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Black Myth: Wukong needs an Assassin’s Creed-style discovery modeSo I can point my staff and ask questions, instead of thwacking everything
So I can point my staff and ask questions, instead of thwacking everything
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
This is all to say thatBlack Myth: Wukongdeserves such a mode, too. There were so many times throughout myreview timewhere I stopped and stared and wondered as to something’s meaning. Not only in the architecture, but in the characters, too. So here I am with a proposition: how about instead of thwacking things with my staff, I can use it as a walking stick and point it at things I want to learn about.
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Game Science
And in a way, I think the game’s relative linearity suits the whole Discovery mode thing. It could have us transform into a cicada and fly through its points of interest, as a monk explains the ins and outs of the terrapin-shaped incense burners or the engravings on a tall vase. Perhaps it could show us how the devs went about and photographed real life sites andtheirsignificance. They did say to me inmy preview, that they’d visited over 100 sites since 2021 for 3D environment scanning.
The more complicated aspect of Game Science doing in-game museum exposition on Chinese culture is that they and their partners don’t seem willing or able to discuss the game’s relevance to present-day China. In particular, the studio has closed the hatches in response to anIGN reportabout sexism at Game Science itself and across the Chinese games industry. Their partners at Hero Games, meanwhile, have asked certain content creators toavoid talkof “politics” and “feminist propaganda” in their coverage of the game. It’s unclear how much this reflects the intentions of the developers or the need to appease Chinese censors. Adding something like a Discovery Mode to enlighten people from other cultures would make the developers' silence on other fronts more conspicuous.
Which is a shame, because there’s so much in this game to be curious about. At this point I’m just a rambling man who is hungry for a tour of Black Myth’s world, without all the combat and the killing. Let us shake hands with the rats and stroke our furry chins as we ponder some statues. I think that would be nice.
