Black Myth: Wukong on Xbox Series X/S – Everything You Need to Know

by

The standout game of 2024 was undoubtedly “Black Myth: Wukong”. Developed by Game Science, it debuted in August on PS5 and PC to incredible success, surpassing 20 million sales within its first month. It’s been widely praised critically, and on Steam, it currently boasts an Overwhelmingly Positive rating based on close to 850,000 user reviews. Not surprisingly, it also had one of the most successful launches in Steam’s history.

With that thought in mind, the version of Black Myth: Wukong for Xbox Series X/S, which was delayed to ensure a more polished experience, has been something of an enigma. Fortunately, it’s set to launch on August 20th on this platform, giving Xbox players the chance to embark on the legendary adventure in person. Here’s what you should know about Black Myth: Wukong before diving in, including details about its post-launch enhancements.

Gameplay Loop

Essentially, Wukong embodies an action role-playing game, inviting players to traverse diverse landscapes and engage in combats against numerous enemies, including bosses. The crux of combat revolves around evading attacks, stunning adversaries with a staff until they succumb, while offering a variety of techniques for victory. Despite incorporating some Souls-like elements, the gameplay style is predominantly reminiscent of an action-adventure title that emphasizes character development.

Exploration

The narrative unfolds across various Chapters, each situated in unique, magical locales. Your adventure initiates at Black Wind Mountain, where you get acclimated to the game mechanics in a relatively structured manner. Soon enough, however, your options become more diverse, offering multiple routes, combat engagements (optional), interactions with Non-Player Characters, and even additional missions to undertake. Although it’s not an open world per se, the course of the story can change based on the completed side content you’ve engaged in.

Hidden Areas

In the course of its storyline, Wukong conceals numerous secret locations for you to uncover. Each one presents distinct hurdles, and it’s essential to search them out to possibly acquire superior gear or progress in levels, which can enhance your chances of survival. However, they also lead to intriguing revelations along the way.

Stances

In the game, Wukong primarily uses one weapon and possesses three distinct fighting styles: Smash, Pillar, and Thrust. The Smash style is best for close-combat, while Pillar offers defense and extended reach, and Thrust provides the most range. Each style has unique combos and is also characterized by its heavy attack. For instance, in Pillar Stance, you can climb onto the staff to dodge attacks and deliver a powerful strike upon descent. On the other hand, Smash Stance allows for charging up your heavy attack while moving. Each fighting style has its own skill tree for further enhancement of techniques. Additionally, the equipped stance determines the available counterattack options.

Focus

Improving concentration can dramatically enhance Heavy Attacks, making them much stronger. This focus is earned by landing successful Light Attacks. Once enough focus is accumulated, you can release a significantly more powerful Smash stance Heavy, ascend higher on your staff with Pillar Stance, and extend the reach of Thrust Stance’s Heavy Attack. As you advance, opportunities arise for boosting the maximum amount of focus you can have.

Spells

Absolutely, there are also magical abilities, categorized into four main branches: Mysticism, Alteration, Strands, and Transformations. The Mysticism branch encompasses spells such as Immobilize, which momentarily freezes foes in their tracks; the Alteration category includes abilities like Rock Solid, where Wukong can transform himself into a rock to deflect blows; and Strands offer you the power to generate clones for attacking enemies.

Transformations

In simpler terms, transformations are something unique and not ordinary. You can obtain them after defeating certain bosses, which enables Wukong to assume their form for a temporary duration (the length of which depends on his Might). Several enhancements can boost attack power, maximum Might level, and even slow down the rate at which Might depletes, thus extending the period he remains transformed.

Spirit Skills

Instead of Transformations, there are Spirit Skills that require Qi and can be enhanced independently using unique materials and currency. Unlike Transformations which last for a certain period, these skills are brief but offer a diverse array of offensive moves and passive perks. Alongside Transformations, they also offer the opportunity to use various weapons other than staffs.

Armor Sets and Weapons

In keeping with traditional action RPG style, Wukong features various armor sets and weapons across the game, each with distinct rarities and passive abilities. Many of these items can be crafted, providing perks such as enhanced Light Attack combo finalizers, boosted damage for certain Stance-related moves, and benefits like healing while sprinting. Moreover, higher rarity items offer increased attack power and defense.

Boss Fights

Without a doubt, what attracts players most to this game is the intense encounters with various bosses, earning it the reputation as a “boss battle” type game. In total, there are numerous bosses to face, some of which are optional, while others are essential for advancing the storyline. Rest assured, I’ll avoid spoilers, but the impressive visual presentation, distinctive movesets, and the strategic challenges involved in defeating them make this game an exceptional value.

Return of Rivals

A game that primarily features boss battles should provide an option for re-fighting defeated enemies, and fortunately, Game Science has made this possible. In a post-release update, the Return of Rivals feature will be included with the Xbox Series X/S version at launch, enabling you to engage a previously vanquished boss again. To access these enemies, you must first defeat them during your adventure, and you can choose from three different levels of difficulty when re-entering a battle.

Gauntlet of Legends

Instead of Gauntlet of Legends, let’s call it the Classic Boss Challenge mode instead. This mode is structured into several distinct phases, each featuring unique bosses. Completing each phase rewards you with items, materials, and even superior prizes. For those seeking a tougher challenge, there are optional curses that can be activated. These curses might include your Gourd not recharging after defeating a boss, increased dodge costs, and other such difficulties.

Journeyer’s Chart

As a gamer, when Wukong initially dropped, one frequent complaint I heard was the absence of a world map, making exploration feel like a frustrating back-and-forth in the game’s environment. Thankfully, the Journeyer’s Chart was introduced post-launch to address this issue. Now, you can pick up a fresh one in each region, and not only do they offer a bird’s eye view of the area, but they’re also handy for keeping tabs on your current location as you traverse through the game world.

60 FPS+ on Xbox Series X/S

As a devoted fan, I can’t hide my excitement about Black Myth: Wukong, but I must admit that there’s been a delay for its release on Xbox Series X/S. The reason behind this, as Game Science has explained in an official FAQ, is due to some tricky optimization challenges, particularly with the Series S. There are rumors swirling about timed exclusivity reasons too, but nothing’s been officially confirmed yet.

The team at Game Science admitted that tackling these issues wasn’t a walk in the park, especially while maintaining the high-quality experience we fans expect. However, they managed to complete this challenging mission within the first year of the game’s release, which is great news!

Although no specific details about resolution or frame rate have been revealed, the Xbox Store listing does confirm that Black Myth: Wukong will run at a smooth 60 FPS on Xbox Series X/S. I can hardly wait to dive back into this incredible game once it’s officially released!

Playtime

If you’re a novice or an old hand, playing Wukong is quite a considerable journey. On average, finishing the main story takes around 38 to 39 hours, but if you explore all side content, it could stretch up to 48 hours. For those who like to complete every detail, it might take approximately 67 hours. Additionally, the boss rematch and boss rush modes aren’t included in that time. If you wish, you can opt for a New Game Plus run, where you keep your levels, equipment, and spells while facing tougher enemies and potentially unlocking new abilities.

Read More

2025-08-07 18:00