Black Myth: Wukongis a very good action game, taking the soulslike formula and stretching it into a boss rush format. Its popularity even surpasses that of its inspirations, garnering millions of players in mere days. It’s a genuine contender for The Game Awards, but with how stacked 2024 is shaping up to be, competition is fierce.
Polygonrecently updated its Game of the Year frontrunners list, whilethe Golden Joystick Awardsalso announced its six nominees for this year’s PC and Console GOTY categories. Black Myth: Wukong is nowhere to be seen outside of smaller categories, and so TikTok right now is a deluge of angry gamers declaring games media is corrupt and that it’s all part of some wider conspiracy. The game was not rigged from the start, it has just been a very, very competitive year.
This week alone, we’ve hadSilent Hill 2 Remake,Metaphor: ReFantazio, andDragon Ball: Sparking Zero, three critically acclaimed hits that are all vying for the spotlight with equal fervor. Earlier this year, we also saw the launch ofAstro Bot,Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth,Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth,Tekken 8,Helldivers 2, andDragon’s Dogma 2. That’s not to mention the stellar year it has been for indies.
Black Myth: Wukong — while good (we scored it four stars) — just doesn’t measure up to the greats. Hell, it’s not even the best soulslike this year, as that award goes toElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
For those who have used Wukong as fuel in a culture war since before it was even released, its absence on these lists is an attack. It’s a ploy by games media for… reasons, even though it hasan OpenCritic aggregate of 82. There’s one big argument cropping upacross Redditand slowly replacing all of the goth girls on my For You Page as to why it deserves to be nominated — it sold well.
It’s hardly a compelling defense, but sales figures have long been used as evidence that supposedly ‘anti-woke’ games like Wukong are what your everyday gamer really wants - in reality, it was a success because the game was marketed to the enormous, untapped Chinese demographic.
It was only made worse when streamers were reportedly sent guidelines asking themnot to mention “feminist propaganda” or “politics”. Black Myth: Wukong became the poster child of the most toxic, vocal gamers on the internet, and everything since its launch has only worked to further that image.
Wukong was a monumental hit, there’s no denying that. Within days, it skyrocketed to the seventh most-played Steam game of all-time with a concurrent peak of 2.4 million players, but numbers aren’t everything.
Banana,the viral clicker that generates Steam Marketplace items, has a higher 24 hour peak than Black Myth: Wukong right now by over 100,000 players. Avengers: Infinity War and Spider-Man: No Way Home are among the highest-grossing films of all time, but they didn’t walk away with the pinnacle Oscar for good reason.
Sales do not equal quality. But Black Myth: Wukong has been weaponised in a culture war ever since it was announced, and it doing well has only been used as ammunition to argue that games media is out of touch with gamers. Not being nominated for any GOTY awards (it’s October, it likely will be in the mix for a lot of sites and could still be up for many categories at The Game Awards) is just more fuel to prove that point; it hasn’t upset fans because they think it’s a good game deserving to be among the best, it has upset fans because they see its absence as an attack in their one-sided feud.
As we edge nearer the big, celebratory, end-of-year closer that is The Game Awards, we’re only going to see this outrage spiral. If Black Myth: Wukong doesn’t get a nomination for the main award (it has few competitors to shut it out in Best Action), its fans will see that as a personal slight. We’re witnessing that already, and I’ve seen my colleagues get harassed over the past year just for covering the game. If fans are this riled up by an award ceremony many self-proclaim to never have heard of, or a list of frontrunners that means very little, then I can’t see being ‘snubbed’ from TGA going down well.
Black Myth: Wukong
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Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology and based on Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.As the Destined One, you shall encounter powerful foes and worthy rivals throughout your journey. Fearlessly engage them in epic battles where surrender is not an option.Aside from mastering various staff techniques, you can also freely combine different spells, abilities, weapons, and equipment to find the winning strategy that best suits your combat style.
