Game Science’s highly anticipated 2024 video game, Black Myth: Wukongis based on one of the most popular stories in Chinese mythology.
Black Myth: Wukong drops players into a fantastical Asian landscape where they play as an anthropomorphic monkey known as the Destined One. Despite the lack of early PS5 reviews, the game has been well received on PC, achieving a Metacritic score of 81.
The action role-playing game utilizes the soul-like genre in its gameplay, but for its story, it is steeped in culture and history, presented in one of China’s most classic stories. Journey to the West.
What is the story of Journey to the West?
Journey to the West first published in China in the 16th century, it has become one of the most famous and beloved stories in East Asia.
The premise of the story is the pilgrimage of monk Tang Sanzang as he ventures to the western regions to find sacred Buddhist scriptures and faces a series of trials and tribulations along the way.
The monk is assisted on his journey by three disciples. Zhu Bajie, simplified to “pig” in English, was an immortal commander who was reborn in a sow’s womb due to a mistake in the reincarnation wheel, making him a pig-human hybrid.
Sha Wujing, translated as “sand”, was a celestial who was banished to the mortal world and made to look like a sandman when he accidentally broke a goblet belonging to the Queen Mother of the West.
The trio is completed by Sun Wukong, aka “monkey” or Monkey King, the most famous of the three and the character with the most importance in terms of the story. Black Myth: Wukong.
In short, Sun Wukong was a monkey who sought immortality and was taught the 72 Heavenly Transformation Methods by the Bodhi Grandmaster.
He was a frequent miscreant among those in heaven, stealing their immortal rewards in his quest for eternal life. His teachings and expertise in Martial Arts and Magic also made him extremely powerful, and when the Heaven Gods tried to stop him, he was able to fight against 100,000 of his Heavenly Soldiers.
The Jade Emperor eventually appealed to the Buddha to subdue him, which resulted in Sun Wukong being sealed in a mountain for 500 years until Sang Tanzang released him and joined the pilgrimage.
The Monkey King aids the monk in his quest with his iconic staff, the Ruyi Jingu Bang, which can be shrunk and enlarged to seismic proportions and weighs 17,550 pounds, which Sun Wukong can handle with ease.
Journey to the West Contains 100 chapters where Sun Wukong and his companions primarily help defend Sang Tanzang from various enemies and monsters known as “Yaoguai”.
The story ends with the monk receiving the scriptures from the Buddha and the deity offering blessings to the group, resulting in Sun Wukong attaining Buddhism.
Journey to the West is a story that has inspired many adaptations over the years, including the 2009 video game, Enslaved: An Odyssey to the Westpopular anime series Dragon Ball and now Black Myth: Wukong.
How the Journey to the West is Utilized in Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong comes from Chinese developer Game Science, and as one of the first major AAA games from China, it seems fitting that the team decided to adapt one of the country’s most popular myths. Some reviewers have even described the game as ” God of War to Chinese mythology”.
However, Black Myth: Wukong does not do a simple copy and paste Journey to the West. Instead, the story takes place after the events of the novel and follows what happens to Sun Wukong after he attains enlightenment.
In this story, Sun Wukong repels immortality, which angers the heavenly court and leads to the Monkey King’s defeat and sealing in the stone.
Before his death, Sun Wukong shares his powers with six relics hidden throughout China, and players like the Destined One are tasked with recovering these artifacts in an attempt to free the legendary figure.
Divided into six episodes, Black Myth: Wukong takes players on a journey where they encounter, recruit and fight many of the same characters Journey to the Westsuch as Zhu Bajie, Yellow Wind Sage, Black Bear Guai, and Bull Demon King.
Like the Monkey King, the Destined One also wields a size-changing wand like the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and has the ability to cast spells and shapeshift into various creatures.
So, when Black Myth: Wukong is not an exact match Journey to the Westit’s helpful to know the basics of the classic story to get an understanding of what’s going on in the game.
Black Myth: Wukong is now playable on PC and PS5.
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