Re: So, who is playing that new Black Myth: Wukong game?

On Mon, 26 Aug 2024 16:01:12 -0700, Justisaur <justisaur@gmail.com>
wrote:

On 8/26/2024 10:22 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

On Sun, 25 Aug 2024 20:54:31 +0000, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
 

:P

 
Not me, but it's surprisingly popular for reasons I don't quite
understand. It has become the fastest selling game on Steam ever, and
that seems weird to me. Sure, Souls-likes are popular, but they are a
bit more niche than other genres. Neither does "Wukong" seem to be
particularly special; it's not from a big-name developer, it's visuals
and art-style aren't extraordinary, and the gameplay seems fairly
average for the type. The game itself seemed to come out of nowhere
too; there wasn't a lot of pre-release hype about it either. So why
it's selling so well seems weird. It's not that I'm surprised it is
popular... I just don't get why it's so INCREDIBLY popular. Maybe its
links to Chinese mythology is prompting a rush from the Chinese
market?
 
Having said that, I'm somewhat interested in the game. It doesn't look
like a _bad_ game, and it seems less spirit-numbingly pessimisstic
than most Souls-like games. I wouldn't mind _eventually_ giving it a
try; I'm just not in a rush to play it any time soon. Certainly I've
no intention on paying $60USD for the privilege. Maybe in a year or so
it'll show up on HumbleChoice; I wouldn't be too upset if it did.

>
Yes I've read it's mostly Chinese buying it because they just love
anything Wukong (Monkey King.) There's an very large list of movies and
shows both animated and live action that are retellings of the Wukong
story. I've watched quite a number of them and have found them all
entertaining.
>
Apparently it's got some souls feel to it too (like GoW and Jedi
Outcast.)  I haven't heard anything bad about it so far, just a lot of
buzz.  The only thing I don't like, is I tend to prefer games where you
make your own character's appearance.
>
I'm mildly interested as well, but there's too much on my plate for $60
for it either.

Also, there apparently is a sizeable contingent of right-wingers who
have fallen in love with the game because the developers have a
history of misogyny and the game is 'not woke'. You know, the usual
Gamergate crowd. How true these accusations are, and whether this
group is numerous enough to make that much of an impact, I've no idea.
Still, I wouldn't be too surprised if there's a contingent of them
who, having more money than sense, are buying multiple copies just to
bolster the sales of a game that (they believe) champions their cause.

Which is in no way meant to imply that everybody --or even most-- of
the people playing this game share these beliefs. I think most players
who have bought the game are interested in "Wukong" for the game
itself. But maybe it was this smaller group that pushed what seems an
otherwise good-but-unremarkable game into being the 'fastest selling'
game on Steam.

But that's all just speculation. I've really no idea. I didn't even
know about developer's Game Science's reputation until recently
either. It casts an unfortunate shadow on the game, though.

Apparently the game straddles the bar between "God of War" style
hacker/slasher and a true Soulslike; it's levels are less
labyrinthine, it's combat complex but not quite as grueling, and
there's no real penalty for dying. Checkpoints are frequent, and you
don't lose souls (or whatever the game uses for its 'currency') when
you bite it. This has likely made the game seem more accessible to the
average user; combined with the dev's origins (Game Science is a
Chinese software company) and it using Chinese mythology (as opposed
to the usual dreary fantasy of other Soulslikes) have probably done a
lot more to attract users than anything else.

It's just a shame that there's a certain dark side to the game that
attracts the worst of our shared hobby too.