See the complete and explained story of Black Myth Wukong

Released on August 19th by Japanese developer Game Science, Black Myth: Wukong It’s not exactly a traditional soulslike, although it does bring some typical elements of the genre. Among them is the way it tells its story, which isn’t always well-structured or makes much sense to those who don’t understand the references used by the studio.

To complicate matters, the game also has a series of “secret” endings that reveal the fate of the protagonist and the true motivations of his adversaries. With this premise of a fragmented story and fun gameplay, which is its main focus, many players may end up giving up on understanding the game’s full narrative.

But don’t worry: we’ve dug deep into the game to explain what happens in it and make it easy to understand the points of its story. Below, check out a summary of the main story of Black Myth Wukong and an explanation of its narrative.

The story of Black Myth Wukong is a kind of continuation

More than a reinterpretation of the Chinese tale Journey to the West, Black Myth Wukong is a sort of sequel to the story of the warrior Sun Wukong. Also known as the Monkey King, he was born on a magical rock at the top of Mount Huagou and, at a young age, could already walk and talk.

With supernatural abilities and the ability to control the wind, he ended up defying the gods themselves and became an enemy of the Jade Emperor. Banished from the world for 500 years by the Buddha, he learned several lessons of humility and patience that transformed his personality and, after helping a monk, he achieved redemption — check out the story in detail here.

Black Myth Wukong begins after Journey to the Westshowing Su Wukong once again being the target of the wrath of the gods and their armies. In a battle against Erlang Shen, the character dies and has his body sealed again inside a mountain, not before the artifacts known as the Six Senses of the Great Sage spread throughout China, guarding his special powers.

Centuries later, a group of monkeys led by an elder gather around the place where their King was sealed, mourning what happened to him. From that moment on, the player takes control of one of them, known as the Destined, who takes upon himself the mission of recovering the sacred items and recover the powers contained within them.

A story with multiple endings

After several difficult battles and adventures, Black Myth Wukong players will face Sun Wukong’s own body trapped in stone, who, even after death, remains a fearsome adversary. After this happens, the protagonist (the Destined One) absorbs the powers of the legendary warrior and assumes almost all of his legacy — with the exception of the golden tiara he wore.

The real ending of Black Myth: Wukong isn’t revealed by playing through it once.Source: Disclosure/Game Science

The tiara falls to the ground and is picked up by the ancient monkey seen at the beginning of the game, who places it on the head of the new Wukong, who ends up stuck on the same rock as his predecessor. This is considered the “bad ending” of the game and happens abruptly, leaving many players confused in the process. Therefore, it is necessary to continue playing to understand the full story.

To get the true ending and understand what happened, players must return to Chapter 3 and explore the Great Pagoda. There, players will find a side quest involving the search for Loong Scales, which, when obtained, unlock a final chapter in which we face Erlang Shen.

The game tells a story of revenge and the fight for freedom.Source: Disclosure/Game Science

When the adversary is defeated, he ends up with some hidden limitation that was affecting the protagonist, disappearing without further explanation. As you continue through the main adventure and reach the final battle again, the ending follows a similar manner — however, when the ancient monkey goes to place the crown on the head of the Destined One, he opens his eyes and a new animation is displayed.

Black Myth: Wukong leaves room for sequel

The animation reveals that the powerful Monkey King was primarily responsible for his own deathwhich was part of a plan that had the help of Erlang Shen. He spread the Six Senses of the Great Sage throughout the world knowing that one day, a monkey would rise up and be able to obtain them, gaining all the powers associated with them.

However, the golden tiara was not part of her plans and, in the true ending, it ends up being rejected. This is because, more than a beautiful ornament, the accessory serves as an instrument of Buddha and the gods so that they can control Sun Wukong. In other words, the legendary character never really abandoned his rebellion, devising a complex plan to return without the shackles of the past.

The true ending of Black Myth: Wukong ends with this big reveal and the transformation of the Destined into a powerful figure who seems to be seeking revengeremembering everything that happened in the distant past. This leaves several gaps for a possible sequel, in which he may face a new wave of mythological figures in a search for freedom.

It’s also possible that Game Science will explore other characters from Journey to the West, or even figures that appear in the game — Erlang Shen himself seems to have more to reveal. So far, however, nothing has been confirmed in this regard, but the excellent sales of the title should already be encouraging the studio to think about what ideas it should develop.