Black Myth: Wukong

Black Myth: Wukong (黑神话：悟空) is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Game Science. It is inspired by the 16th-century classical Chinese novel Journey to the West. It is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5 and Windows on August 20, 2024, with an Xbox Series X/S version slated for a later release.

The game is reportedly the first installment in an expected Black Myth series, which will explore different stories in Chinese mythology.

Gameplay
Black Myth: Wukong is an action role-playing game. It has sometimes been described as similar to soulslike games in the media during the pre-release, even though Game Science does not consider it as soulslike. It is inspired by the classical Chinese novel Journey to the West.

The player controls a monkey referred to as the Destined One, who is based on Sun Wukong from the novel. The character's primary weapon is a staff known as the Ruyi Jingu Bang. The player can make use of the character's various abilities and spells, including transformation spells that change the character into a different creature or being. One of the transformations is Guangzhi, a wolfman who wields a fire glaive. The game has a skill tree to upgrade the character.

The game follows a mostly linear progression interspersed with larger areas. The enemies come as the various yaoguai encountered throughout the world.

Soundtrack
The game has been authorized by the China Central Television to use the theme song from its 1986 TV series Journey to the West.

Marketing
On August 20, 2020, the developer Game Science released a trailer comprising gameplay in the pre-alpha build. It demonstrates the game on Unreal Engine 4. It shows a montage of the protagonist venturing through the world and fighting various foes. Within one day, the video had nearly two million views on YouTube and ten million views on Bilibili. The game had been in development for about two years by the time the video released.

On February 8, 2021, Game Science released a promotional video in celebration of the upcoming year of the ox. The footage does not represent the game's plot, but it gives a look to its visuals.

On August 19, 2021, Game Science released an Unreal Engine 5 gameplay trailer. It revealed that they made the move to develop the game on Unreal Engine 5.

As of June 2024, the game is the most wishlisted on Steam according to SteamDB.

Release
In a 2020 interview with IGN China, Game Science said that they planned to release the game no less than three years from then. They aim to release the game for PC as well as mainstream consoles. In January 2023, they released a short film for the upcoming year of the rabbit, which revealed that the game would be released in the summer of 2024.

At The Game Awards 2023, Game Science released a trailer announcing the game's release date as August 20, 2024. In June 2024, they announced that the Xbox Series X/S version was delayed for optimization on the platform.

On release, the game will come in four editions: Standard Edition, Digital Deluxe Edition, Deluxe Edition, and Collector's Edition. The latter three editions will come with in-game bonus content and a digital soundtrack, which are the same across these editions. The in-game bonus content comprise the Bronzecloud Staff, Folk Opera Mask, Folk Opera Almsgiving Armor, Folk Opera Leather Bracers, Folk Opera Buskins, and Wind Chimes. All pre-orders of any edition come with the in-game content Trailblazer's Scarlet Gourd, but this can also be obtained through in-game progression. The two physical editions—the Deluxe Edition and the Collector's Edition—will come with physical collectibles, but do not contain a physical disc. Instead, both physical editions will come with an activation code for the Digital Deluxe Edition on WeGame for JD.com purchases or Steam for overseas purchases. Game Science stated that they are exploring options to offer physical discs, but that limitations in offline resources have made it difficult to offer physical discs simultaneously with the release.