The embargo for reviews of Black Myth: Wukong is finally up and the overall results are positive. We gave it a 10 out of 10 in our assessment, and while it’s pretty much a given that many will pick it up in time for its launch, there are still plenty of details you should know before that. What are Spirits, and how do they differ from Transformations? How complex can the three Stances be? Is the world design linear, open, or something in between? We’ve got you covered, starting with…
Crafting Armor
It’s already known that the Destined One has a single weapon throughout the game, which can be upgraded, but how does crafting work? As it turns out, there are no loot drops per se. Instead, recipes for different armor pieces unlock automatically as you progress through the game. You can craft these using rare materials, gaining improved stats and other bonuses from the new armor set. It’s not the most extensive build-crafting system, but the streamlined nature of weapons and armor keeps the focus on what matters – the story, the bosses, and the combat.
World Design
Early previews painted a somewhat worrying impression of Black Myth: Wukong’s world design and how lacking the exploration could be. Now that we’ve spent extensive time with the game, the environmental scale has proven to vary quite a bit. The opening level is very linear, which Game Science addressed in last month’s hands-on previews as a way to familiarize players with the game.
However, the next is much bigger, before segueing into yet another linear section (and there are optional areas to discover as well). This also isn’t an open world by any means; however, Wukong does a fantastic job with environmental variety, whether you’re trudging through the snow or exploring a searing desert, and it all looks utterly beautiful.
No In-Game Map
So we’ve established that despite not being an open-world title, there’s a fair amount to discover in each environment. Unfortunately, as noted in our review, there is no map. Found an optional boss you want to fight later when you’re strong enough? Better make a mental note of its location, or you’ll spend time running around to find it. That’s not even getting into issues that can arise when getting lost. It’s not a deal-breaker – just something to consider when playing.
Stances Trees
As noted over the years, the Destined One can employ three different Stances – Smash, Pillar, and Thrust. While they’re each beneficial in different situations, you can also unlock upgrades to improve them. For instance, Force Unbound will allow for sprinting while charging an attack in Smash Stance, while Resolute Counterflow grants Resolute Strike, nullifying incoming damage and making enemies easier to stagger. You can unlock further upgrades for the latter, like Skyfall Strike, to inflict more damage.
Pillar Stance is a more defensive maneuver which can transition into a powerful attack but requires Stamina to maintain balance on the staff. Its upgrades can reduce the Stamina needed, enable the use of the Gourd when balancing (if you have enough Focus, of course), and much more. Meanwhile, Thrust Stance can be upgraded to perform a backward hop after a heavy thrust attack. You can then transition into Whirling Thrusts by holding Light Attack for a quick barrage of strikes (which can also be upgraded for up to 15 percent increased critical chance).
Foundations
“Foundations” refers to your character’s passive attributes and is divided into three trees – Stamina, Martial Arts, and Survival. As the name indicates, investing in the Stamina tree will confer benefits like moderately reducing the Stamina cost of dodging and jumping, dodging no longer interrupting a Light Attack combo, and increasing the Focus gained from Perfect Dodges.
Martial Arts affects your Light and Heavy Attacks, increasing the distance at which a Light Attack combo starter can be used, granting damage reduction when using a finisher, and is also where you unlock Mobile Spin to deflect projectiles while moving. The Survival tree is perhaps the most straightforward, with each invested point increasing max health, Stamina, and critical hit chance while reducing the duration of bane effects. There are also miscellaneous nodes to invest in at higher levels, like increased critical hit damage, max mana, defense, attack, etc.
Transformations
The Destined One’s Transformations are arguably the most exciting mechanic in the game since they allow for taking on the form of a boss or enemy and using their moves. We’ve seen several throughout the game’s marketing, each possessing unique movesets. Red Tides, obtained from Guangzhi, has a unique Light and Heavy Attack and can deal burn damage.
However, Azure Dust has both and a unique spell called Rockfall for unleashing a powerful area of effect attack. Each Transformation also has a passive talent to upgrade, like increased defense for Red Tides. You can also invest in passive nodes to reduce the Might decay when transformed or increase Might recovery, damage and max health when transformed.
Spells
Like Foundations and Staff Stances, Spells fall under three categories – Alteration, Strand and Mysticism. Game Science promised quite several options, and though we unlocked a few, they also contain unique upgrades. You can make it so that Cloud Step, a useful evasion spell that creates a decoy, grants increased movement speed and buffs the decoy’s health.
Rock Solid, a deflect spell, can be modified to cancel it at any time instead of waiting for an enemy to strike and recover Mana. Meanwhile, A Pluck of Many allows you to send multiple Duplicates of the Destined One towards an enemy, with upgrades increasing their numbers and damage dealt. As for Immobilize, you can unlock nodes that increase the duration enemies stay immobilized and the damage they receive.
Cultivate Spirits
Aside from Transformations, there are also Spirits. These are obtained from enemies and essentially allow for transforming into them to perform a special technique for a considerably shorter period. There are several options, from lashing out at enemies with Baw-Li-Gunh-Lang’s Tongue Whip to the Gore-Eye Daoist, whose staff creates a glowing area that increases your attack if you remain within it. Each can be cultivated with Will and other materials, reducing their Qi cost.
Buffs and Medicines
Crafting isn’t just used for making new armor pieces – it’s also employed to create Mortal Medicines, which provide different buffs in battle. The Tonifying Decoction will increase max Stamina significantly for a long duration while the Ginseng Pellets slowly provide Focus over a comparatively shorter period. You also have medicines for removing bane states like poisoned, chilled, shocked, and burned while briefly raising resistance to their damage sources. Though fairly straightforward, they should still provide an edge in certain fights.
Curios
Curios are another collectible that affects your build, albeit in smaller ways. While we’ve only unlocked a few thus far, they offer unique effects like the Wind Chime providing slightly increased speed, Cat Eye Beads offering slightly increased critical hit chance, and Back Scratcher raising max Stamina by a considerable amount. Some, like the Glazed Reliquary, also provide benefits like recovering a small amount of Stamina after performing a Perfect Dodge, so it’s likely one can discover even better options that complement your build with further exploration.