The release of the action RPG Black Myth: Wukong is highly anticipated. It tops the list of most requested games on Steam. However, there is a heated debate about the title at the moment.
What is the current status? Shortly before the upcoming release of Black Myth: Wukong on August 20, 2024, many potential players are wondering whether the action RPG can keep up with the spectacular trailers or whether it falls more into the “graphics blender” category.
The first reviews for Black Myth: Wukong appeared on August 16th and are certainly promising: On Metacritic, the PC version received a good score of 82 from 54 critics. In general, there seems to be agreement that the action RPG doesn’t necessarily reinvent the wheel, but it does shine with tough fights and beautiful graphics.
Our colleagues at GameStar, however, already had the opportunity to try out Black Myth: Wukong.
Black Myth: Wukong: The final trailer for the action RPG from China
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Criticism of performance, gameplay and diversity
What kind of rating is that? Some users on social media are currently angry about a review by the entertainment website ScreenRant. There, Black Myth: Wukong received a rating of 3/5.
The fluid and fun combat, breathtaking cinematography and varied mechanics are highlighted positively. However, there are deductions for the performance, the repetitive gameplay and the lack of inclusion and diversity of the characters. In addition, the game world is not used effectively and offers few challenges apart from the bosses.
In her article, the author explained that she did not feel welcome in the game world as a woman. In the first 2 chapters, there are hardly any female NPCs or bosses. This also corresponds to allegedly sexist statements by the developers, which IGN reported on in November 2023.
Social media users complain about “woke gaming press”
What is the discussion? There are several threads on X discussing ScreenRant’s review, one of the largest with almost 475,000 views (via X). Critics accuse the author of allowing her personal political ideology to influence her review.
Supporters of the studio have rejected the accusations of sexist comments. Videos are also circulating showing that female opponents do appear as the game progresses.
It seems as if Black Myth: Wukong is becoming the subject of a culture war, like the one that recently raged around the PS5 exclusive Stellar Blade. A narrative is being used that Western games are being ruined by “woke” elements, while Asian games are flourishing without this supposedly imposed agenda. This was also evident in the discussion about the consulting firm Sweet Baby Inc.
To support this view, parts of the article are skillfully ignored or taken out of context: For example, it is claimed that the gaming press “hates” the game and is trying to “cancel” it because it does not correspond to their political ideologies.
In fact, as mentioned at the beginning, the ratings are overwhelmingly positive. Even ScreenRant’s 3/5 corresponds to a “very good” according to the website’s metrics.
The fact that this criticism only makes up a relatively small part of the article and the author emphasizes that the focus of her review is the gameplay is skillfully ignored.
Due to concerns about the author’s safety, ScreenRant has now removed her name from the article.
However, it should be said that these critical voices only represent a portion of the player base. On Reddit, many users are quite happy with a score in the 80s.
In the end, the opinion of the players will be the deciding factor. It will remain exciting until the release, when fans can finally get an idea of the action RPG for themselves. Until then, you can find everything about the release, playing time, benchmark tool and editions on MeinMMO