Remember back in 2020, when a certain game had everyone pre-ordering with smiles and refunding with tears? Yep, we’re talking about Cyberpunk 2077. It had glowing previews, near-perfect scores, and sky-high expectations. Then it launched—and gamers everywhere got a crash course in “tech meets disappointment.”
Now Black Myth: Wukong is walking a similar path. The demo just dropped and scored a jaw-dropping 9.8 from the media. Players are hyped. The visuals? Insane. The vibes? Pure “Chinese AAA glory.” But as someone still suffering mild PTSD from Cyberpunk’s release, I have to toss in a bucket of cold water.
I want Wukong to succeed. I really do. But here are three design decisions in the demo that could cause it to stumble—and maybe even fall face-first into a neon-lit, bug-ridden mess.
- Combat Is “Too Hard,” Sacrificing Fun?
The combat is brutal. Roll, block, parry, break guard—you really need to study every move. Some players might say, “Well, it’s soulslike. Of course it’s hard.” True. But Wukong is also marketing itself as a fun action game. And right now, it feels like it’s trying to impress FromSoftware rather than the average gamer.
The character’s movement feels a bit sluggish, and hit detection can be… weird. A lot of players are wondering, “Am I fighting demons or fighting the input delay?”
If this isn’t smoothed out in the final version, more casual players might drop out after ten minutes, muttering: “I’ve achieved enlightenment—and I’m out.”
- Too Much Cinematic Flair, Not Enough Gameplay
Yes, the cutscenes are gorgeous. Wukong’s cinematic sequences are next-level. Long takes, epic transitions, emotional beats—it’s basically a movie. But here’s the issue: too much movie, not enough game.
Some players feel like they’re watching Wukong’s journey instead of living it. There are sequences where you’re stuck in back-to-back cutscenes with only a few steps of walking in between.
If the pacing doesn’t improve, many players might shout: “Let me play the game, not direct it!”
- Visuals Are Stunning—But So Is the Frame Drop
Let’s be clear: Wukong looks phenomenal. Lighting, textures, particle effects—it’s all next-gen eye candy. But beauty comes at a cost. On mid-range PCs, the game’s performance is… sketchy.
One minute you’re enjoying silky smooth 60fps action, the next minute you’re watching a slideshow. Players are joking: “Sure, Wukong can shapeshift—but apparently, so can my framerate.”
High graphics are great, but optimization matters. If the launch version still has these performance hiccups, prepare for a flood of negative Steam reviews.
So… Is It Really Doomed?
Look, I’m not here to be a hater. Black Myth: Wukong is still one of the most ambitious, visually impressive, and culturally significant games to come out of China. If the devs fix the pacing, optimize performance, and give players more flexibility in combat, it could absolutely become a milestone in gaming.
We don’t fear high expectations—we just don’t want a repeat of the Cyberpunk tragedy: hype turned heartbreak.
So to the devs at Game Science: please, don’t let us down.
Real Player Reactions in 3 Quotes:
“Thought I was fighting demons—turns out I was fighting the camera and hitboxes.”
“The graphics melted my brain… and almost fried my GPU.”
“I’ve already pre-ordered, but I’m emotionally bracing for disaster.”
Related Topics & Links:
Cyberpunk 2077 Launch Disaster Recap (Bilibili)
4090 GPU vs Black Myth: Still Lagging? (Bilibili)
AAA in China: Rise or Risk? (Zhihu)
How “Soulslike” is Black Myth? (Gamecores)