While there’s no denying that Astro Bot was deserving of Game of the Year in 2024, fans of intense and difficult games were stunned that Black Myth: Wukong didn’t come out with this award. Then, the Soulslike action RPG was finally crowned Game of the Year at the Steam Awards, solidifying fans’ feelings about the game. But is this year the return of the platformer?
Black Myth: Wukong came out in Aug. 2024 and immediately received a lot of positive responses from critics and casual gamers alike, although the file size was massive. Based on Chinese mythology, Black Myth: Wukong scratched a lot of gamers’ Dark Souls itch thanks to its dark storyline, the extremely difficult boss fights, and the multiple endings. The expansive and challenging game seemed like it was bound to be one of the biggest games of the year — but was it?
Black Myth: Wukong’s Controversial 2024
Are Soulslike Games Out?
When Black Myth: Wukong came out, it was immediately praised for its visuals, gripping lore, and tough battles. It was also compared to a Soulslike game due to its very similar game mechanics and play patterns, although the game wanted to be differentiated from this genre for some reason. Still, it was hard not to see the similarities. In just three days, the game sold over 10 million copies.
Another glaring issue right away was the bugs and technical issues. Some of these even showed themselves in battles, including unresponsive buttons and even inputs leading to the wrong action. This is a pretty big deal in a game that’s all about challenging fights. The skill tree element also led to frustration, not allowing players to level up some of the stats needed for harder boss fights. This led to a lot of excruciating fights that felt nearly impossible and all too repetitive. Mixed with a pretty underwhelming story, Black Myth: Wukong was just “okay” for some gamers and reviewers.
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The mixed reviews became all the more apparent when a massive controversy struck just a week after the game’s launch. Streamers and influencers given early access to the game were told not to discuss a variety of topics while broadcasting the game. This included politics, the global pandemic, and “feminist propaganda.”
Some gamers were alarmed at the control developers wanted over the game’s discourse, while others celebrated the game’s “anti-woke” rules. Others felt that China was just trying to censor yet another game — the country has been known to ban many popular games for violence or create their own “appropriate” versions (who can forget China’s knockoff PUBG that has eliminated opponents waving goodbye?).
With this controversy looming over the game so soon, gamers became a bit critical of Black Myth: Wukong, even wondering if it deserved the positive reviews at all. Wrote one gamer: “From my perspective, the gameplay is pretty mediocre at best. The graphics might look nice, but visuals alone don’t make a game great. The mechanics feel clunky, and the storyline lacks depth. It seems like a lot of the praise is coming from the Chinese gaming community, which makes me question the overall appeal to the wider audience.”
Another gamer responded to the forum discussion with similar sentiments, claiming that the game was only popular due to “right-wingers” hyping it up. One female gaming forum also criticized the game’s community, ranting about posts they saw soon after the game’s launch that said the game is “fighting against the woke” and will “save the gaming industry” from wokeness. Others noted that game critics were being “attacked” for pointing out a lack of female characters in the game.
But just because a portion of a game’s fanbase is leaning hard into sensationalization doesn’t mean the game itself isn’t worthy of an award.
Black Myth: Wukong Finally Wins Game of the Year
What Does GOTY Take?
The Game Awards 2024 had Black Myth: Wukong fans at the edge of their seat. The game was nominated for four different awards, including Game of the Year. The nominees for this coveted award were:
- Astro Bot – Winner
- Balatro
- Black Myth: Wukong
- Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
- Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
- Metaphor: ReFantazio
Unfortunately for Wukong fans, Astro Bot won the Game of the Year award after taking many other categories as well. But other gamers pointed out that being “popular” doesn’t mean Game of the Year. Black Myth: Wukong sold 20 million copies at this point, but that’s not all it takes to win the award.
Game Science CEO Feng Ji seemed just as frustrated as fans, however. He said that being nominated for the four categories was a first for a Chinese game, but he still felt a sense of “loss and regret” after Wukong didn’t receive GOTY. He added: “The games nominated this year were all exceptional, but honestly, I still can’t figure out what the criteria were for Game of the Year. I feel like I came all the way here for nothing!”
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This statement read like Ji likely felt that Black Myth: Wukong had what it took to win GOTY, leaving the devs and the country feeling snubbed. It almost seemed like they even felt it was personal. Ji even said he’d written his Game of the Year speech two years ago but never had the chance to deliver it to fans. It’s difficult to parse the exact tone of Ji’s comments, given that they were written online and translated to English. It should be noted that Ji is no stranger to making strong statements, including some sexist rants on social media.
But all drama aside, why wasn’t Wukong the clear winner as fans (and the devs) expected? There were definitely some conspiracy theories going around, but to see what actually makes a game worthy of GOTY, we need to look closer at the criteria. First, it should be noted that the Game Awards states that 90% of the vote comes from critics and reviewers on the show’s panel — 10% is from the fan vote. So no matter how much you love Wukong, players’ votes arenot going to outweigh the panel. Over 100 publications were on the panel in 2023, including mainstream media and niche sites from all over the world.
It’s not clear what the criteria is for these publications, but it’s safe to say from past patterns that mainstream games with wide appeal are more than likely to win due to the diverse panel. They also seem to lean towards games with great storylines meant for a single player to enjoy. Since Wukong had such an underwhelming story, it’s easy to see why it may not have resonated with every game critic. It also wasn’t approachable and enjoyable to a wide audience, since it could be seen as difficult or exhausting for players who don’t enjoy super hardcore games.
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It should be noted that Astro Bot has an extremely thin plot as well, but the game is not meant to have one — it’s a light-hearted and cute platformer that feels simple and lighthearted during a year that was pretty tough for a lot of people. Platform games are having a bit of a resurgence for this reason, with games like Mario Bros. Wonder and Hollow Knight getting hype all 2024. And with the Nintendo Switch 2 coming out this year, it might just be that gamers are in a platforming mode.
While often seen as maybe too simple or easy, platformers can be overlooked when compared to epic solo RPG adventures — but these are not really comparable, they’re a totally different category. It may be a category of gaming that is speaking to people right now due to the fun graphics, repetitive movements, and innovative level designs. That simplicity appeals to a wider audience than difficult games that have a massive learning curve, meaning more votes.
But that doesn’t mean Wukang isn’t worthy — China’s first AAA game to receive Game of the Year took home the honor at the Steam Awards later on Dec. 31, 2024. The game beat out epic titles like Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, Balartro, Helldivers 2 and STALKER 2. This should leave the devs behind Wukong feeling a bit better about all their efforts. The game also won two entertaining awards: Outstanding Story-Rich Game and Best Game You Suck At.
We’re now in 2025 and the views on Black Myth: Wukong are still mixed. One Steam review reads: “Just finished my first play through of this game and wow am I amazed. I was hooked the whole time. I haven’t binge played a video game [like this] in a very, very long time.”
Yet another reads: “Graphics and hype. No attachment or build up for any characters or bosses, lackluster combat that banks on the notion of ‘get good’ to cover for bad balancing and enemy attack scripts. Zero sense of progression or build up towards anything. Is it really even a boss fight if every fight is a boss?” It’s really up to individual players to decide: Was this really the Game of the Year for 2024?
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Black Myth: Wukong
- Released
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August 20, 2024
- Developer(s)
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Game Science
- Publisher(s)
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Game Science
- OpenCritic Rating
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Strong
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When the PS5® mothership is attacked by ASTRO’s long-standing galactic nemesis, scrambling its wires and scattering the crew throughout space, only ASTRO can make things right! Setting off on his biggest mission yet, he needs your help to rescue the stranded crew and rebuild the mothership.
- Released
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September 6, 2024
- Developer(s)
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Team Asobi
- Publisher(s)
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
- OpenCritic Rating
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Mighty
