After about 20 hours of gameplay in Black Myth: Wukong (2024), the narrative finally revealed itself. On the back of a giant turtle after a fantastic fight that I will not spoil here (I endeavor not to spoil anything, don't worry.), I met a small, gruff, foul-mouthed warthog named Zhu Bajie, who wields a rake as his weapon of all things. Compared to the other cast members I have met on my journey, he’s the most entertaining I have encountered thus far. Bajie delivers some much-needed context to an otherwise empty narrative. He tells us that we, the silent player/protagonist, are not Wukong but rather a monkey of unknown origin known as the Destined One on a quest to resurrect or free (this is not entirely clear) the real Wukong.

I am sure those familiar with the source material have known this from the start, but the fact that I am finding this out now highlights one of my most significant criticisms of the game. For many, BMWK is the first time they will experience the story of Sun Wukong; this is especially true for Western audiences. BMWK never explains the main character’s motivations or place in the plot. The developers have consciously chosen to assume that their audience is familiar with the source material. I have even heard one commentator say that this game is not made for Western audiences but is strictly for Chinese audiences. They also insinuated that thinking otherwise somehow reflects the conscience of Western audiences and that everything is somehow made for them.

Now, as someone who is a fan of other cultures, Western and otherwise, I will not criticize another's pride in their culture or literary history; Chinese culture is fascinating and unexplored, and this game has whet my appetite for more. But, the last time I checked, it has also been heavily marketed to Western audiences. Thus, if you are taking my money and targeting me in your advertising, be prepared to receive criticism when I don’t like something. These assumptions and downright arrogance do not serve the game well.

But this is why our new friend, Bajie, is such a welcoming site. He fills in the gaping voids in the BMWK narrative and provides some actual purpose to our journey. The myriad bosses I have been fighting have started to make sense, and so have my actions, which have been ethically questionable until now. It is incredibly gratifying to know that all the murders I have committed thus far were to make the world a better place and were not just mindless bloodlust I was enthusiastically indulging in. In all, the mere presence of Bajie makes chapter 3 the standout segment of the game for me thus far.

Chapter 3 also delivers my favorite environment in video games: Snow! I am truly a sucker for snow in games. There’s something about the sparkle and luster that game engines give to snow that makes me want to go outside and frolic like a school kid. BMWK delivers blizzard levels of snow and ice in an impressive demonstration of what the Unreal engine can do. So very pretty.

Sadly, chapter 3’s map design suffers from the same listlessness as the preceding chapters. Throughout much of my playthrough thus far, most areas in the world of BMWK are simply there for the sake of being there. After exploring any area for a given amount of time, I always came away feeling like there was very little in these spaces besides looking at some impressive assets and gathering some foliage. Like the chapters before it, exploring Chapter 3’s area became a tedious and too often frustrating chore after an hour or so. I found myself craving a map or navigation aid of some kind so that I could finally move on.

The enemies you fight in these areas compound the tedium I experienced exploring BMWK. Most of the regular enemies you encounter are just not interesting to fight. I frequently relied on a jump-light attack followed by a jump-heavy attack combo to finish off most enemies. If I wanted to skip any particular section, I could also use Cloud Strike to turn invisible and walk past most enemies unnoticed or completely invulnerable.

The only time I felt challenged was during encounters where I was vastly outnumbered, and even these encounters could be overcome with the tried and true gaming strategies of kiting and selective pulling. Fighting any given enemy one-on-one is not a challenge unless they were an elite with a large health pool or a fast-paced move set. Still, sadly, these enemies would disappear from an area once defeated, making some areas a cakewalk once cleared. The exploration sections have been the real low point thus far.

Overall, chapter 3 is a welcome departure from constantly guessing what is going on in the narrative as I had to in other chapters. But much of the dullness of BMWK’s open world remains. Hopefully, chapter 4 will deliver more, and Bajie won't abandon me like the Keeper did.