Black Myth: Wukong has released another live gameplay demo and offered hands-on experiences, once again causing a stir among Chinese gamers. For them, this game has reached an almost "biblical" level of anticipation. Despite facing accusations from IGN and extortion attempts from SBI (unverified), the game continues to march confidently towards its lofty goals, proving its resilience and solid craftsmanship. Chinese gamers are even joking, "We can open the champagne for TGA (The Game Awards) early."

Today, let's set aside the various "rumors" surrounding Black Myth: Wukong and focus on the game's content to see how it measures up.

Character Development

Unlike traditional Souls-like games that enhance attributes through leveling up, Black Myth leans towards constructing different builds through equipment and skills. By battling various new bosses to unlock skills and gear, players can create their preferred combat styles with different combinations, such as increased sprint speed or weapon energy accumulation.

The game features an "affix" system for equipment, and completing equipment sets unlocks additional attributes. During the closed beta, players noted that while set bonuses influenced combat, the core action combat system remained prominent. It still required players to familiarize themselves with boss mechanics and game systems to overcome challenges.

Storyline

For Chinese players, much of the storyline is already ingrained in their DNA, as Black Myth aims to narrate the hidden stories behind "Journey to the West." Non-Chinese players might face some understanding barriers. However, similar to most Souls-like games, understanding the plot and side stories often requires collecting various small items scattered across the map. Even Chinese players, after the closed beta, reported some confusion. For players from other countries, fully grasping the game's backstory might be quite challenging.

Game Pacing

Like most Souls-like games, the focus remains on boss battles. The smaller enemies between boss fights help regulate the player's pace and each has unique characteristics. The developers previously revealed that there would be over 100 bosses corresponding to the "Eighty-One Trials" in Journey to the West. After experiencing the closed beta and live demos, it seems this vast number of bosses is not just a boast.

In summary, this game indeed possesses the quality to compete with today's AAA titles. For Chinese gamers, it represents a game closest to the global stage, and they are extremely excited about it. However, based on current information, for international players to fully immerse themselves in the game, cultural barriers seem to be a significant challenge. Whether the developers can address this issue effectively will soon be revealed with the game's official release.