narrative heavily reliant on pre-existing knowledge of those destinations, villains and supporting casts and, in tandem with a frustrating aversion to almost all forms of exposition, subtle or otherwise, I seriously struggle to see those new to Chinese myth following anything but the broadest strokes.

Myself included, to an extent (the version of the book I'm familiar with isn't a complete translation), yet the less I understood, the more I realised how little it ultimately mattered. Each chapter concludes with an unbelievably gorgeous and expertly scored five or so-minute animation rendered in an entirely different style and format than the last, and while I won't hesitate to admit a fair amount of the little details and references soared cleanly over my head, the passion, care and unwavering reverence for the source material is utterly unmistakeable. Coupled with meticulous, striking enemy design and truly breathtaking scenery, there's a profound artistry in every corner of Black Myth's composition, so much more than just a plot to get wrapped up in, and any concerns of missing context quickly fall by the wayside.

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These days, it's hard to find a single third-person action game that doesn't in some way fall victim to the soulslike allegations, and Black Myth is no exception, the bulk of critics veritably frothing at the mouth at the slightest possibility something might be treading even a fraction of Miyazaki's illustrious path. However, with a stark emphasis on combo building, active abilities and a gargantuan skill tree, the Destined One's moveset strikes me as much more Nioh (another soulslike, I know, despite its combat being anything but) than anything else, with much of the feel of modern God of War and all the style of character action.

It's a lot more empowering than the typical Souls model, too: among the smattering of spells you'll eventually get your monkey paws on, one of the early ones is functionally little more than a simple evade and counter, but the dramatic swoosh of the initial dodge, the blinding speed of the re-engage, and the punchy slow-mo of the following punish result in a move far more thrilling than any basic description might suggest. The rest of the kit is similarly flamboyant; you're generally stuck with just the Monkey King's classic staff throughout, but you've got a few different stances switching up its heavy attack, each making full and bombastic use of the weapon's iconic shape-shifting capabilities.

Alongside an almost gratuitously twirly light attack combo culminating in a powerful overhead slam, rounding out the Destined One's combat prowess are the yaoguai transfigurations: one an equipable spirit allowing you to take the form of a fallen foe just long enough to bust out their signature move, the other a considerably more rare, complete transformation, equipped with a full moveset, a separate health bar, and lasting a fair bit longer than the spiritual counterpart.

All told, you're left with a fast, meaty, and strategic combat model defined by a vast arsenal of abilities, all capable of turning the tide of battle in an instant and tested in a tremendous variety of boss encounters. While a few too many of these epic clashes have a bad habit of prioritising spectacle over clarity, these battles are otherwise brilliantly designed, creatively rich, and the centrepiece of the Black Myth experience, an almost always entirely unique encounter around every corner.

Of course, with combat this tight and inherently well-designed, the cracks are increasingly more obvious; in this case, unfortunately, a myriad of technical shortcomings. Between strikes not tracking properly, bosses launching entire combos in entirely the wrong direction, the camera completely losing its mind, bizarre hitboxes, and a whole smorgasbord of other smaller issues, It's tough to recall a single major fight that wasn't at least slightly soured by one of my big attacks randomly whiffing at a crucial moment or a spell failing to work as intended, yet still going on a lengthy cooldown regardless.

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There's no immunity to dubious design, either, particularly progression-side: most of the skill tree is superb, offering just about every improvement you could ever want for every aspect of the Destined One's moveset; however, you'll also find the bulk of your base stat increases taking all the same space, and the ensuing tug of war is a real early-game pain, your limited skill points forced not into what you want more, but rather what you can live without. Armour sets are equally questionable, boasting incredibly specific, build-defining set bonuses, but no way to upgrade and bring them with you until at least halfway through the game for no good reason.

It's a similar story with exploration: between the visual splendour, the open, sweeping level design, and all the secrets and hidden nooks, it leaves quite the first impression, but the longer you spend in these spaces, the trickier it becomes to overlook their weaknesses, crude invisible walls everywhere you look, even more completely harmless yet agonisingly spongy enemies, all underpinned by a bizarre, stifling lack of a map. The main draw is ultimately the generally excellent range of optional side content—tonnes of extra bosses, little quests unlocking a new vendor or spell, and an utterly spellbinding secret ending, to name a few. They're sometimes a little too cryptic for their own good, but they're all very worth your time; each chapter has one chunkier side quest culminating in a whole additional sub-area and often a Vessel, an equipable active item primarily designed to counter the same chapter's final boss in immensely satisfying fashion.


While I'm certainly painting a somewhat less euphoric picture than many of the other writings in this here review section, Black Myth Wukong's electrifying combat, its larger-than-life boss encounters, and the unbridled passion from the team behind it make for a title I strongly recommend.

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