Game Science has released 15 minutes of Black Myth: Zhong Kui gameplay with an extremely impressive showcase of the game’s graphics.
While it may have been overshadowed somewhat by the likes of Metaphor: ReFantazio and Astro Bot when it came to awards season and critical acclaim, I can’t think of a bigger game release in 2024 than Black Myth: Wukong. But the real shocker was when, almost exactly a year after its release, Game Science announced a follow-up, with Black Myth: Zhong Kui being confirmed at Gamescom last year.
And now, perhaps even more shockingly – given that it was described as “little more than an empty folder at this stage” upon its reveal – almost exactly a year later, a surprise drop from the developers has revealed 15 minutes of gameplay from the upcoming sequel.
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Immediately, the footage is striking: it looks incredibly detailed, with the description stating “all footage was captured in-game from a work-in-progress build.” And without a single word spoken, the footage shows a section of the game in which our yet-unnamed protagonist traverses a derelict mountainous region. The graphics are a big hit with YouTube commenters, too, with one user saying, “If they never released Wukong before this, people would think this is fake.”
The gameplay also shows a few in-game battles, and right away it looks like there is now a dedicated parry button included in the moveset (you could parry in Wukong, but it was with a specific ability, and not baked into the protagonist’s moveset). The rest will look somewhat familiar to anyone who played the first game. There’s also a boss fight included in the footage, with the monster’s flailing animations looking mighty impressive.
Unfortunately, there’s no indication as to when the game will actually release, with the description claiming the game to be in “early development,” so we could be waiting a few years yet. But It’s undoubtedly an impressive first showing, and as someone who didn’t particularly get on with Wukong, I’m keen to give this one a chance.