Summary
Although it isn’t a traditional Soulslike,Black Myth: Wukonghas strong ties to the genre, and may be the latest to inspire other games. In just a couple of days,Black Myth: Wukongsold over ten million units on PC and PS5 alone, instantly making it a massive success. It’s hard to say if it will have a big enough tail to matchElden Ring, which has garnered over twenty-five million lifetime sales, but the yearsBlack Myth: Wukongspent in development have clearly paid off.
Much of this is evident inBlack Myth: Wukong’s visuals, which were a major selling point since the game’s first trailer, but its gameplay is no slouch either. Apart from the lack of dropped resources on death, the focus on a cinematic story, and the Destined One’s only primary weapon being his bo staff,Black Mythhas the core of a Souls game. Punishing enemy placement, fierce boss battles, and emphasized exploration fillBlack Myth’s runtime, but a few unique elements stick out as distinct strengths Soulslike games could benefit from.
Souls Games Should Give Dodging More Love
Anyone who’s spent more than a few hours with Soulslikes knows that dodging is vital. That’s why it’s a wonder why it hasn’t evolved since the days ofDemon’s Souls.Most FromSoftware Soulslikes since thenhave had special dodge variants, but they replace or coexist with the normal dodge. To match all the perfect guards and parries that blocking has picked up, some recent Soulslikes such asDeathboundandBlack Mythintroduced a perfect dodge with its own animation, sound effect, and benefits. Perfect dodges are one of the most satisfying parts of these games’ combat, and future Soulslikes should take notice.
Black Myth’s Monstrous Magic Is Well-Managed
The Destined One’s core moveset revolves around his staff, but wouldn’t be complete without his primary spells. All of these can be upgraded and offer utility far beyond typical Soulslike magic, with the mandatory ones including:
Paralyzes enemies and bosses
Places a decoy and turns invisible
Summons multiple clones
Ring of Fire
Constructs barrier with passive boons
EvenElden Ring’s best caster buildswould be jealous of these, but they’re balanced out by mana limits and cooldowns that force strategic use. Other magical abilities also have their own constraints. By copying this approach, other Soulslikes can introduce more dramatic magical abilities without sacrificing their balance.
Soulslikes Do Have A Place For Cinematic Story Sequences
Cutscenes in traditional Souls games tend to be infrequent, usually placed at the beginning and end of each title as well as before and during certain major bosses.Black Myth: Wukongtakes a radically different approach, including cutscenes that feature major NPCs and story developmentsacrossBlack Myth’s runtime, as well as a setpiece in its opening where players get to control Sun Wukong himself. Said opening has drawn a lot of praise for how exciting it gets, so other Soulslikes shouldn’t be afraid to divert from their usual player character and storytelling style if they have good reason to.
Black Myth: Wukong Proves Soulslikes Can’t Have Too Many Bosses
Boss fights are typically pointed to as the highlights of any Soulslike’s runtime, and that’s no exception inBlack Myth: Wukong. What is different inBlack Mythis its freeform approach to placing bosses, with well above seventy of them spread out across the game. From hidden areas to gauntlets featuring multiple boss fights in a row, major encounters are everywhere, and the game is better for that. It would take a lot of work to match this volume of content, but other Soulslikes should at least be as willing asBlack Myth: Wukongto break the mold when it comes to adding as many bosses as possible,
