Black Myth: Wukong (20th August 2024)

[Julius]

Back in August, Black Myth: Wukong was revealed with a 13-minute pre-alpha gameplay video, garnering a lot of attention and acclaim for it's ambition. 

Developed by Chinese indie studio Game Science, a team comprised mostly of former Tencent employees, the game is a gritty take on the classical 16th-century Chinese novel A Journey to the West, and you will play as Sun Wukong, otherwise known as the Monkey King. It is currently planned for release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Microsoft Windows. Digital Foundry provided a breakdown of the tech behind the gameplay video:

IGN China got the exclusive scoop just a few weeks after the gameplay video was dropped, sharing that this is the first of three Black Myth games planned by the team; considering this is one of the Four Classic Novels, it's possible the two other games might end up being based on either Water Margin (which Suikoden is loosely based on), Romance of the Three Kingdoms, or Dream of the Red Chamber, though given the length of A Journey to the West, it could just as well continue this game's story. They are aiming for at least 15 hours of gameplay, and that they don't plan on sharing any new footage until they feel like they can outshine that gameplay video. 

Well, it seems like they feel like they are already at that stage, as they have just released a new gameplay video today to celebrate the Year of the Ox. 

I think it looks fantastic, and though of course it remains to be seen how well this game will eventually perform on consoles, I'm optimistic, and would love for this to be a kickstart to AAA Chinese game development, because off the top of my head, no-one else really comes to mind as fitting that bill. I think it's also a great way of sharing landmark classical stories from different cultures, and would love to see others do similar for their own country's stories. 

Edited December 8, 2023 by Julius

[Julius]

Unreal Engine 5 gameplay test:

Yeah, it still looks great 

[Dcubed]

The company has a strong mysogynistic culture and the CEO is a sex pest...

https://supchina.com/2020/09/02/chinese-game-developer-faces-boycott-after-ceos-sexually-explicit-remarks/

Quote

A string of sexually charged online comments from the founder of a Chinese game developer caused a furor on the Chinese internet last week, prompting intense criticism from female video game players calling for changes to the male-dominated culture of gaming in China. Later, the backlash intensified after several old job posts by the game studio resurfaced, which revealed that sexually objectifying women has long been part of the company culture.

 

At the center of the controversy was Féng Jì 冯骥, the founder and CEO of Game Science, a Hangzhou-based indie studio whose employees were mostly former employees of Chinese video game giant Tencent. On August 20, Game Science unveiled a 13-minute trailer for its highly anticipated role-playing video game Black Myth: WuKong 黑神话·悟空.

 

“I want to expand our workforce and hire more people. I want to be licked so much that I can’t have an erection anymore,” he wrote (in Chinese) in a Weibo post. “I know you guys just happen to be so horny. I’m glad that the trailer has given you some satisfaction.”

 

In another Weibo post explaining his understanding of video games, Feng wrote (in Chinese), “My goal is to give blowjobs to people who appreciate my work, and to help people who share my vision achieve orgasms.”

 

Feng’s posts immediately raised eyebrows on social media, with some critics calling his remarks “inappropriate” and “offensive.” But Feng doubled down in a post on August 22, in which he wrote (in Chinese), “The trailer got me wet several times. I can still feel the pressure in my pants at the moment.”

 

Meanwhile, some angry internet users discovered that making sexual jokes at the expense of women not only was Feng’s personal problem, but also seemed deeply seated in Game Science’s workplace culture. For instance, in a recruitment campaign in 2015, the studio used explicit graphics and suggestive text in some of its job advertisements. “In addition to hookup buddies, we promise to provide more thoughtful services,” the company wrote in a post boasting free snacks in the office.

 

 

Would strongly advise you steer clear of this shit hole.

Edited August 20, 2021 by Dcubed

[Happenstance]

1 hour ago, Julius said:

Unreal Engine 5 gameplay test:

Yeah, it still looks great 

Looks very impressive. I hadn’t seen anything on it before today but this has definitely peaked my interest. Might have to get it.

[Julius]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

The company has a strong mysogynistic culture and the CEO is a sex pest...

https://supchina.com/2020/09/02/chinese-game-developer-faces-boycott-after-ceos-sexually-explicit-remarks/

Would strongly advise you steer clear of this shit hole.

sigh

Obviously this sucks, and I'll wait to see what actions (if any) have been taken by the time the game launches - which is probably 2 or 3 years from now at best - but yes, obviously they should be condemned for it, and I think that goes without saying. 

This being one of the most hyped games to come from China (and telling a version of one of their three biggest traditional stories at that) means it'll be interesting to see how it is dealt with over there when compared with what we've seen in the West, and I would argue that it would have drawn the attention of some of the big wigs in the country just considering the source material it is dealing with.  

I don't think it's hard to imagine that the Chinese government could step in seeing as they may know the potential of gaming and it's reach (anything for that positive PR), and again, this is one of their biggest traditional stories. They could easily either forcefully replace the staff, close down the studio entirely...or do absolutely nothing. So we'll have to wait and see. 

But those misogynistic pigs - at least so far - have consistently shown a game (and more specifically, gameplay) in the early stages of development that I feel is much more intriguing and ambitious than the vast majority of games we see today, let alone from some of the bigger AAA studios. So kudos to them for that I guess. 

[Julius]

A very light-hearted Chinese New Year's Greeting this year! Well worth watching if you want a good chuckle 

Quote

Roses are red. Violets are blue.

Don't have new demo this time. Will share when we do.

A BIG greeting from Game Science. Happy Year of the Tiger! Keep fit and roar on!

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction with absolutely nothing to do at all with actual people or events or how we are working on the game. Yeah, right. We are still working on it.

Now the question is...

Spoiler

...is this meow-tion capture, or is that a mo-cat? 

 

[Julius]

8 minutes of gameplay were shared earlier today through Nvidia:

Additionally, an in-game cutscene was release via the game's own channel, and it's pretty dazzling with its use of cinematography:

They also released the OST from the in-game cutscene. 

Continues to look great, but the long wait continues for anything concrete on it. At least they're taking their time and continuing to show off the game in awesome ways during the wait! 

[Julius]

Game Science released a fun little stop-motion short to commemorate the Chinese New Year...

...and the end of the short reveals that Black Myth: Wukong is taking aim at a Summer 2024 release.

Still no platforms announced outside of PC just yet, though from my point of view this one seems ripe for Xbox to pick up, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Would love to see this on PlayStation (I mean, some Chinese games do release on PlayStation exclusively, so maybe there's hope?), but I'm not going to hold out for that, considering how much Xbox loves to throw money at people these days. 

Anyways, I'll see y'all next January for the delay to 2025 

[Julius]

We got another trailer for this the other night during Gamescom ONL:

And some even got to go hands-on with the game:

And lastly, a look at a boss battle in 4K with RTX on:

Game still looks great. Still a massive shame about its development background. 

[Julius]

19 minutes of gameplay:

 

[Julius]

IGN have put out a great investigative piece on the sexism problems over at Game Science: How Black Myth: Wukong Developer’s History of Sexism Is Complicating its Journey to the West. 

Some choice quotes:

Quote

"In the eyes of many female players, [Game Science] has a notably negative reputation," said Jen (pseudonym), a Chinese games designer who's now based outside of China. "I admire their dedication and work. I had high expectations for their game, until I came across their misogynistic remarks around 2021, which was reported in the news."

Quote

Feng compared failed projects to stillborn babies, given that many games had to cease development despite being worked on for a year or so. He then brought up this analogy:

“Is it because the sperm isn’t virile enough? Is the pregnancy too short? Is the baby lacking nutrition? Are the doctors in charge of caesarean sections lowly skilled? Why can’t we produce a healthy child (product)?”

Quote

[...] this was accompanied by several innuendo-laden lines. In the first line, Feng wrote, “I want to expand my circle and hire more people, get licked until I can’t get an erection.” Several lines down, he also added, “I know, you just happen to be a little depressed. It is my honor to provide you with some comfort in the lower half of your body.” He later doubled down with a separate comment, saying that “I got wet after watching it a couple of times… the pressure in my crotch is immense!”

Quote

[...] in 2015, Game Science also published several recruitment posters that featured suggestive images, which IGN has seen and verified. In one poster, a risque illustration that resembles the artwork of Austrian artist Egon Schiele is accompanied by a header that says “Mandatory self-pleasure”. In another poster that featured the rear view of a woman, the ad reads, “Don’t screw your colleagues”. In the same ad, friends with benefits were also implied as an office perk. And a third poster, featuring a dumbbell, is far more pointed, with the ad stating that “fatties should fuck off”.

Yikes. Just...yikes. 

Very much a recommended read, I'm not surprised to once again see Rebekah Valentine attached to this story, as she's been hard-carrying IGN's journalistic efforts ever since she returned. 

[Julius]

20th August 2024, bay-beh!

Quote

Break free from the shackles of earthly desires.

Confront your destiny on the journey westwards.

The premiere of the official release date trailer for Black Myth: Wukong took place at The Game Awards 2023. The trailer showcased PC-captured footage, including actual gameplay and in-game cinematics, while supporting 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos.

The trailer featured here holds a few surprises not seen in the TGA version. Take a closer look and see what's new.

Black Myth: Wukong is now available to wishlist on Steam and Epic Games Store. Coming soon to PlayStation®5 and Xbox Series X|S.

 

[Julius]

Game has gone gold: 

 

[Julius]

The game's final trailer has released: 

Oh it's looking GOOOOOOOOOOOD 

[Glen-i]

Yet more misogynistic tripe from the development team of this.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/black-myth-wukongs-content-creator-guidelines-allegedly-include-not-mentioning-feminist-propaganda-politics-etc’.955914/

Going around telling influencers to not mention "Feminist Propaganda", probably isn't the best move, but eh, the game has pretty graphics, and to a lot of gamers, women don't count as people (A viewpoint one of the co-founders almost certainly agrees with), so I'm sure they'll get away with it.

Edited August 17 by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

Yeah, just like with the Stellar Blade devs, they’re a bunch of racist, sexist mysogynistic cunts.  Everyone associated with these developers should be ashamed of themselves.

None of this is surprising at all, and nobody should be supporting any developer with such abhorrent political views.

[Hero-of-Time]

Digital Foundry give their technical verdict.

I see the game is doing absolutely insane numbers on Steam at the moment. Well over a million and it only just launched.

[Julius]

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Digital Foundry give their technical verdict.

Still waiting on the PS5 breakdown  it's nice though, with the next few weeks being a bit busy anyways I can wait and see how this has shaped up properly before making an informed purchasing decision.

2 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

I see the game is doing absolutely insane numbers on Steam at the moment. Well over a million and it only just launched.

Yep, mental numbers. It's already 4th for all-time concurrent users (1.443m), behind only CS:GO (1.818m), Palworld (2.101m) and PUBG (3.257m), and it released on a Tuesday. Word of mouth and time, not to mention it being a three-day weekend some places this coming weekend...I think has a chance at surpassing Palworld. 

Third game from 2024 to break into the Top 10 all-time CCU, by the way (the one I've not mentioned is Banana, with 917k), so gaming is also just popping off in general anyways. 

Kind of shows the untapped potential of the Chinese market in the gaming space, once again, and makes things like the PlayStation China Hero Project make much more sense (even if it does take an age to see those games release). I'm hoping off the back of this that China find some ways to support their game developers, it's clear that there's a lot of talent over there but they seem to all be locked in rooms making gacha games. 

The reviews were solid enough (typically low-to-mid 80s on Metacritic and OpenCritic), though I'm still finding it hard to get a clear answer on how the game is between its boss fights, which was my big concern going into the game – some reviewers say it's more of a boss rush, others highlight that there are things to seek out between bosses like sub-bosses which those other reviewer's then clearly didn't seek out but instead rushed by, etc., so it seems like I'm not going to get a clear picture on what's going on until I get my hands on it myself. 

[RedShell]

This game looks incredible!

Just a shame it's so demanding to get it looking at its best. Pretty sure my now mid/low end PC has no chance of running this at a decent frame rate while still looking nice, even at 1080p.

Will keep an eye out for optimisation vids in the next few weeks though, see just how well it scales down.

Already got the replacement soundtrack sorted for if/when I play it though:

[RedShell]

On 8/20/2024 at 12:02 PM, RedShell said:

Will keep an eye out for optimisation vids in the next few weeks though, see just how well it scales down.

So it turns out they made a stand-alone benchmarking tool for this game! You don't see that very often, should really be an industry standard though.
Anyway, it appears that my PC can actually run this at 60fps on high for all graphics settings but two, those being draw distance and hair quality (which I had to drop down to medium). No ray tracing either (obviously ) but yeah, way better than I was expecting and the game still looks fantastic using that setup.

Now I just need to figure out when the hell I'll be able to play it.

[Happenstance]

1 minute ago, RedShell said:

So it turns out they made a stand-alone benchmarking tool for this game! You don't see that very often, should really be an industry standard though.
Anyway, it appears that my PC can actually run this at 60fps on high for all graphics settings but two, those being draw distance and hair quality (which I had to drop down to medium). No ray tracing either (obviously ) but yeah, way better than I was expecting and the game still looks fantastic using that setup.

Now I just need to figure out when the hell I'll be able to play it.

Oh nice, I'll have to try that myself

[Happenstance]

Just finished my test, averaging 109fps on Very High so I'm pretty happy with that.

[Happenstance]

PS5 tech review is up

[Julius]

10 million copies sold in just 3 days. 

Well holy hot damn. 

[Hero-of-Time]

That's insane.