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Black Myth: Wukong trailer is awesome
🕑 Added 2020-08-22 17:26:19 +0000 UTCI especially LOVE that the game atmosphere has a strong Seikro: Shadow Die Twice vibe to it, in the sense that it's a darker and edgier, but still highly faithful reimagining of myths and legends.
The game title ("Black Myth" seems to be a spin of "Black History", a phrase originated from Turn A Gundam, which refers to an uncomfortable truth that was sealed away) heavily hints that this is a dark/alternate retelling of a post-Journey to the West world. The player character is either a disgraced Sun Wukong (with his identity and equipment stolen by a pretender), or Sun Wukong's descendant/clone/successor. Either way, I think this is a good decision from a game design perspective, as it allows the player character to start out weaker (and unlocks new equipment/powers otherwise not found in the novel) without explicitly going against the source novel.
(Which one is the real Sun Wukong? The ragged monkey monk or the armoured monkey king?)
By the way, if you are not familiar with the source material, I've got a good site to recommend to you: Journey to the West Research.
Random thoughs on various curiosities in the trailer
The Golden Cicada
I don't recall Sun Wukong ever transforms into a cicada in the source novel (although he had transformed into other insects before, so this is well within his capabilities). This transformation is a reference to one "golden cicada sheds its shell", one of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, and hints that maybe this Sun Wukong barely escaped from some bad event in his past.
Interestingly, Sun Wukong's master Tang Sanzang/Tripitaka is the earthly reincaranation of Golden Cicada.
Wolf miniboss and his flaming double spear
There isn't much to talk about the miniboss as he is an original character. However, his flaming spear, which is the first (and only) weapon acquired by the player character, is named "Red Tides (赤潮)". This is a reference to another game from the same developers known as Art of War: Red Tides.
Big-headed Demon
Probably the first monster to invoke an "oh sh*t" moment from the watcher. I bet you twenty bucks that this monster is literally called Big-headed Demon (yes, that's likely his actual name).
Tudigong (土地公)
Tudigong, or "God of soil-ground" , is a widely worshipped god among Daoists and practitioners of Chinese folk religion. In Journey to the West however, Tudigong is about the lowest ranked god in the divine hierachy, and there are probably a dozen of them around.
It's interesting to see that the developers decided to dress Tudigong in blue robe, rather than the usual yellow robe. In Chinese folk religion, Tudigong is often colour-coded according to his rank or element. A blue-robed Tudigong can be either a village-level deity or guardian of a burial ground, depending on who you ask.
"Hulk mode"
Personally I am not particularly fond of this transformation (IMO the devs should let him keep the quarterstaff in his transformed state at the very least). While it seems logical that Sun Wukong, being a monster himself, has access to some kind of "primal form", he actually never use anything like that in the source novel.
Linxuzi (靈虛子)
A.K.A the fluffy wolf boss in the trailer. The boss fight reminds me of one of the battles in Resident Evil 3 Remake, as well as Guardian Ape in Sekiro. Still cool for a demo boss though.
Blowing his fur to create minions
I saw many YouTubers screaming "Shadow Clone Technique" in their reaction videos, only to be corrected in the comment section. This is by far the most faithful reimagination of Sun Wukong's ability, so I am hyped to see more.
Four Heavenly Kings
Yeah, these giants are Four Heavenly Kings alright (although one of them is offscreen). That giant umbrella immediately gives away their identity.
Flying nimbus and white dragon
Flying nimbus and dragons are par of the course in a video game centred around Sun Wukong, so I am not the least bit surprised. What catches my attention in this scene is the breathtakingly beautiful scenery. FINALLY I get to witness the majesty of China's grand scenery, made by someone who actually GETS it, in all its video game glory.
Wreacking havoc in heaven
This part equally reminds me of the Sakura Dragon boss fight in Sekiro as well as Dynasty Warriors. It's interesting to see that the mooks are wearing what appear to be Western-style plate armours.
Floating celestial stole
I guess anyone can tell that this guy is no ordinary drunkard or storyteller, but the celestial stole hints that he is most likely one of the divine or immortals. No idea on his actual identity though.
Comments
GreatMingMilitary
The lesser-know periods are difficult to advertise though.
Lancelot
folklore is fine, too. Although I more favor some minor period as Eight Princes war.
