2024 was a year of major releases, but absolutely no one can deny the impact of Black Myth: Wukong. Developed by Game Science, it launched in August for PS5 and PC to massive success, achieving over 20 million sales within its first month. It’s fairly well received critically, and on Steam, it currently holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating based on nearly 850,000 user reviews at this time. Of course, it shouldn’t be surprising that it also had one of the biggest launches in Steam’s history.
With that in mind, the Xbox Series X/S version, delayed for the sake of more polish, has always been a mystery. Thankfully, it’s finally launching on August 20th for the platform, allowing Xbox players to finally experience the mythical journey first-hand. Here’s everything you should know about Black Myth: Wukong, including its post-launch improvements, before playing.
Gameplay Loop
At its core, Wukong is an action RPG, where players explore various regions and battle different enemies (and bosses). Combat is heavily centered on dodging attacks, smacking opponents senseless with the staff until they’re defeated, though you’ll have plenty of other techniques available to bring them down. Though it features a few Souls-like mechanics, the overall gameplay is more akin to a character-focused action-adventure title.
Exploration
The story plays out through multiple Chapters, each set in a different fantastical region. Your journey starts in Black Wind Mountain, which is fairly linear as you learn the ropes, but the exploration quickly opens up with different paths, optional fights, NPC encounters and even side quests to pursue. It’s not an open world by any means, but depending on the completed side content, the story may go down a different path.
Hidden Areas
Without delving into spoilers, Wukong offers several hidden areas to discover throughout its runtime, each with unique challenges. You’ll need to explore a bit to find them and maybe obtain better equipment or level up more to survive, but otherwise, they can lead to some interesting discoveries.
Stances
Wukong only relies upon a single weapon throughout the game, but there are three available Stances, each specialising in different techniques. The first, Smash, is more short-range; Pillar Stance, the second, is more defensive and offers extended range; and the final, Thrust Stance, offers even more range. Aside from their Varied Combos, each Stance is also defined by its Heavy Attack. For example, Pillar Stance’s Heavy allows for climbing onto the staff, which is great for avoiding attacks and landing a powerful attack when released. By comparison, Smash Stance allows for charging up your Heavy Attack while moving. Each Stance has a dedicated skill tree, allowing you to improve its techniques further. Also, depending on the equipped Stance, you’ll unlock options for counterattacking.
Focus
Focus can significantly alter a Heavy Attack, turning it into something far more potent. It’s obtained by successfully landing Light Attacks. Once enough is built up, you can unleash a far more devastating Smash stance Heavy, climb higher on the staff with Pillar Stance and gain more range with Thrust Stance’s Heavy Attack. As you progress, options become available for increasing the maximum amount of Focus.
Spells
Of course, there’s also magic, divided into four categories: Mysticism, Alteration, Strand and Transformations. Mysticism consists of spells like Immobilize to briefly freeze enemies on the spot; Alteration includes Rock Solid, where Wukong can turn into a rock to parry hits; and Strand lets you create clones to attack enemies.
Transformations
Transformations are a whole different beast and in more ways than one. Obtained from defeating specific bosses, they allow Wukong to transform into them for a limited time (which is determined by the available Might). Various upgrades allow for increasing attack, maximum Might, and even reducing the level of Might decay, allowing you to remain transformed for longer.
Spirit Skills
Distinct from Transformations are Spirit Skills, which cost Qi and can be improved separately using different materials and currency. Rather than lasting for some time like other Transformations, they’re briefer and provide a wide range of attacks and passive benefits. Together with Transformations, it provides an avenue for using different weapons aside from the staff.
Armor Sets and Weapons
In true action RPG fashion, Wukong offers different armor sets and weapons throughout the game, with different rarities and passives. Most of them are craftable and include benefits like improved Light Attack combo finishers, increased damage for a specific Stance’s moves, and even benefits like using the Healing Gourd while sprinting. That’s alongside improved attack and defense at the higher rarities.
Boss Fights
Of course, the biggest appeal of the game is the boss fights (leading to many considering Wukong as a “boss rush” style game). There are dozens of bosses to battle, several optional, but many required to progress the story. Again, no spoilers, but their overall presentation, unique moves, and the strategies required to take them down are worth the price of admission alone.
Return of Rivals
A boss fight-focused title should have some means of rematching against its many threats, and thankfully, Game Science has acquiesced. A post-launch update, which will be included with the Xbox Series X/S version at launch, added Return of Rivals, allowing you to fight a vanquished boss once more. They’ll only become available upon defeating them throughout your journey, and you can select one of three difficulty levels during a rematch.
Gauntlet of Legends
Gauntlet of Legends, on the other hand, is a more traditional Boss Rush style mode. It’s divided into multiple Gauntlets with different bosses, and you can obtain items, materials, and even better rewards upon clearing each. Curses are also available to increase the challenge further, like not replenishing Gourd charges after vanquishing a boss, increasing dodging costs, and more.
Journeyer’s Chart
When Wukong launched, one of the common criticisms was the lack of a world map, leading to a lot of back and forth while navigating the environment. The Journeyer’s Chart added post-launch addresses this. You can purchase a new one in each region, and along with providing an overview of the region, they’re also very useful for tracking your position throughout.
60 FPS+ on Xbox Series X/S
It’s no secret that Black Myth: Wukong was delayed for Xbox Series X/S due to optimization issues with the Series S (and timed exclusivity reasons, if the rumors are to be believed). Game Science addressed this in an official FAQ, stating that the process was “no easy feat,” especially while “ensuring the experience met our internal quality standards.” “Fortunately, we were able to complete this challenging task smoothly within the first year of the game’s official release.” It hasn’t provided any information on the resolution or frame rate, but the Xbox Store listing confirms 60 FPS.
Playtime
Whether you’re diving in for the first time or revisiting the epic, Wukong is a very substantial experience. It takes about 38 to 39 hours to clear the story on average, per HowLongToBeat.com, which can be extended to 48 hours if you complete the side content. For completionists, it can take about 67 hours for everything, and that doesn’t include the time required for clearing the boss rematch and boss rush modes. Of course, you can also embark on a New Game Plus playthrough, carrying over your levels, gear, and spells while dealing with more challenging foes and even unlocking some new abilities.