After an immersive 12 hours of gameplay in "Black Myth: Wukong", I’ve reached the third chapter. In this post, I aim to provide a rational discussion of the issues encountered in the game, and I welcome fellow players to share their thoughts in the comments.
Major Issues
Optimization Problems
One of the biggest concerns with "Black Myth: Wukong" is the game's optimization. Many players, including myself, have experienced frequent crashes and game freezes during the prologue, which severely hampers progress. This issue is particularly pronounced in the PS5 version, where players are forced to choose between graphics quality and frame rate, often leading to blurry visuals and an overall poor gaming experience. On the PC version, I played with a 2060s graphics card, and after some adjustments, the game ran relatively smoothly, although I’m unsure how it performs on higher-end GPUs.
Suggestion:
The development team should prioritize further optimizing the game, especially the prologue and the PS5 version, to enhance the overall player experience.
Excessive Invisible Walls
As a semi-open world game, exploration is a core gameplay element. Unfortunately, the game is riddled with invisible walls, with many seemingly accessible paths actually blocked. This significantly diminishes the joy of exploration. Every time I see a new path, I find myself doubting whether it’s actually traversable, which greatly hampers the experience.
Suggestion: To improve this, the developers could add a barrier effect near invisible walls that aligns with the game’s lore, signaling to players that these areas are inaccessible. A more complex improvement could involve adding physical obstacles to block these routes, though this would need to be carefully integrated into the world design.
Map Design Leading to Getting Lost
After the first chapter, the game’s map size expands significantly, particularly in the Black Wind Mountain area, which is 2-3 times larger. However, due to the game’s realistic art style, it becomes challenging for players to recognize paths they’ve already traveled, leading to a lot of unnecessary time spent searching for the correct route. This is in sharp contrast to the game’s otherwise fast-paced combat.
Suggestion: A potential solution would be to provide players with a hand-drawn map that gradually fills in as they explore. Additionally, the map could feature more distinct landmarks like towers or mountains. Introducing a "Golden Gaze" skill to highlight interactive areas and paths to bosses could also improve navigation.
Other Considerations
Lackluster Prologue Experience
The game’s opening prologue, particularly the battle with Erlang Shen, falls short of the expected epic feel, coming across more like a simple skirmish. The Four Heavenly Kings and other celestial soldiers almost fade into the background, and the fight itself feels underwhelming due to Erlang Shen's high resilience. Some of the dialogue also feels out of place, particularly Erlang Shen’s line, "Only I am worthy to duel him," which breaks immersion.
Suggestion:
While I don’t have specific ideas for improving this section, I hope other players can offer more constructive suggestions in the comments.
Level Design Needs Improvement
As a new AAA title from a Chinese studio, the level design in "Black Myth: Wukong" feels somewhat basic, with both main and side quests being relatively straightforward. However, considering this is the studio’s first large-scale project, this is understandable.
Suggestion: I hope the development team can refine the level design in future titles, offering players a more diverse and engaging experience.
Lack of Variety in Basic Attacks
Although players have access to three different staff stances, the basic attacks for each are nearly identical, making combat feel repetitive by the time you reach the third chapter.
Suggestion: Designing unique basic attacks for each stance could significantly enhance the combat diversity, though this would increase the development workload.
"Black Myth: Wukong" is an ambitious title with a lot of potential, but it’s clear that there are several areas where improvement is needed. From optimization issues to map design challenges, these elements detract from what could be a truly groundbreaking experience. I encourage the development team to take these critiques into consideration as they continue to refine the game. Fellow players, what have your experiences been like? Share your thoughts in the comments below!