Wukong’s lore is introducing me to classic literature, and I love it

It is undeniable that Black Myth: Wukong It draws heavily on classical literature for its lore, being based on the Chinese tale Journey to the West. And for me, even though I’ve never read the original novel, that means playing the game has still taught me a lot about it. The history of Black Myth: Wukong is closely intertwined with the original story, to the point that it arguably serves as a backdoor to learn about Journey to the Wests narrative.

Although Black Myth: Wukong Following the journey of the Destined One long after Sun Wukong’s own comes to an end, the experiences of the Monkey King are undeniably at the heart of the game. The game makes constant use of figures and settings of Journey to the WestAnd Black Myth: Wukongs extensive roster of bosses is full of familiar faces to those with an understanding of the novel it is based on. But, relieving Journey to the West Is not the only way to enjoy the game; A lack of familiarity simply opens up a new angle to experience both stories.

Black Myth: Wukong teaches players about key parts of the Journey to the West

Black Myth: Wukong is the first adaptation of Journey to the West What I experienced, and as a result, this is also my first encounter with the original story in any form. But even if the word was clearly removed from the source material because of the new story, I can still see the shape of Journey to the West In how it has shaped the world of the game. As such, in traveling with the destined one, it is possible to get a remarkably clear understanding of the main events of Journey to the West.

This became clear to me immediately Black Myth: Wukong is full of characters from Journey to the WestRegardless of my poor knowledge of the latter. This is because they see the Destined One as Sun Wukong and address him as such, constantly referring to long ago encounters with the Monkey King. Of course, this often leads to violence, as any given figure of tone in Black Myth: Wukong is likely to be one of his many bosses. But even so, this dialogue and the subsequent clashes provide many interesting insights into Sun Wukong’s part in Journey to the West.

Chapter one alone provides many excellent examples of this beginning. The Keeper of Black Wind Mountain introduced players to the idea of ​​a fire occurring in Guanyin Temple long before a player like me had any understanding of what he was referring to, but it still set the scene perfectly for what was to come.. It quickly became clear that Sun Wukong was involved with the temple burningWith additional details about the incident uncovered as one dives further into the story behind the chapter (which is presented through multiple mediums, including dialogue and journal entries).

Turning the journey of the West into the game makes it easy to digest

Fragments of an interconnected story

The journal pages unlocked by defeating bosses provide a huge amount of lore related to both Journey to the West And the changes made to build the story of Black Myth: Wukong. for example, The inciting incident that is the backdrop of Chapter One is very much explained by Elder Jinchi’s journal entry.Including introducing other unaware players to the character of Tang Monk, Sun Wukong’s master, and the primary person embarking on the titular “Journey to the West.”

By the end of playing through Chapter One, I had uncovered a fascinating story of greed festering in the heart of a monk. I learned of a plot to steal a beautiful kasaya, which was terrible on the conspirators when Sun Wukong turned the fire against Guanyin Temple as a whole. While Black Myth: Wukong extrapolated a sequel to this cautionary tale, it is clear to me that the core of its background is taken from Journey to the West; and so, Simply by playing a video game, I have learned an interesting fragment of classical Chinese literature.

There is a constant flow of knowledge in Black Myth: Wukong which serves to contextualize the events of the play, with constant references to the past – or, in other words, the events of Journey to the West. The novel itself is famously long, and so it is clear that Black Myth: Wukong Only draws on select aspects of it. Nevertheless, with intriguing knowledge so deeply rooted in the original narrative, I find myself able to deduce some of​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Journey to the WestAnd I love how progressing further into the game deepens my understanding of it.