Black Myth: Wukong Is Not The Game For You If You Can’t Stand Soulslikes

Black Myth: Wukong is now out following its initial reveal in August 2020, coming across as a ravishing action-adventure title with a no-holds-barred approach to combat. Guess what else sports a no-holds-barred approach to combat? Soulslikes. 

Get it together people. 

I’ve seen so many of you out there, whether it’s YouTube or Reddit, echoing it as it’s a fact that Black Myth: Wukong is not a Soulslike, while the game is literally screaming in your face that it is one.

The purpose of this post is to create awareness among new buyers and inexperienced players who are expecting from Wukong a more God of War Ragnarok-like experience, something that deliberately offers more stuff on the side of the story and narrative rather than overwhelming boss fights and challenging gameplay. Get your assumptions straight, and you might end up having a good time. 

Here are some of the major reasons I believe Wukong is a proper Soulslike, drawing its greatest inspirations from the legendary works of FromSoftware, and leaving as little room as possible for hand-holding. 

Why Black Myth: Wukong Is A Soulslike And Not A Casual Adventure

Scouring through Twitter, I can’t help but read through various posts of people falling prey to misleading reviews, saying that only got Wukong because they thought it was closer to titles like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Hate to break it to you (or not I guess), but that’s not the case. 

Read on to understand how. 

1. Boss and Mini-Boss Fight Placement 

Let’s get one thing out of the way first and foremost. Do you think games like God of War or God of War Ragnarok have enemies like these just lying around, waiting for Kratos to unleash all hell on? Heck no. One of the very primary examples of Black Myth: Wukong being a Soulslike is how it handles its boss and mini-boss distribution in its world’s setting. 

Boss fights are hard to say the least, but it’s the moment-to-moment gameplay that I’m really trying to indulge you in here. The mystery-ridden lore of the title, on top of its mystical setting, is just a textbook example of the title following in the footsteps of a thorough Souslike. But wait, it gets better.  

2. The Good Ol’ Bonfire Mechanic 

In Elden Ring, the mechanic in question is referred to as a Site of Grace. In Dark Souls, it’s called the Bonfire. In Black Myth: Wukong, you may recognize these as Birthstones. 

No difference other than the naming. All of these yield the same practicality in the sense that they restore your character’s health and healing items while respawning the enemies in that particular area. 

It’s funny. I can’t seem to recall God of War doing that.  

3. No Stamina Bar And That Conventional Healing Flask

These are some of the easier ones.

Black Myth has a stamina bar. Run out of stamina and forget about being able to perform functions as basic as attacking or dodging. Combine that with healing flasks, the term for which is “Gourd” in this game, with there being various types, and you’ve got a pretty clear picture of a modern-day Soulslike. 

And here’s what’s more. Many of the in-game areas of Black Myth: Wukong feature shortcuts. The semi-open-world of the title lets you roam around, advance to a higher level, and go down different pathways to unlock easy access to a previously reached point, making way for better traversal. 

That ring a bell? 

4. Difficulty

The moment you venture outside of the first chapter in Black Myth, that’s when the game starts meaning serious business and stops cutting you the slack it was generous enough to offer throughout the prologue. 

I wish I was joking, but I’m not. 

You’re going to get your monkey butt handed to you more times than you’d like to admit. Difficult to embrace, I know, but typical of the Soulslike genre all the same. The bosses aside, the mobs — regular enemies — increase in difficulty, and sometimes, you could encounter a wild card. Enough said I presume.

Now you may argue that the Star Wars Jedi games have some similar features, especially the Bonfire mechanic and healing flasks, but the difficulty part is where the titles are distinguished. Black Myth: Wukong is still levels above what you would usually face in the Jedi titles, period. 

Oh, and there are no difficulty options in the game, either. 

However, Here’s What Wukong Does Special

The combat, for one, is dramatically unique in Black Myth, and I can’t think of a Souls game out there that manages to achieve what this game has, so props to Game Science for really leveling up on that front. 

Another thing I found distinct is that you do not lose a single thing in Wukong once you die. You don’t have to go back and retrieve your “Will” points. Again, credit goes to the developers for figuring out a way to deal with the title’s currency, because the literature paints Son Wukong/Destined One as the type of guy who couldn’t give a care about earthly possessions. 

In summary, Black Myth Wukong is a blast, but I hope you know what type of a punch it packs before you march right into it.