New 'Black Myth: Wukong' Gameplay Preview Impresses, Despite Controversy

After four long years of waiting since its first announcement in 2020, the verdict is in for Black Myth: Wukong! Read more to learn more about the details and what other reviewers thought about the game.

Black Myth: Wukong Is Almost Here

But Only On PC

Ever since its first trailer back in 2020, Black Myth: Wukong has been hyped up all this time, and it seems that critics are mostly in favor of the game. The game currently stands with an 82 Metascore on Metacritic out of 54 Critic Reviews.

The general consensus is that the game plays amazingly well as an action game. It places a big emphasis on precise and engaging combat that complements its well-designed boss fights. Additionally, the game also has stunning visuals and is worth exploring since there are secrets to find littered around its gorgeous world.

The game is centered around Chinese mythology, specifically Journey to the West, which details the adventures of Sun Wukong. Several of the reviews pointed out that the game introduces this mythological tale well, where even GamesRadar+ went so far as to call it "a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology," in their review.

In PCGamesN’s review, they highlighted that the game is a potential Game of the Year (GOTY) candidate, but it does have aspects that may be a dealbreaker to some. These aspects are also commonly said in other reviews, pointing out its subpar level design, difficulty spikes, and sudden technical issues. Some also noted that the game's story is disjointed as it's in a similar vein to older FromSoftware games where you'd need to dive deeper by reading in-game item descriptions to understand the full picture.

In addition to these, all of the review copies were only for the PC version so far, and no console copies were given for early access. This means that there's still no confirmed reviews about the game's performance on the PS5.

Streamers and Reviewers Reportedly Received Controversial Guidelines

Over the weekend, reports surfaced that one of Black Myth Wukong’s co-publishers had sent out a document containing guidelines for streamers and publications reviewing the game. The document allegedly included a list of "Do’s and Don’ts." The recepients of the guidelines were told not to talk about restricted topics, including "violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigates negative discourse."

This has since caused heated debate among its player community. One user on Twitter (X) commented and gave their thoughts, "It is WILD to me that this actually made it out the door. These guidelines had to have gone past multiple people/departments. Also, creators casually signing this and not speaking up is just as wild, unfortunately just less surprising.." Meanwhile, others said they saw no issue regarding such guidelines.

Despite its recent controversy regarding the early access reviewing guidelines, the game is still highly anticipated. Based on its Steam sales statistics, as it currently sits as both the best selling game and the most wishlisted game on the platform before its release. Of course, there are some reservations about the game not having any console reviews. Nevertheless, it seems that the game will have a big launch ahead of it.