Black Myth: Wu Kong reveals intense action in 16th Century China

Chinese inde game developers, Game Science, have released a 13 minute trailer of pre-alpha game footage for Black Myth: Wu Kong. The game is based on the a classic 16th century Chinese novel entitled, Journey To The West which tells the tale of Monkey King Sun Wukong.

It chronicles his journey throughout the land to learn how to be humble and to recover Buddha’s writings. This fable has been adapted many times via novels, shows and even a video game; Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was developed by game devs Ninja Theory in 2010 and was a loose adaptation of the novel.                   

The game is an action adventure RPG and many have said that it has a Dark Souls feel to its gameplay. It shows the protagonist begin as a cicada that then morphs into a bad ass ninja, whipping their Katana style weapon furiously around to block, in perfect procession, an enemies fiery bow attacks.  The protagonist, Wu Kong is a monkey who battles what mainly seem to be foxes in the trailer. Wu Kong and his enemies are all in human type bodies, so they stand on two feet and use their hands in combat to wield their weapons. At one point Wu Kong, surrounded by his enemies, turns into a giant version of himself and goes all Hulk style, smashing and destroying everything in his path. The game devs have revealed that Wu Kong will have 72 special abilities for players to upgrade and explore.

It’s not surprising that this trailer has garnered a lot of attention due to its mystical elements, intense gameplay and the atmospheric world that gives off some real Nioh vibes. Also, because the game studio is independent, it is refreshing to see such an exciting and gorgeous looking next-gen title come from a studio that isn’t AAA.  Game Science are looking to expand its 40-strong team to tackle this project that has already been in production for two years.

Black Myth: Wu Kong doesn’t have a release date as yet, but is eventually expected to launch on PC and consoles.