Black Myth: Wukongnails the challenging action game experience in a lot of core regards, but one reasonably simple addition could highlight the game’s strengths and give the game a healthy dose of extra enjoyment. At the moment, plenty ofBlack Myth: Wukongplayers are still in the middle of its story, which can take a good chunk of time to complete thanks to bosses that don’t go down on the first try. Throw in plenty of secret areas to find and additional enemies to fight, and there’s a lot more to do than just run straight to the end.
After finishingBlack Myth: Wukong, it’s possible to start up a subsequent playthrough in theNew Game Plus modeor jump back into the same file and go hunting for hidden content. Both of these options can be fun, but they can also become exhausting after completing the main story. Experiencing new content or facing off against the game’s best foes once more requires running through many of the same areas again, andsome stretches of the levels start to feel monotonouseven on the first playthrough.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Great Bosses Highlight The Game’s Biggest Problem
The climactic heights of Black Myth: Wukong are incredibly high, but they make the weak points seem even more disappointing by comparison.
Black Myth: Wukong Needs A Boss Rush Mode
Revisiting The Game’s Challenges Should Be More Convenient
The best part ofBlack Myth: Wukongis the boss fights, andadding a boss rush mode to the game would make it possible to relive those peaks without having to trudge through everything else. In some parts, the standard game can already feel like a boss rush, with short, simple segments between frequent boss fights doing little to break up the pace of the encounters. In areas like Chapter Three, however, there’s way too much in between to focus on the thrill of the best fights.
A boss rush mode would significantly reduce the hassle of revisiting memorable showdowns after besting the Destined One’s opponents, and it would make hopping back into the game for a bit of action a lot more appealing. Like any hard action games,Black Myth: Wukongforces players who struggle at the start to be a lot better at the game by the time they finish it, and earlychallenges like the Whiteclad Noblemight not seem so bad after fighting some of the late-game optional bosses that show absolutely no mercy.
Some ofBlack Myth: Wukong’s hardest bosses are a lot easier to fight with secret items on hand, so it’s worth exploring the game thoroughly.
Checking back in on bosses without any fluff would help cement the sense of accomplishment from learning mechanics and mastering dodges. When it comes to the hardest challengers, a boss rush would be a good way for players who got lucky on an earlier run to genuinely master the fights. There’s a big difference between being able to kill a boss one time out of ten versus consistently successful performance, anda boss rush is the only real way to facilitate that kind of training.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Final Boss Punishes Players In The Cheekiest Way Imaginable
Black Myth: Wukong’s final boss fight comes with a unique set of challenges, and one element of the fight is as memorable as it is punishing.
Part of what makes boss rush modes so appealing in the modern age is the significant increase in the average length of an action game, andBlack Myth: Wukongis no exception. If the game was a 10-20 hour experience on the first go-round, jumping back in would be tempting, but it’s more likely to end up in the 30-40 hour range. That time can certainly be shaved down in replays, but it’s still a huge commitment to experience the highlights again, and it’s hard to justify when most other AAA games are asking for similar amounts of time.
Sekiro Proves How Good Boss Rushes Can Be
The Gauntlets Of Strength Are A Perfect Model
There’s good precedent forBlack Myth: Wukongto add a boss rush in an update, as other games have taken that approach before.The best analogue can be found inSekiro, which received a free update in celebration of its various Game of the Year awards. Compartmentalized into three different Gauntlets of Strength that then unlock a comprehensive gauntlet after completion,the boss rush mode makes it easy to work on true perfection of timing in a game that demands excellence across the board.
Sekiro’s Gauntlets of Strength feature variant versions of a few boss fights, a nice bonus that wouldn’t be strictly necessary for a boss rush mode inBlack Myth: Wukong.
Boss rush modes aren’t an expected standard for every challenging action game, and evenElden Ringis still missing anything of the sort after receiving multiple major updates and the huge expansionShadow of the Erdtree.It’s hard to think of a game more suited for it thanBlack Myth: Wukong, however, which is even more skewed toward bosses thanSekirois but lacks the mobility options to rush through levels as quickly as the speed provided bySekiro’s grappling hook.
Even After DLC, Elden Ring Is Still Missing An Important Game Mode
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is a brilliant expansion that adds so much to the base game, but it could still do with another game mode.
Black Myth: Wukong Can Take Its Time With Updates
Late Is Better Than Never
A boss rush mode forBlack Myth: Wukongdoesn’t need to come especially soon, as it’s perfectly fine for the team behind the game to spend the time after its launch focusing on bug fixes and celebrating the game’s success.A similar Game of the Year update could be a good opportunity for the addition, however, asBlack Myth: Wukongdefinitely stands a chance of picking up the title from at least an outlet or two. It could also be bundled in with the later addition of DLC, and the game has some good opportunities for expansions.
Whatever direction developer GameScience might end up taking with futureupdates forBlack Myth: Wukong, the game could certainly benefit from some additions, and its strengths are appealing enough to make the idea of returning for new content appealing. If GameScience does simply decide to move on, the studio’s next title should also have an enormous amount of potential thanks to the lessons learned in developing the game. Before that happens, though, it’s hard to think of any new material forBlack Myth: Wukongthat would be much more appealing than a boss rush mode.
Editor’s Note: The studio behindBlack Myth: Wukong, GameScience, has previously been accused of fostering a toxic environment for its workers. The 2023 allegations include sexualized comments against women, misogyny, fatphobia, and more. More details can be foundhere.
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG game from the developers at GameScience. Based on the original Chinese novelJourney to the West,players take on the role of Sun Wukong, a legendary monkey warrior who fights against mythical beasts and beings to save his world.
