'Black Myth: Wukong': an interactive adventure in Chinese culture

(ECNS)-- Black Myth: Wukong, an action-adventure title based on the antics of the fabled Monkey King, garnered more than 2.1 million concurrent players on Steam in its global debut Tuesday, according to SteamDB.

From the portrayal of Sun Wukong and scene design to the use of pinyin in translations, the game remains deeply rooted in Chinese mythology

The game displays Wukong's 72 transformations, a core part of his abilities in the Chinese classic Journey to the West, which is seamlessly integrated into his combat mechanics.

Additionally, various mythical creatures like small demons, demon kings and bodhisattvas bear a visual style influenced by Chinese aesthetics, blending fantasy with elements reminiscent of The Classic of Mountains and Seas.

One standout feature of the game is its highly realistic scenery.

At the “Heifengshan mountain” stage, players see the world through the perspective of a golden cicada, fully immersing themselves in a strikingly realistic environment.

Developers from Game Science visited numerous ancient sites and restored dozens of temples through on-site scanning technology including Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the Jade Emperor Temple in Shanxi Province, and the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing Municipality.

3D modeling was so detailed that it reached an astounding 1.2 billion facets when scanning the Dazu Rock Carvings, bringing this cultural treasure to life with remarkable precision, according to Art Director Yang Qi.

Yang mentioned that his team intentionally preserved the dust covering the temples during their digital representations to fully display the beauty of oriental architecture.

Moreover, iconic names like “Wukong” and “Jin Gu Bang” were retained in Chinese pinyin to maintain the integrity of the original terms while introducing global audiences to the sound and feel of the Chinese language, according to GameScience founder and CEO Feng Ji.

Black Myth: Wukong became a hot gaming topic on X with 32,700 posts on Wednesday, resonating with international audiences interested in Chinese culture.

The Chinese Embassy in Italy recommended the game on its official Facebook account, saying that after much anticipation, the interactive adaptation of classic novel Journey to the West finally saw the light.

“Wukong’s story is a follow up to the classic novel Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en...I had to look online to understand who Zhu Bhajie was, what his history with Wukong is, and what the significance of certain encounters were,” wrote IGN editorial producer Mitchell Saltzman in a recent review.

Discussing the game's popularity, Feng commented that its success seemed almost inevitable, noting that considering Journey to the West and Sun Wukong are iconic representations of Chinese culture, and that the game provides players worldwide with a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.