Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, Odyssey, and Origins all have one thing in common: they have an Exploration mode that replaces murder with learning. You can join tours of literally every map in the game, led by historians. Instead of jumping off a Sphinx and plunging your hidden blade into someone's spine, you can look at the Sphinx and read a paragraph about its significance. Maybe you'll see an actual, real-life piece of ancient Egypt from an actual museum collection in the game. Maybe you'll instead be able to play an Anglo-Saxon child in Valhalla and cook up some nettle soup after getting a fresh “Friar Tuck” from the local hair clipper (no guarantees on that last part).
All of this is to say that Black Myth: Wukong deserves a mod like this. There were many times during my review period where I just stopped and stared and wondered what the point of something was. Not just in the architecture, but in the characters as well. So I'm here with a suggestion: instead of hitting things with my staff, could I use it as a walking cane and point it at things I want to learn about?
If you didn't know already, Black Myth: Wukong is an action adventure Soulsy hybrid heavily inspired by the classic Chinese novel Journey To The West. You control an athletic ape in third person and deal out punishment with a staff as you navigate lush jungles, golden deserts, and red pagodas. Giant frogs with electric tongues, spinning dragons, corrupt priests with spiky hair roots, all to be shot.
But there’s a treasure trove of beauty to be had in the undergrowth. And to be honest, there’s a degree to which I want little museum-style paragraphs about 90% of what’s on screen. We’re talking about the character designs, like the wise man who helps you in the first episode, who looks like you’ve left a potato plucked and left it in the kitchen drawer a little too long. He’s also holding his little staff with a curled hand at the end. What about the tiger temple in episode two, its walls home to intricate figures in small, circular windows? What about the towering statues at the beginning of episode three, illuminated only by the light seeping in from cracks in the cave above?
Sure, there's a lot of textual explanation about the game's major characters and all the frog demons and such. And yes, I could go ahead and read Journey To The West (which I plan to do, by the way). But I don't think that's an argument against a mod that could introduce us to ancient Chinese history and mythology and show how Game Science drew inspiration from them. I just think it's rare for a game of this scale to come along and immerse us in Chinese history, especially since China is a place I sometimes stupidly forget is rich in beautiful historical settings and significance.
And in a way, I think the game's relative linearity fits the whole Discovery mode thing. It could have us transforming into a cicada and flying around points of interest, with a priest describing the ins and outs of turtle-shaped incense burners or engravings on a tall vase. Maybe it's a way of showing how the developers photographed real-life locations and their Importance. In my preview, they told me that they have visited over 100 sites for 3D environmental scanning since 2021.
More complicated by Game Science’s in-game museum exhibit covering Chinese culture is that they and their partners don’t seem willing or able to discuss the game’s relevance to contemporary China. The studio, in particular, has closed the lid on IGN’s report on sexism within Game Science itself and in the Chinese gaming industry. Meanwhile, its partners at Hero Games have asked certain creators to refrain from discussing “politics” and “feminist propaganda” in their coverage of the game. It’s unclear how much this reflects the developers’ intentions or a need to appease Chinese censors. Adding something like an Exploration Mode to enlighten people of other cultures would make the developers’ silence on other fronts all the more obvious.
It's a shame, because there's a lot to wonder about in this game. At this point I'm just a chatty guy hungry for a spin on Black Myth's world, without all the fighting and killing. Let's shake hands with rats and stroke our furry chins while contemplating statues. I think that would be nice.