How Black Myth: Wukong Connects To One Of The Greatest Anime Of All Time

2024 has been a great year for soulslike fans. First we finally got our hands on the "Elden Ring" DLC "Shadow of the Erdtree," and now "Black Myth: Wukong" is blowing everyone away. The game is a little less "Dark Souls" and a little more "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor," making it more accessible to wider audiences. It also boasts some unique combat abilities and epic bosses, as well as some of the best graphics we've ever seen.

"Black Myth: Wukong" is a stunning success that almost immediately racked up over 2.4 million concurrent players. It beat out the all-time high enjoyed by "Palworld," despite the fact that "Black Myth" is single-player and isn't free-to-play. The game's developers have courted controversy with some dicey comments, but "Black Myth" is still riding a wave of popularity that no one could have predicted. Part of the appeal of Game Science's big new soulslike is its source material. The game is inspired by the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West," which also helped to spark one of the most popular anime of all time: "Dragon Ball." In fact, the player character in "Black Myth" just so happens to have a lot in common with Goku.

"Journey to the West" was written by Wu Cheng'en in 1592, and since then it's become one of the most widely known novels not just in China, but throughout the world. The novel follows the story of Xuanxang, a real Buddhist monk who traveled from China to India to gather sacred texts called sutras and bring them home. In the book, Xuanxang is referred to as Tang Sanzang, and the reality of his story becomes the jumping-off point for an epic fantasy adventure imbued with Buddhist mythology. Tang Sanzang doesn't go on his long journey alone, as he's joined by disciples like the monk Sha Wujing, the pig Zhu Bajie, and the monkey Sun Wukong. Out of the party, Sun Wukong became the most popular character by far, largely due to his combat prowess and ability to take on the shape of any animal. Sun Wukong wields a mighty staff called Ruyi Jingu Bang, which weighs thousands of pounds and can easily defeat almost any foe.

"Journey to the West" has inspired countless other stories and characters over the centuries. The early seasons of "Dragon Ball" are very loosely based on the novel, with Goku taking on the role of Sun Wukong. He fell from the sky, he gets trained by a wise old sage, he meets a shapeshifting pig, he battles a horned king at a burning mountain, and the list goes on! The Destined One — the primary protagonist of "Black Myth: Wukong" — is also based on Tang Sanzang's monkey companion. However, in a bit of a fun twist, the game actually picks up where the novel ends.

If you aren't familiar with the story of "Journey to the West," then the opening cutscene of "Black Myth: Wukong" can be a little tough to follow. The book establishes that Sun Wukong is a mischievous character who's gotten on the wrong side of the gods by defying them in the past. At the end of the novel, however, the monkey becomes enlightened and gets to ascend to immortal life among the gods.

That's where the game picks up. In the opening cutscene, Sun Wukong has once again upset the gods by declining immortality in favor of living amongst his people in the mountains. A battle ensues, which ends with Sun Wukong being trapped inside a stone, his six senses also hidden inside magical relics that have been scattered across the land. The other monkeys keep searching for the relics, and the Destined One is a part of that lineage. The Destined One, just like Goku in "Dragon Ball," bears some of Sun Wukong's traits and his magical powers, though "Black Myth: Wukong" establishes that we aren't exactly playing as the mythological monkey himself. 

Players just jumping into the game without a working knowledge of "Journey to the West" have nonetheless spent the last few days picking up on some of the similarities to Dragon Ball, with many remarking upon Sun Wukong's flying cloud and magic staff as being highly reminiscent of Goku's arsenal. If you're one of these gamers, now you know where it all originally came from!