Black Myth: Wukong is the latest action RPG that looks set to take the gaming world by storm when it drops on August 20th. It has already won an award for being the most anticipated game of the year, and if the gameplay fires on all cylinders, we could be onto a winner.
Whilst playing through this vibrant open world, you’re likely wondering how the gameplay is going to play out. Specifically, whether this is a Souls-Like game or not. To really dive into that, let’s explore exactly what a Souls-Like is and how Wukong fits into that.
What is a Souls-Like Game?
The very definition of a “Souls-Like” game became synonymous within the gaming community way back when FromSoft first released Demon Souls, Dark Souls and every game thereafter. The gameplay is typically punishing, with a high level of difficulty and requiring a vast amount of skill to overcome foes. Boss fights are usually gruelling affairs, with repeated player character deaths expected and incorporated into the core gameplay loop. In essence you’re expected to “git gud” in order to progress forward.
A lot (but not all) games in this genre incorporate a bonfire-type save structure where enemies respawn as you recover health, while level ups usually result in incremental stat increases. These are usually quite sparse in the game world too.
Is Black Myth: Wukong a Souls-Like game?
The short answer to this is yes. The longer answer is, well, yes. And that’s not us being intentionally facetious, it’s more the categorization of what you’d class as a Souls-Like coming into scrutiny here. But as the geeks that we are, let’s dive further into this.
Black Myth: Wukong incorporates a good deal of additional Souls-Like elements into its core gameplay loop. There is a bonfire system, the threat of experience point drops and a similar mechanic with flasks. The boss design is also quite varied and relies on a more strategic approach, rather than just button mashing. This is especially true given you have a stamina bar you need to manage.
At the same time, going into Black Myth expecting an outright FromSoft game akin to Dark Souls, with a variety of different playstyles, tight gameplay and gruelling difficulty throughout, could leave you disappointed. I mean, after all difficulty is subjective right? So for now, we’ll say that it is a type of Souls-Like game but probably not going to be regarded as highly as FromSoft’s best.
What do you think? Is Black Myth: Wukong a Souls-Like game? Or something else entirely? Have you played this one? Let us know in the comments below!