In a 12-minute 44-second(!) gameplay trailer recently released by IGN on YouTube, gamers got their first look at how Black Myth: Wukong runs on Unreal Engine 5 at 4K/60FPS.
The action RPG-based game was unveiled last August by Chinese indie developer Game Science. It is based on the classic 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West and revolves around Sun Wukong, better known by some as the ‘Monkey King.’
Most Chinese gamers will be intimately familiar with Journey to the West and the character Sun Wukong and will presumably embrace Black Myth: Wukong out of nostalgia. Meanwhile, the game will provide Western gamers unfamiliar with the fantasy-adventure story with a grand opportunity to become acquainted with a central character in one of China’s ‘Four Classic Novels.’
The trailer indicates the game will likely have a darker slant than its source material, with the mythical Monkey King seemingly set to face off against zombie-like creatures, a dragon, demonic beings and a whole host of terrifying giant monsters.
An evil monkey featured in the latest gameplay trailer for Black Myth: Wukong. Screengrab via YouTube
According to Game Science, the game is their first attempt to create a fictional fantasy universe for Chinese folklore. And while it appears they have taken some creative liberties with Sun’s mythology (as one does), there is no denying the results look incredible.
Gamers got a first look at Black Myth: Wukong last year when the developers dropped a 13-minute pre-alpha gameplay video showcasing the game’s crisp graphics and complex storyline. The footage generated heightened interest among international gamers and clocked tens of millions of views.
In February 2021, a more manageable three-minute trailer was released, showing Sun facing off against human-sized rats and a behemoth ox. (Would we be crazy to suggest the game has a subtle Chinese lunar zodiac theme?)
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Six months on from the last preview and this latest trailer beautifully showcases the game’s ray-tracing and deep learning super sampling (DLSS) technologies created by American multinational tech firm Nvidia.
PC Gamer has hailed the snowy landscape featured in the new video as “an impressive use of engine and hardware tech,” in addition to praising the level of detail represented in the video.
According to IGN, the game has been in development since 2018 and is expected to be released for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft Windows in 2023. The development team is reportedly aiming for no less than 15 hours of gaming time.
Cover image: screengrab via YouTube
