One of China’s finest video games has been released—Black Myth: Wukong. After much anticipation, gaming enthusiasts everywhere are looking forward to this master piece. Players worldwide jumped into the game, where shape-shifting monkeys use magic staffs to fight giant demons.

The game had an impressive opening upon its worldwide release on 20th August. It was mostly dominated by Steam players, as it sold nearly 1.2 million copies before it was released. Let’s take a look at how Black Myth: Wukong aims to provide gamers with a dose of Chinese mythology and cutting-edge action. 

Black Myth: Wukong is here!

Black Myth: Wukong is the first significant Chinese-made game, based on the novel Journey to the West in the 16th century. You control a Sun Wukong-like character using magic and weapons in this RPG-style game.

The story has been borrowed heavily from Chinese mythology that blends itself with combat. The game saw huge excitement with its trailer getting 10 million views on YouTube and 56 million on Bilibili. On its release day, it had over 1.04 million players on Steam within an hour. By the next day, it reached 2.2 million players.

China’s gamers and social media noticed the success. There were more than 1.7 billion mentions of “Wukong” on Weibo.

Chinese state media celebrated the game’s debut. They saw it as a win for Chinese culture and technology. The Global Times praised it as a sign of China’s growing gaming industry and production capabilities.

The game is based on the continuation of the story of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, but with a twist. Control is given to players in the form of a similar monkey called the Destined One. 

The story starts after the original Journey to the West. Sun Wukong, now immortal and enlightened, rejects this life. The heavens are angry because of this. They dispatch Erland, a celestial being, to lead an army against him. He is defeated and turned into stone. Earlier on, though, Sun Wukong leaves his power hidden in five relics scattered all over earth.

In the game, these relics have to be collected by Destoned One. Each relic holds part of Sun Wukong’s power. Many trials and enemies lie ahead for anyone who hopes to collect these powers. As such, Destined One goes through different parts of the map that come with unique challenges.

As the Destined One gathers the relics, they also find Sun Wukong’s legendary armor and weapons. The last relic is on Mount Hauguo, where Sun Wukong’s remains are trapped in stone. It turns out the Destined One is the sixth relic, embodying Sun Wukong’s mind. This means Sun Wukong did not survive his imprisonment. 

In the game’s climax, Sun Wukong’s stone body is battled by the destined one. The ending depends upon that outcome. As for the default ending, the Destined One does not receive any legacy of Sun Wukong. Consequently, Sun Wukong’s body remains in stone, waiting for a new destiny. If the player defeats Erlang in an optional fight, then he or she will inherit memories of Sun Wukong and be born again.

This story has stunning visuals and engaging gameplay, making Black Myth: Wukong a must-play. It is a tribute to the original tale while adding depth to it, appealing to fans of action RPGs and Chinese mythology.

"Black Myth: Wukong" has reached 1,443,570 peak concurrent players on Steam. This number is expected to grow as more people buy the game over the weekend.

The game has overtaken "Counter-Strike 2" to become the second most-played game on Steam ever. 

In less than 24 hours, "Black Myth: Wukong" achieved the fourth-highest concurrent player count on Steam. It trails behind PUBG, Palworld, and Counter-Strike 2. It surpasses popular games like Dota 2, Elden Ring, and Baldur’s Gate 3. 

The game has nearly 30,000 user reviews on Steam and holds a ‘very positive’ rating.

"Black Myth: Wukong" has also launched on PlayStation 5, Tencent's WeGame, and the Epic Games Store. An Xbox Series X and S version will be released later.

Game Science’s ambitious vision: Evaluating graphics and ray tracing in Black Myth: Wukong after release

Unlike many AAA developers, Game Science has been unusually open about its development process. Every press release shows the game’s ambitions. The latest features of Unreal Engine are also present in Black Myth: Wukong. This includes full ray tracing on PC with Nvidia’s UE5 build.

From the start, it's clear that Game Science has achieved a graphical quality beyond the initial trailer. The game’s intro is dazzling, with giant mythical beings and unique volumetric rendering that is rare today. The fog in the game interacts with every move, including dashes or staff swipes. This physically simulated particle effect is demanding on GPU but adds a touch of mysticism during instances and character entrances. 

Explore the Exclusive Editions of Black Myth: Wukong: Standard, Deluxe, and Collector’s Offerings

In addition to the core game, Black Myth: Wukong offers several extras.

●The Standard Edition contains the base game and the Trailblazer’s Scarlet Gourd as a pre-order bonus. The Digital Deluxe Edition is more expensive but comes with some cosmetic in-game items, a digital soundtrack, and similar pre-order bonuses.

●Premium contents are available on the Collector’s Edition. This edition has a 40cm Sun Wukong statue, among other things, like a silk scroll.

●The Steelbook Case is part of the Deluxe Edition for both physical and digital items, which provide a premium case for the game. One such example from the Deluxe edition is a detailed replica of Sun Wukong’s headband called 1:1 Scale Bronze Headband Replica. In addition to that, there is also the 40-cm Sun Wukong statue in this version.

●The Digital Deluxe Edition includes various Folk Opera attire and other cosmetics within the game, among other things. It also features a digital soundtrack so that players can enjoy music outside of the game itself too.

These extras basically improve immersion with respect to both in-game content as well as collectables.