Black Myth: WuKong Won't be a Soulslike
Black Myth: WuKong is supposedly not a soulslike game. We also learned the game's probable length. It may be quite short... as long as we don't die.
It's been a while since we last wrote about Black Myth: WuKong. Wrapped up with a gameplay presentation, the game's announcement delighted soulslike fans. However, in the two years that have passed since then, all we've learned is that the developers changed the engine - to Unreal Engine 5 - and we saw another, equally impressive gameplay.
The impasse was somewhat broken by over twelve minutes long video, published yesterday on bilibili.com (via Reddit / No_Association9031 - can be viewed in Japanese here). "Somewhat" because it's not clear if the information given in it is true. However, they seem detailed enough to assume so.
Soulslike? It's just a myth now
The most significant of these seems to be the one according to which Black Myth: WuKong is not meant to be a soulslike game. This is surprising, as the title has always been made out to be a soulslike, or at least it seemed that way. This means that we will have to deal with only a difficult action RPG. And when can we expect it?
Release in 2023 (I think)
It's not exactly known at the moment, although in an interview with IGN in 2020, the developer declared that the launch will take place in 2023 (leak from the GeForce NOW database pointed to May 30, 2023, but this is supposedly a so-called placeholder). However, the development has stalled a bit - certainly the coronavirus pandemic was a factor - and has already consumed reportedly 500 million Chinese yuan (about $75 million). The game is invested in by a Chinese company Hero Entertainment.
New trailer coming soon
Fresh official information about it - including a new trailer - is expected to be released on August 20, 2022. This would indicate that it will take place around gamescom (August 24-28), although - due to the fact that Game Science, the studio responsible for the game, is based in China - it seems more likely that a presentation of Black Myth: WuKong will appear at Tokyo Game Show (September 15-18).
Of course, a stand-alone game show can't be ruled out either. Closed tests of its alpha version are also planned, but their date will depend on the progress of work.
Game length
In the aforementioned interview, the developer also informed that although Black Myth: WuKong will offer many "branches", it will be rather linear and can be completed in about 15 hours. - however, this would require clearing collectibles and not dying. A "normal" playthrough is expected to clock in at about 50 hours.
Combat system and bosses
Well, unless we get stuck on some boss; because even though the game is not supposed to be soulslike, it will still remain difficult, as I have mentioned before. We have to face over 160 types of enemies, including many bosses such as the Four Heavenly Kings from the first trailer or a certain Lion Camel Ridge. The latter fight should be extremely difficult, because there will be three opponents and they are supposed to work very well together.
The players, however, will be armed with a complex combat system, enabling us to combine various skills and magical items. Similarly as in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice or Elden Ring, we can also sneak around in order to avoid some challenging battles.
