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According to Mangalawyer, ScreenRant lowered the rating of Black Myth: Wukong after a female reporter criticized the game for not including female characters and the lack of diversity in monkeys. She then attacked the developer with false accusations. Mangalawyer called on players to "resist feminism in video games."

Screen Rant originally gave Black Myth: Wukong a score of 6, and it was included in MTC. As of now, the score on MTC still shows 6 points. But if you click on the ScreenRant review link, the revised score becomes 3 points. In fact, the score of 6 points before the revision was already a low score, and the review summary also tends to describe the shortcomings of the game, such as "optimization, diversity, and wasteful environment."

SR's original score was 6 points, and it is still included in MTC

"Black Myth: Wukong" SR new version score: 3 points

advantage

Combat is smooth and fun

The cinematography is stunning at times

Variety of items and mechanics

shortcoming

Gaming performance lacks polish

Lack of inclusion and diversity

Gameplay becomes repetitive over time

A cinematic masterpiece, but poor performance

SR new version rating screenshot

Black Myth: Wukong CharactersLargely lacking in inclusivity and representation

While my analysis and review of Black Myth: Wukong remains focused on gameplay, it is important to mention the controversy surrounding the game studio and reports of misogyny and sexism from the developer. As a female gamer, I have noticed issues with inclusivity and representation.

As for Chapters 1 and 2, while the characters are clearly fictional and fantasy creatures, there are no female or feminine NPCs, enemies, or bosses.The only exception (if you can call it "female") is the boss in Chapter 2 named "Stone Mother", which is little more than a static, glowing rock with no abilities, guarded by other enemies.

This lack of diversity and inclusion echoes misogynistic comments made by the developer that suggest they have little regard for female players. While Black Myth: Wukong does have some enjoyable moments, throughout my experience with the game I felt that women were not welcome in this world.

It's worth noting that the game is based on the novel Journey to the West, which does include some important female characters. It's rather disturbing that in an adaptation for a modern audience, no or only a few female characters are included.

While this doesn't take away from the excitement and fun of the boss battles themselves, female fans of Souls-like games may have a different take, especially since developers reportedly imply that women can't enjoy or master such games.

The irony behind this view is that Black Myth: Wukong is one of the easiest games in the Souls-like genre, and it probably overestimates its ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Souls-like games in terms of difficulty. While it undoubtedly belongs in that category in terms of theme and style, it doesn’t quite match up to games like Elden Ring and Sekiro in terms of the technical skills required.

Other parts of SR evaluation:

A cinematic masterpiece but held back by performance

Black Myth: Wukong is a cinematic masterpiece, with stunning and mesmerizing visuals that achieve a great deal of detail and beauty in both the mundane as well as the vast landscapes. From reflections on rippling water to capturing the veins of the tiny leaves of every plant around us, it's a shame that we can't see and appreciate these visuals due to its poor performance.

These fatal flaws include frequent stuttering, severe lag, audio desync, and poor frame rate. In addition to the annoying stuttering, the frequent audio interruptions can seriously affect the experience, especially during boss battles if you rely on audio cues.

Optimal performance should be possible with the game's recommended specs, but many areas from Chapter 2 onward are completely unplayable and only slightly better at the lowest graphics settings.

The combat is engaging and addictive

One of Black Myth: Wukong's best features is its combat, which showcases a wide variety of abilities that players can choose and hone. From the main menu, you can sort your levels (called "sparks") into several categories. This includes everything from basic skills like stamina, martial arts, and survival to staff stances, mysticism, spells, and more.

As for the combat itself, players only use the staff as their primary weapon, which is obviously intentional by GameScience, who want players to have a pure melee combat experience. In addition to weapons, players can also use various abilities and skills, and can perform various combinations and gestures through the staff, so the combat is not repetitive or boring, but very interesting, engaging and satisfying.

One unique feature introduced by Black Myth: Wukong is that there is no blocking or parrying system (except for spells with cooldowns), and players can only rely on dodging. While this is an essential skill in many soul-like games, without other means of defense, players are forced to learn how and when to effectively deal damage while keeping themselves safe. This weakness adds a layer of challenge to boss battles, punishing players who do not master this skill.

The main drawback of Black Myth: Wukong's combat is that most light attacks feel somewhat weightless and static, and can be tapped continuously to knock down enemies. While this isn't the case with bosses, it's mainly heavy attacks and combos that feel punchy when dealing damage when used.

Additionally, there didn't seem to be any stealth abilities that fit into the world. I would have loved to sneak up behind an enemy and deliver a critical hit with my staff, or climb to higher ground and perform a silent leap attack. Given the terrain and surroundings, this seemed like a bit of a missed opportunity.

Not taking advantage of its environment

With the game world being so interactive, it's a shame that you can't use the terrain to your advantage and show off your parkour abilities. The movement restrictions make for a fairly linear gameplay, where the environment is purely a means of getting from one place to another, with beautiful vistas in the background.

Chapter 2 does offer more exploratory and open spaces, feeling more like an RPG, but it's still pretty empty and lacks mobility. On the surface, there's a lot to see, but conversely, the environment makes reaching certain bosses more tedious, while it's impossible to properly traverse them.

The boss arena is also superficial, and the boss is easier than you think

Environment selection is useless

Enemy and boss encounters are exciting, but overly repetitive