After a four-year wait since its 2020 announcement, reviews for Black Myth: Wukong are finally here! Read on for a summary of critical reception and the controversy surrounding review guidelines.
Black Myth: Wukong's Arrival
PC Exclusive (For Now)
Since its debut trailer in 2020, Black Myth: Wukong has generated considerable hype. Initial critical response is largely positive, with an 82 Metascore on Metacritic based on 54 reviews.
Reviewers praise the game's exceptional action gameplay, emphasizing its precise and engaging combat system and well-crafted boss battles. Stunning visuals and hidden secrets within its beautiful world also receive high marks.
Drawing inspiration from the Chinese classic Journey to the West, the game's portrayal of Sun Wukong's adventures has resonated with critics. GamesRadar+, for instance, described it as "a fun action RPG that feels like a modern God of War game filtered through Chinese mythology."
While PCGamesN considers it a potential Game of the Year contender, some shortcomings are noted across multiple reviews. These include uneven level design, challenging difficulty spikes, and occasional technical glitches. The narrative's structure, similar to older FromSoftware titles, requiring players to piece together the story from item descriptions, also drew criticism.
Importantly, all initial review copies were for PC; console versions were not provided for early access. Therefore, PS5 performance remains unreviewed.
Controversial Review Guidelines Surface
Image from SteamDB. Reports emerged over the weekend detailing guidelines issued by one of Black Myth: Wukong's co-publishers to reviewers and streamers. These guidelines reportedly included a list of "Do's and Don'ts," restricting discussion of topics such as "violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigates negative discourse."
This has sparked considerable debate within the gaming community. While some criticized the guidelines as overly restrictive, others expressed no concern.
Despite this controversy, anticipation for Black Myth: Wukong remains high. Steam sales data currently positions it as both the best-selling and most wishlisted game on the platform prior to release. While the lack of console reviews is a caveat, the game is poised for a significant launch.
