[Play Report] Enjoy a passionate action experience in the beautiful world of Journey to the West. 'Black Myth: Goku' released today is a work that is very satisfying in terms of world view and graphics [PR]

Today (August 20, 2024), the highly anticipated new game "Black Myth: Goku" (PC/PlayStation 5) developed by Chinese game developer "Game Science" was released. For gamers who gather information about new games through gaming media and streaming game events, the English title ``Black Myth: Wukong'' may be more familiar. The first trailer was announced on August 20, 2020, so I'm sure many players have been waiting patiently.

In this article, we will provide a play report of "Black Myth: Goku", which has just been released. This preliminary play was using a key provided by Game Science, and was being played with the Steam version + gamepad.

Let's go to the world of Journey to the West

"Black Myth: Goku" is an action RPG based on the Chinese novel "Journey to the West". ``Journey to the West'' is a motif in various Japanese works such as ``Dragon Ball,'' and can be said to be a familiar and familiar theme. However, even though it is called "Journey to the West," the basic information is that the main character is a monkey monster named
"Son Goku"
, that his weapon is a Nyoi stick, and that the story is about a journey to Tenjiku. Although it is widely known, there may not be many opportunities to see it actually being treated as a work in China. In fact, I was able to play this game, which is a Chinese game, with a fresh feeling.



The story contains many proper nouns that reflect the worldview of Journey to the West, so it may seem difficult at first. However, the atmosphere that makes you feel like you have stepped into the world of Chinese mythology, such as the appearance of characters who speak lines that seem to be inspired by Chinese poetry, increases your excitement and gives you a sense of immersion.

The main character is not ``Goku'' in the title, but a being called ``Tenmeijin'' . To the extent that I played the game, his relationship with Son Goku remained a mystery, and it was never stated clearly what his purpose was, but as you play the game, you'll probably gradually learn that. Things should become clear. The story is different from "Journey to the West," at least as far as I know, and I'm really curious about whether famous characters from "Journey to the West" like
Sha Gojyo
, Pig Hakkai, and Sanzo Hoshi will appear. is.

The designs of the bosses and enemies on the field are also rich in variation, giving the game a fresh feel as it has a different atmosphere from domestically produced games. The names of the enemies are all cool, and if you look into them, you'll find that there are a lot of characters that are based on them, so you can learn a lot. For example, "Reikyoshi" shown in the screenshot is a character that first appeared in "Zoku Journey to the West" . By the way, ``Journey to the West Zoku'' seems to be a sequel to ``Journey to the West'' that was written without permission... which is interesting. The enemy's attack methods are also very varied, such as summoning poisonous snakes and manipulating water, and it's full of flavor. There were many scenes where flashy attack actions that made me laugh out of the blue left me flustered and unable to react, but those experiences were also fun.

In particular, the battle with the boss "Black Wind King" , who has the ability to ``change into the wind'', was very tense, and I was very surprised because he would suddenly disappear and reappear, and it had the dynamic nature of a boss battle. . There are patterns where you can see the relationship between the boss enemies, such as subordinates of the boss or brothers, and conversations like ``You did a great job with that guy'' will occur
where you can feel the relationship between the bosses
too. The appeal of this work is that even a single battle can feel like a story.

Kurofuzan, which is the setting for the first episode, the earth god there helps the Tenmei in their adventures, but they are a little strange, such as the texture of their scalps resembling plant bulbs. It has an interesting design.

In addition to bosses and enemies, various characters will appear as collaborators. For example, at

At the beginning of the game, when I played the game, the characters had not yet been explored deeply, and it was unclear how they would interact with each other in the future, but all of them had unique and interesting character designs. I'm looking forward to seeing how they will interact with the story.




The game has a ``Xth episode'' feel, and the scenes change each time like a drama or anime. I only played the beginning part this time, but it took me a little under 8 hours to finish the ``first round'' (by the way, I'm not very good at action, and I think there are many people who can clear it much faster). I don't know how many episodes there will be in total, but I can guess that the volume of this work is quite large.

Also, if there is something you don't understand while playing, or if you want to dig deeper to find out more information, you can use the journal-like function called "Yuki". ``Journey'' has illustrations that look like old Chinese books, and the explanatory text is elaborate, so it's quite interesting just to look at it. It's a good deal because you can learn about Journey to the West and Chinese culture while playing the game.

If there's a monster or character you're particularly interested in, there's usually a source for it, so my recommended way to play is to search for it separately as you progress through the game. When you find something you don't understand or are interested in, I think the best part of playing a game with an unfamiliar worldview is to look it up and deepen your understanding. By doing so, you'll be able to enjoy the game even more deeply, and you'll also deepen your understanding of the culture, so it's a win-win.

Various and fulfilling boss battles

The actual game play screen is an orthodox one with the main character at the center and player information displayed on the left and right sides. The gauges at the bottom left of the screen, starting from the top, are
Vitality (so-called hit points), Fortune (resources for using special techniques), and Stamina (similar to the concept of stamina found in other games). ).
Also, the gourd mark at the bottom left of the gauge represents the remaining amount of recovery items. The name is proprietary and somewhat unintuitive, but it's not overly complicated. If you've played similar 3D action games, you'll feel right at home.

One of the systems surrounding combat that I found interesting was
``Category'' . By holding down a button or performing a specific attack action, you can accumulate ``clubs'' (displayed at the bottom right of the screen), and when you consume the clumps, you can unleash a powerful attack. At first, I didn't really understand the meaning and couldn't use it well, but as soon as I got used to it, I was able to enjoy the exhilarating action. In boss battles and the like, you can break the opponent's stance by hitting them with attacks that consume your staff at specific times, creating opportunities to deal huge damage all at once.

The gameplay of this work can be roughly divided into two parts: the exploration part on the way and the boss battle part. However, at least in the part that I played, the exploration is almost linear, and the focus is more on the battle, as you can get some nice items if you take a detour. In battle, you must use evasive actions to avoid your opponent's attacks. If you use a tactic that involves just hitting the attack button repeatedly, you will quickly lose your vitality if you receive a counterattack, so you must accurately evade and attack when the opportunity arises. Also, since it takes a certain amount of time to use recovery items, it is important to find your favorites in your opponent's movements, and you need to balance your battles according to the situation.
When hearing this explanation, many people probably think of the so-called "death game" genre, but in reality, there are many similarities and similarities, and there is no doubt that they have been influenced to some extent. . However, the difficulty of this game is not so severe that you get stuck on the first boss, and even I, who is not good at highly difficult actions, was able to enjoy defeating the early bosses.



The fun of the varied boss battles is one of the major appeals of this work. From the ``first chapter'', which is the chapter immediately after the start of the game, (as far as I can confirm) a whopping 8 bosses appear, making it very challenging.
Each boss has unique movements and attack methods, so you can enjoy just watching the series of actions. Moreover, the span from one boss battle to the next is quite short, and the gameplay is ``never boring'', with intense battles continuing continuously with no time to catch your breath. , and it begins to look like a ``game of death.'' For me, the difficulty was quite challenging, but in this game you don't lose all your experience points even if you die, so I was able to beat it without any problems by diligently leveling up before taking on the challenge. If you're not good at action, it's best to prepare well before challenging the boss battle.

In the first game, the difficulty level gradually increases from the middle of the game, around ``Hideshi in White Coat''

By raising the level, you can obtain
"Myogo value"
(so-called skill points), and you can strengthen the "Tenmeishin" to your liking by increasing the power of attacks and acquiring new types. You can also strengthen ``legal techniques,'' which are special attacks that use ``legal power.'' The legal technique you learn at the beginning of the game "Standing Body Technique" is extremely powerful because it stops the opponent's movement for a moment, so I used it quite a lot when I wanted to escape or when I wanted to whittle away the last of a boss's physical strength. .


Trying various methods such as strengthening your character, using magic, and determining the timing of evasion, you will feel a great sense of accomplishment when you struggle through the boss battle after several attempts. The content is satisfying for gamers who seek hard and highly difficult battles.

Beautiful graphics that are fun to just walk around

Beautiful graphics depicting a magnificent world view are also one of the most noteworthy features. The field is a precise depiction of a rich natural scene, and is breathtakingly realistic and beautiful. Being able to move around in a beautiful world is incomparably fun. In addition, there are occasional spots in the game where you can practice zazen, and if you do zazen, a movie with a beautiful scenery will be inserted and you will be able to obtain Myogo points. It's a game where you don't have much time to catch your breath, so it's nice to be able to chill out from time to time like this, and it's also a good time to reaffirm the beauty of the graphics.

ray tracing, and when turned on, the depiction of light becomes extremely precise. I took screenshots of similar scenes with ray tracing on and off, so please check out the beauty of the depiction.

This work also supports

Note that when playing on a PC, considerable PC specifications are required to play with ray tracing turned on. I basically played with it turned off, but of course I was still able to enjoy the beautiful graphics. These settings will change depending on the player's environment, so it's a good idea to play with the settings you think are optimal while adjusting them.



Raytracing ONRaytracing OFF

A work recommended not only for action fans but also for those who are drawn to the world view

This time I had limited time, and the play experience lasted about 8 hours, but for me it was a very satisfying experience. The world view that reinterprets Journey to the West, the fun of an action game, and the excellent graphics give the game a high sense of realism and make it fun.
Although the difficulty level is high and the game is challenging, it is a little less demanding than "Souls-like", so I think it could be a good introduction to difficult 3D action games.
I couldn't explain it fully, but there is also a system that is irresistible for RPG fans, such as collecting materials for items and crafting them.

We are now halfway through this year, and the rush of big game games from the end of last year seems to have calmed down a bit. If you're looking for a game to play, ``Black Myth: Goku'' is a recommended game. Not only for players who like action games, but also for those who are interested in the world view, there is no harm in picking it up.

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