I still remember the exact moment two years ago when I first fired up Black Myth: Wukong on my PC, expecting another soulslike grind, but instead being thrown headfirst into a celestial battlefield that rewired my brain. It’s 2026 now, and I’ve replayed that opening at least a dozen times, each visit leaving me with the same giddy awe I felt watching the monkey king strut towards an army of immortals with nothing but a staff and a smirk. That first ten minutes isn’t just a tutorial—it’s a manifesto. It says: This is Sun Wukong, the trickster god you grew up with, and he’s about to show off like never before.
From the get-go, you’re surfing on a cloud that feels like a stolen chariot, transforming into a hawk mid-dodge, and spawning clones that crash into a titan’s face like fireworks. The combat is fluid but not punishing—GameScience clearly wanted mortals like me to feel invincibility, not frustration. As associate editor Tyler Colp put it back in the day, it’s a perfect entry point for those who usually find the soulslike genre too spicy. But what really socked me in the jaw was the sheer scale and that seamless whip-crack from gameplay to cutscene. The camera swung around to frame a hundred-foot god looming over Wukong like a mountain getting ready to sneeze, and I just… sat there, mouth open, thinking about God of War 3.
Yeah, that PS3 relic. In 2010, it opened with Kratos riding Gaia up Mount Olympus as the ground literally shifted beneath his feet. I was hanging upside-down fighting sea monsters, poking out Poseidon’s eyes from inside his own skull, and mashing quick time events until my thumbs begged for mercy. It was brutal, edgy, and honestly a little cringey by today’s standards—like a teenager trying too hard to look tough. But man, was it a spectacle. Black Myth gave me that same adrenaline spike without the need to prompt-punch anyone’s eyeballs. Instead, Wukong freezes a divine general in place, spins his staff like a propeller, and the camera pirouettes around him in a dance that’s almost graceful. No QTEs. Just pure, unfiltered
\u201cI’m the boss now\u201d energy.
That restraint brought back memories of Asura’s Wrath, a game from 2012 that had the audacity to make pressing a single button feel like you were rewriting mythology. In the opening, Asura punches a creature half the size of Earth into submission while flying through space. The first time you do a 360-degree joystick flick to snap a mile-long sword out of your gut and slice your mentor in half with your teeth—because your arms are already broken—you can’t help but hoot and holler like a kid at a fireworks show. Asura’s Wrath weaponized QTEs, turning them into comedic, meta moments where your character’s rage meter filled mid-cutscene, letting you interrupt a villain’s monologue with a planet-cracking headbutt. It winked at you, saying, “Yeah, we know this is ridiculous, just mash X and enjoy the ride.”
Black Myth pays homage to that era but updates it for a modern palate. My fingers were ready for rapid prompts when the Four Heavenly Kings showed up, yet GameScience trusted me to just watch—to soak in the artistry of Wukong getting punched down to the mortal realm, stripped of his powers but not his swagger. It made me want to seek out every adaptation of Journey to the West I could find, to dig deeper into the legend that birthed such a glorious \u201cI’ll be back\u201d moment. And now, in 2026, after Capcom finally dropped Pragmata and proved that third-person action still has surprises up its sleeve, I find myself revisiting all these openers like old friends. I even modded my Steam Deck to play God of War 3 through an emulator—because, c’mon, Sony, put that on PC already! And Asura’s Wrath? Capcom, if you’re listening, this monkey king fan is still waiting.
Playing Black Myth: Wukong again reminds me why I love this genre: it’s the art of making you feel godlike for a few minutes, then humble you with a well-timed fall. The opening isn’t just about flexing powers—it’s a promise. And from where I stand, with the game’s DLC likely on the horizon, that promise has been kept. So here’s to cloud-surfing, staff-spinning, and the blissful absence of quick time events. \ud83d\udc12\ud83c\udf2a\ufe0f