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- Black Myth: Wukong has surpassed everyone’s expectations on launch.
- However, following the reviews, some fans were concerned it would be harder than the Elden Ring DLC.
- Having finished Shadow of the Erdtree twice and played Black Myth: Wukong for over 20 hours, there’s no comparison.
Black Myth: Wukong has just been released and exceeded everyone’s expectations. The game has managed to surpass 2.1 million concurrent players on Steam, and the reviews are nothing short of stellar either.
However, one particular review has led to a discussion. IGN’s reviewer claimed that he found the game harder than Elden Ring’s DLC, but my experience has been completely different.
If the difficulty is a negative for you, I’m here to say that there’s nothing to really worry about.
Why it matters: Shadow of the Erdtree set a high bar for all future releases in terms of difficulty. The DLC was even criticized for its difficult nature.
The Difficulty of Shadow of The Erdtree
Shadow of the Erdtree was highly criticized for being too difficult as soon as it was released.
The expansion received a lot of negative reviews because fans were frustrated that the game was hard for them to enjoy. Some streamers also stopped playing it on launch since they received a massive skill check.
One of the most famous Twitch Streamers, Kai Cenat, had to hire a therapist mid-game to be able to beat the final boss. As such, the difficulty was clearly cranked to the maximum. I consider myself a Souls veteran, and it took me well over two hours to defeat Radahn, Consort of Miquella.
Having played almost every Soulsborne title, I believe that Shadow of the Erdtree is the hardest. I think the game’s mechanics were misunderstood by many, which is why the hate it received was unjustified. That said, it featured bosses so hard that they made Malenia look like a cakewalk.
Having completed various no-hit runs on Malaria several times, the DLC still proved a real challenge for me. The first boss, Dancing Lion, was a real skill check for many and took me many tries. Then Messmer, The Impaler, Bayle The Dread, Rellana, and Radahn constantly kept on upping the ante.
However, I had a lot of fun and eventually beat every boss after learning their attack patterns. Rellana and Radahn proved to be the most challenging.
Can Black Myth: Wukong Offer The Same Challenge?
Having played 10 hours of Black Myth: Wukong already, I can say it is nowhere near as difficult as Shadow of the Erdtree. I have no idea how the reviewer thought it was harder since there’s a huge difference in the core design philosophy of both games.
Black Myth: Wukong has been a pretty simple game for me so far. The dodge timing has been pretty forgiving, and the large arsenal of abilities at your disposal makes it so you can make short work of most foes as long as you use these abilities correctly.
The large gap between the player and bosses that Elden Ring presents isn’t nearly as prevalent here. In fact, I would argue Black Myth: Wukong is way more of a power fantasy since you actually feel very strong from the beginning.
On the other hand, Elden Ring was challenging from the beginning. Even the Tree Sentinel and Margit were fairly difficult during the first run since they had many delayed attacks and moves that baited out rolls to punish.
Given the choice, I would rank Black Myth: Wukong right next to the Dark Souls 3 base game experience, which wasn’t that difficult either. You might find a few bosses annoying here and there, but once you get the hand of the core mechanics, it’s easy to power through.
This is the same reason Game Science compared the experience to an action RPG like God of War instead of other Souls-likes. Difficulty isn’t the main focus here.
See For Yourself
If you still have doubts, there’s an easy solution. Buy Black Myth: Wukong on Steam, and give it a shot for 2 hours. You can always resort to a refund if things don’t work out, so there isn’t much of a risk.
If, like me, you have any experience with Souls-like, the action RPG is unlikely to pose a major challenge. However, there’s still a lot of fun to be had, even if you won’t get the satisfaction of overcoming an impossibly strong foe here.
Like rumors suggested, Black Myth: Wukong is basically a boss rush game, but I’m having trouble putting it down for now. Pulling off all the flashy moves and transformations is just too addicting to step away from.
Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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