Ahead of its launch, Black Myth: Wukong hasn’t escaped the ever-expanding genre tag of “soulslike,” which refers to anything that takes obvious inspiration from FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. Black Myth: Wukong isn’t particularly close to that style, bearing more resemblance to FromSoft’s Sekiro or a more approachable action game like God of War, but the comparison isn’t without merit. Whether it comes particularly close to that standard of difficulty is a slightly more complicated question, although drawing some lines of comparison clears up the essential similarities and differences.
Boss Fights In Black Myth: Wukong Can Be Tough
Climactic Fights Aren’t That Easy
The main focus of Black Myth: Wukong‘s difficulty is its boss fights, which occur frequently throughout the game. Bosses generally have a lot of health, varied movesets, and powerful attacks, intensifying and often adding new complexities when they reach low levels of health or a second phase. Most aren’t difficult to learn on a basic level, with clearly telegraphed moves that prevent strong opportunities for dodging, but making mistakes can still be costly.
Black Myth: Wukong‘s harder bosses can feel comparable to encounters in games like Elden Ring, and later in the game, some match the difficulty of Elden Ring‘s hardest foes and similar challenges. Although conquering bosses can require iteration and sometimes frustration, Black Myth: Wukong‘s combination of straightforward mechanics and reasonably generous timing means that it usually only takes a try or two to start gaining confidence. Deaths often occur when bosses are bringing out their most vicious moves at the end of a fight, some of which can be difficult to consistently avoid.
Outside of boss fights, the rest of Black Myth: Wukong isn’t notably difficult. Segments of its levels occasionally feature aggressive enemy lineups, but they feel closer in difficulty to a standard action game experience than the consistent punishment found in many soulslikes. It’s possible to run past most enemies in a pinch, although it’s better to fight in most situations to gain rewards and experience. Certain mini-bosses can be a bit tricky, but the majority don’t provide too much of a threat.
There’s no punishment for death in Black Myth: Wukong besides resetting to the last checkpoint location, and no currency or resources are dropped.
Does Black Myth: Wukong Have Difficulty Settings?
A Straightforward Approach Focuses On One Experience
The biggest thing to know about Black Myth: Wukong‘s difficulty is that it doesn’t feature difficulty settings, presenting a universal level of challenge that can’t be adjusted with a toggle. Although some bosses can be harder than others, this singular difficulty level does feel mostly well-honed, with the most difficult obstacle coming from how little damage the Destined One tends to do with standard strikes against powerful bosses.
It’s never necessary to grind in Black Myth: Wukong, but its approach to progression does reward thorough play with the potential to improve stats and abilities. Armor and weapons that offer mostly linear upgrades can be crafted, and experience earned can power up spells, weapon stances, and more. If a boss is proving particularly tricky, medicines with effects like increasing damage and resistance can be crafted with basic ingredients, and it’s possible to take multiple different medicines at once and receive all the effects.
Black Myth: Wukong ultimately isn’t for the faint of heart, and the lack of difficulty settings means it could be a step-up in challenge for those used to playing typical action games on Easy or Normal. Soulslike veterans, on the other hand, shouldn’t be as surprised by the difficulty of the contents found within. Black Myth: Wukong is definitely harder than the average game, but most of its challenges don’t seem like they’re aiming to feel insurmountable.
