Editor’s Be aware: Nvidia India supplied a Steam copy of Black Fantasy: Wukong to IGN India for this overview. We reviewed the sport on the Alienware m16 R2 laptop computer supplied by Dell India.
In case you are maintaining with the newest within the gaming world, you will have possible heard of Black Fantasy: Wukong, the online game sensation hailing from China. Or, on the very least, a couple of online game the place you play as a monkey making headlines for breaking Steam information or different questionable causes.
The sport was first revealed in 2020 with a fantastic trailer that shortly acquired the eye of online game lovers. Since then, common teasers and early gameplay movies continued to extend the sport’s hype. The spectacular visuals showcased in these previews helped generate a considerable buzz for the sport months, if not virtually a yr, earlier than its launch. This created a excessive expectation for Black Fantasy: Wukong as the primary premium providing from the Center Kingdom.
When the sport lastly launched on August 20, 2024, it largely met these expectations, with a record-setting variety of gamers diving into its world day by day.
A Cultural Big with Excessive Stakes
Developed and printed by Shenzhen-based Sport Science, Black Fantasy: Wukong is an motion role-playing sport the place you play because the Destined One, a monkey character based mostly on the culturally iconic determine of Solar Wukong from the Chinese language novel Journey to the West that was first printed within the sixteenth century. The attention-grabbing half is that the “West” right here refers to India. It’s based mostly on the real-life journey of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang (Tripitaka), who travelled to India to acquire Buddhist scriptures and convey them again to China.
The sport is undeniably important in at the moment’s cultural panorama, particularly in China. However the true query is: how good is it to play?
The very first thing you’ll discover — whether or not from screenshots or gameplay footage — Is that Black Fantasy: Wukong seems completely beautiful. The extent of element is astounding, from character designs and their apparel to weapons, surroundings, flora, fauna, and executives. It’s on par with something produced by the juggernauts of the West, Japan, or South Korea.
“Black Fantasy: Wukong seems completely beautiful. The extent of element is astounding.”
Nevertheless, in the event you anticipate to be taught every thing about this culturally vital novel by enjoying the sport, assume once more. The sport assumes a certain quantity of familiarity with the setting and the characters, which could confuse you typically. Nonetheless, it affords sufficient to drag you in and maybe encourage you to take a look at the lore of the Journey to the West by your self. I notably appreciated the intensive lore info accessible for every character within the in-game menu after encountering them.
A Boss-Rush Journey By means of Historical China
The story follows the Destined One’s quest to search out six relics scattered throughout China by Solar Wukong — sure, you don’t really play as Solar Wukong. The objective is to tackle his mantle by discovering these relics and reviving Wukong, who the Celestial Court docket has sealed for disobedience. That is, after all, a really simplified model of occasions, however that is the gist.
The gameplay entails back-to-back encounters with numerous bosses, making for a linear expertise. You’ll discover and transfer throughout totally different areas, battling minor enemies and dealing with off towards bosses, progressing by the story because the Destined One.
However Black Fantasy: Wukong does attempt to hold issues attention-grabbing. It options a number of bosses which are progressive in design, technique, and fight. Seeing a few of these bosses and the way the battles unfolded genuinely stunned me a number of occasions.
The sport is difficult and even brutal at occasions, particularly when dealing with sure bosses. Like different soulslike video games, you need to be taught enemy assault patterns, completely timing your dodges and assaults together with your workers whereas utilizing spells. In case you die, you’re despatched again to one of many shrines scattered throughout every space, serving as checkpoints.
After each chapter, Black Fantasy: Wukong options animated shorts in numerous artwork kinds which are superbly animated, voiced, and produced, together with a terrific soundtrack. These have been all the time a pleasant deal with on the finish of every of the six chapters.
Lacklustre Fight
Fight is the guts of Black Fantasy: Wukong, however that is the place I really feel the sport falters. I did discover hitting large, unhealthy guys with a stick fairly enjoyable. Nevertheless, the fight system lacks depth, providing solely mild and heavy assaults. Performing mild assaults or dodging completely builds “Focus,” which permits for extra highly effective strikes. Whereas intuitive and easy, this complete spiel can really feel repetitive. Spells do supply some selection, however the gameplay typically boils all the way down to utilizing your workers till your spells can be found once more after a cooldown. I want the sport had a extra assorted fight system.
“Fight is the guts of Black Fantasy: Wukong, however that is the place I really feel the sport falters.”
One other space the place the sport struggles is in its map design. The world of Black Fantasy: Wukong might seem huge, however the paths are linear, and there’s no in-game map. Invisible partitions are a frequent annoyance; you need to depend on psychological notes and old-school navigation. Whereas this strategy is commendable in idea, it’s irritating in apply, particularly when areas look related and there are inconsistencies — like having the ability to climb a small boulder in a single space however not in one other.
Through the preliminary advertising of the sport, Black Fantasy: Wukong was pegged as a title that would showcase the capabilities of Unreal Engine 5 (UE5). Now, after spending tens of hours enjoying the title, we are able to verify that UE5 is likely one of the major explanation why the sport shines within the visible division with detailed backgrounds. That can also be why we see extremely detailed backgrounds that seem accessible however will not be. On the technical facet, I favored that the sport supported upscaling and body era applied sciences from each Nvidia and AMD whereas nonetheless trying nice to the attention, even in low graphical settings.
Regardless of these flaws, Black Fantasy: Wukong is a crucial sport in 2024. It showcases what China can carry to the desk of AAA video games. With this title, the nation has positioned itself as a brand new participant within the AAA gaming house. The sport introduces the wealthy cultural heritage of Journey to the West — a novel as important to China because the Ramayana or Mahabharata are to India. The cultural affect is solely simple.
Nevertheless, as a lot as the sport does nicely in cultural illustration, it falls brief in vital gameplay elements. At a sure level, enjoying Black Fantasy: Wukong felt extra like a quest to see the sport by to the top for me than a real curiosity in its story.
“The sport introduces the wealthy cultural heritage of Journey to the West — a novel as important to China because the Ramayana or Mahabharata are to India.”
The “boss-rush” design of the sport means you face a collection of difficult boss battles consecutively, with the sport making you focus most of your time on mastering every encounter fairly than letting you discover or supply another gameplay components. The shortage of a robust fight system and a restricted world that solely seems huge diminishes the general expertise. I felt that Sport Science targeted closely on the massive and small particulars however didn’t give sufficient consideration to the essential components in between.
Black Fantasy: Wukong — Well worth the Cash?
In India, Black Fantasy: Wukong is priced at INR (₹) 3,599 for PC on Steam and the Epic Video games Retailer, and ₹3,999 for on the PlayStation Retailer. A Deluxe Version improve, together with some in-game gadgets, is accessible for a further ₹1,000. A separate free-to-download benchmark software can also be accessible, permitting PC avid gamers to test how the sport will carry out on their programs.
This worth is honest given the sport’s high quality, particularly since related AAA titles typically exceed ₹4,000. Past the standard, the sport has a lot to supply relating to the hours you possibly can make investments making an attempt to beat its many bosses.
It’s protected to say that Sport Science and, by extension, China have made their mark on this planet of video video games with Black Fantasy: Wukong. Whereas the sport excels in proudly showcasing and introducing the nation’s tradition to a worldwide viewers with a completely stunning and detail-ridden rendition of mythological China, it isn’t a full adaptation of Journey to the West in online game type. If battling boss after boss isn’t your factor, this sport may not be for you. In any other case, it has a lot to supply to the followers of the style. Nevertheless, the absence of some key components makes it fall in need of the distinctive expertise that Black Fantasy: Wukong can supply.