Black Myth: Wukongis an expansive action game experience, but not every idea that was considered for inclusion actually made it into the game. With a basis in the lengthy novelJourney to the West, it’s not surprising that the game couldn’t pack in every potentially interesting concept, especially when focusing on a high level of quality for the presentation of what did make the cut. Even so, it would be nice for some ideas to come back in the future, and after the game’s success, that definitely seems possible.
The biggest difference betweenBlack Myth: Wukongand a lot ofJourney to the Westadaptations comes from the game’s timeline, which sets it hundreds of years after the story’s original events. Instead of following the original Monkey King Sun Wukong’s story,Black Myth: Wukongfocuses on acharacter called the Destined Onewith an uncanny resemblance to Wukong.The change in approach frees the game to embrace an evolved story ofJourney to the West’s aftermath, but it also skirts some potential struggles that might have arisen from adapting the original source directly.
Black Myth: Wukong Is Exactly Like Elden Ring In One Cool Way
Black Myth: Wukong doesn’t stick to the soulslike formula in a lot of key regards, but one key similarity goes way beyond gameplay mechanics.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Cut Content Sounds Fantastic
Some Ambitious Ideas Didn’t Quite Work Out
Reddit userExaminationAsleep122shared some scrapped concepts fromBlack Myth: Wukong’s development, translating excerpts from an interview with the production team available onSouthcn.comand a “suspected leaked plot” from a post on the Chinese forum site Baidu Tieba.One notable standout from the interview is the removal of a massive battle between Wukong and 100,000 celestial soldiers in the game’s prologue, which sounds epic in scale but proved too challenging to implement well. The game instead opted for a duel between Wukong and Erlang Shen, a powerful fighter and the nephew of the Jade Emperor.
Some other interesting concepts that likewise faced the chopping block would have appeared in later chapters of the game. A fight on the back of a giant turtle was originally intended to lean into the set piece’s strengths, with the physics of the scenario playing into the battle itself.Another scene with a swarm of spiders had an iteration where the Destined One turned into a spider himselfand had to flee across the spider silk on the walls of a cave. Neither concept was fully cut from the game, but they were ultimately implemented in a reduced fashion.
Black Myth: Wukong Final Boss & Ending Explained (In Detail)
Black Myth: Wukong has a confusing story up to the very end. Here’s what happens in its final chapters, depending on choices and completion.
Although the leaked plot has to be taken with a grain of salt compared to the direct comments from the developers, it also includes some interesting notes.This draft of the game allegedly featured 15 chapters, a sum that dwarfs thesix chapters that made itinto the final version ofBlack Myth: Wukong.At this point, it seems like a number of chapters were designed to be smaller in scale, and the final version combines some ideas from multiple chapters into longer endeavors.
Cut Content Would Make Great Black Myth: Wukong DLC
The Game’s Story Might Not Yet Be Over
It makes sense why some of the scrapped ideas just weren’t feasible to pull off in game, and the final approach does generally make sense. While Wukong fighting 100,000 celestial soldiers would have exemplified his power well,Journey to the Westestablishes Erlang as a more troublesome foe for the Monkey King than entire armies of heaven are, so the final version still checks out.
Can You Keep Playing Black Myth: Wukong After Beating The Game?
Black Myth: Wukong has plenty of optional content for players to engage with, but can they keep playing the game after it’s ended to finish it all up?
At the same time, some of the mentioned content would have been fantastic to see in the game, andBlack Myth: WukongDLC feels like the perfect way to cover some of what didn’t make the cut. An expansion could focus solely on Wukong’s battles with heavenly forces or fill in gaps in the Destined One’s journey. The way thegame leaps between chaptersoffers plenty of room to insert new material without throwing the story terribly out of balance, and the leaked early plot contains a number of characters that would fit the bill.
Reading journal entries can help to contextualize the characters and story inBlack Myth: Wukong.
For now, there’s plenty to discover in the launch version ofBlack Myth: Wukong, with a strong selection of hidden areas and bosses helping to spruce up mostly linear levels. If DLC does come later on, it would be a nice bow on top of an already reasonably complete package, and it doesn’t sound like the team behind the game would be short on ideas for aBlack Myth: Wukongexpansion.
Editor’s Note: The studio behindBlack Myth: Wukong,GameScience, has previously been accused of fostering a toxic environment for its workers. The 2023 allegations include sexualized comments against women, misogyny, fatphobia, and more. More details can be foundhere.
