Black Myth: Wukong Early Impressions Are Out Amid Review Guidelines Controversy

After a four-year wait since its 2020 announcement, Black Myth: Wukong has finally arrived, and initial reactions are largely positive. Read on for a summary of reviews and the surrounding controversy.

Black Myth: Wukong's Arrival

PC Exclusive (For Now)

Since its debut trailer in 2020, anticipation for Black Myth: Wukong has been immense. Early critical reception has been overwhelmingly favorable, with an 82 Metascore on Metacritic based on 54 reviews.

Reviewers praise the game's exceptional action gameplay, emphasizing its precise and engaging combat system, particularly its well-crafted boss battles. The stunning visuals and hidden secrets within its richly detailed world are also frequently cited as highlights.

Drawing inspiration from the classic Chinese tale, Journey to the West, the game's interpretation of Sun Wukong's adventures has been well-received. GamesRadar+, for example, described it as "a fun action RPG that feels like the modern God of War games viewed through the lens of Chinese mythology."

However, PCGamesN, while considering it a potential Game of the Year contender, noted some potential drawbacks shared by other reviews: subpar level design, uneven difficulty, and occasional technical glitches. The narrative structure, similar to older FromSoftware titles, requires players to actively piece together the story through item descriptions.

Importantly, all initial reviews are based on the PC version; console review copies haven't yet been distributed, leaving the PS5 performance currently unassessed.

Controversial Review Guidelines

(Image from SteamDB)

Controversy erupted over the weekend following reports that a co-publisher issued guidelines to streamers and reviewers. These guidelines allegedly included a list of "Do's and Don'ts," restricting discussion of topics such as "violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that instigates negative discourse."

This sparked heated debate online. One Twitter (X) user commented, "It is WILD to me that this actually made it out the door... creators casually signing this and not speaking up is just as wild, unfortunately just less surprising." Others, however, expressed no concern.

Despite this controversy, anticipation for Black Myth: Wukong remains high. It currently holds the top spot as both the best-selling and most wishlisted game on Steam before its release. While the lack of console reviews is a reservation for some, the game is poised for a significant launch.