Four years after its announcement, Dark Legend: Wukong has finally made it into the hands of critics, who are reviewing the third-person action-RPG ahead of its release on August 20. The general consensus is that while the upcoming game looks great and has some great boss designs, it's buggy, has overly easy, and repetitive combat.
Dark Legend: Wukong It was first announced in 2020 through a short but impressive looking gameplay trailer. Since then, the excitement around the game has been smooth combat and gorgeous visuals. But, ONE IGN Report in 2023 He alleged that some senior figures at Game Science, the studio behind the game, engaged in ugly online discussions about women, creating a toxic culture at the studio.
That report didn't stop Dark Legend: Wukong It's on track to become one of the most anticipated PS5 games of 2024. Strangely enough, there was no exit (Kotaku including) I bought the console version of the game, so all the reviews are for the PC version. To me, this seems like a potential red flag, but we'll have to wait and see how it plays on the PS5 when people get their hands on it.
For now, here's what other critics and writers have to say about the matter:t Dark Legend: Wukong On the computer:
Dark Legend: Wukong is a fantastic video game and an astonishing achievement from an independent studio. P's lies last year and Nioh2 before that, Dark Legend: Wukong It's a perfect example of how to take Soulslike elements and weave them together into something that feels fresh and original. It's gorgeous to look at, has some of the best music in any game so far this year, and presents itself with such confidence and panache that it's hard to fault.
Wukong is one of the most enjoyable action-RPGs I've ever played, simply because of how lovingly it treats its world and characters, and how much it wants me to love them. It worked: Punchy fights aside, I wanted to keep working every bit of it, just in case I met another strange little creature with a mysterious quest or got attacked by another animal learning MMA. In a pool of games about fallen kings and sad dragons, it's enjoyable to play an action game that isn't obsessed with being dour, and where the best solution to the toughest fights is to use as many fun abilities as possible.
In a tremendous year Elden Ring: The Shadow of Erdtree Even if the DLC lacked the immense scale and complexity of FromSoftware's masterpiece, I never thought I'd play a game that managed to reach similar heights despite veering in such a different direction.
Wukong It's a beast of its own, and if the soulslike label is going to be slapped on it, then I guess we'll have to find a new definition. There's nothing else like it.
Do I feel like the game is unfinished? In large chunks, yes, but at least with the story, no. I was pleased with how the story ended… but I can't shake the multiple, lingering disappointments along the journey to the end.
A game with these kinds of ups and downs is, as I've stated throughout the review, frustrating. To see This game has a 10/10 rating somewhere, but a lot of questionable level design and gameplay design choices combined with a lot of performance issues and bugs sadly drag the game down. Dark Legend: Wukong It's a beautiful, sad, and fascinating story that must be experienced — you have to find your way through a jungle of problems to enjoy it.
Dark Legend: Wukong It's a great game when you look at it, but the exploration is lacking and the combat is mostly okay. It's a bit uninspiring and not a game I expect to remember for long after I finish it.
As GameScience's first action game, Dark Legend: Wukong Despite some major technical black spots and localization issues that are likely to lead to some disappointment at launch, it's a huge success overall.
Battles are fantastic, thanks to the perfect balance of careful resource management and lightning-fast, responsive gameplay that tests my skills to the fullest. Hand Ring Despite being a more traditional action game than FromSoftware's style, it's still one of the best games ever. Not only that, there are tons of exciting boss battles, a huge variety of enemies, and the world they inhabit is an absolute feast for the eyes and ears.
Its story has its moments, but it relies a little too much on prior knowledge of the events of Journey to the West, and it really could have used a map to match its rewarding exploration and combat prowess. Its strengths, however, more than carry it through, and Dark Legend: Wukong It's a great action game that could be even greater if GameScience could fix the bugs.
I absolutely loved it Dark Legend: Wukong for the first two episodes, but the repetitive tedium and some long sections started to wear me down halfway through. The combat is experience-carrying, the story is interesting but not so fragmented that it would keep me on the edge of my seat, and the world is a wonderful place.
It's exciting to see such a rich setting, largely untouched in games, being treated with such obvious love and care by an action RPG of this scale. Despite some disappointments, Dark Legend: Wukong It feels great and finishes strong – so strong that I’m considering giving New Game Plus a try, if only to find more stuff I missed.
Dark Legend: Wukong It's definitely not Souls-like. What I didn't expect was that it was essentially a long boss rush. It's not uncommon to go from one boss fight to another and then another, and these elaborate battles Dark Legend: Wukong shines. But the in-between moments aren't as strong, sometimes veering into pointless tedium. But the satisfying combat and uniquely varied boss fights mostly make up for these flaws.
Dark Legend: Wukong It's a game that avoids the Soulslike label, but is clearly aimed at the Soulslike audience. It's far from the best in the genre, but it's also not the worst game to follow the genre. Dark Souls'footsteps.
If you go into the game expecting a standard Soulslike experience with a mix of blood-curdling boss encounters and basic level design, you'll have a better time than if you go into the game expecting it to be a traditional character action game.
Dark Legend: Wukong Offering around 30 hours of gameplay on its first playthrough, the game also features a wealth of side content, but many will grow tired of the limited combat options long before reaching the dazzling yet frustrating final boss fight.