I admit that playing an action-adventure game right now was not on my radar, nor did I desire to do so. Memorizing button combos and slogging through skill trees isn’t something wanted at the moment. But Black Myth: Wukong (2024) (BMWK) has been such a success that it demands attention, even from gamers who do not specialize in the genre. BMWK peaked on its launch day at 2.4 million players and has 1.1 million concurrent players at the time of writing. So, my interests have been piqued, and I guess I am diving into Chinese mythology for the rest of the week.

Getting BMWK to run was the first hurdle I had to overcome, as the game requires a lot of resources and is also not Steam Deck-friendly. You can get it to run on the Steam Deck, but not very well. With all settings on low and FSR enabled, a stable frame rate is possible, but the visual degradation that results isn’t worth the effort. I also tried to run BMWK on my wife’s computer, running a 3090ti, and I encountered similar issues in achieving a stable frame rate.

I had to use my main gaming rig with a 4090 to get an acceptable frame rate and visual fidelity that would keep my attention. With all settings on Cinematic and DLSS enabled, BMWK runs around 130 fps and looks spectacular. The terrain and enemies are beautiful, and the frame rates serve the combat well, save for a few loading stutters when entering new areas.

Getting acclimated to BMWK’s world is an organic experience. Aside from the occasional pop-up tutorial text, this isn’t a game that wants to hold your hand. There is no mini-map or menu map. There are fast travel points at the shrines that serve as the game’s bonfire system, similar to souls-like games. A sparkling golden trail appears when a shrine is close, but this is too infrequent to be considered anything more than a highway sign alerting you to the nearest rest stop.

Having no map means that players must rely on their memory and familiarity with the terrain to navigate. Despite the lack of aids to help navigate, I have yet to feel lost wandering around BMWK's environs. Every area feels unique and personal. I have yet to experience disorientation when connecting one location to another.

Like how Elden Ring (2022) did away with HUD elements, I get the sense that the BMWK developers want their world to speak for itself, knowing that things like a mini-map or compass would only get in the way. A more extensive discussion needs to happen concerning the willingness of developers to trust the players enough to let them explore on their own. Still, regarding BMWK’s approach to exploration, the result is a fascinating immersive experience in which I feel compelled to wander around and explore every beautiful corner I can find.