Quick Links
Black Myth: Wukongtells the story of a seemingly nameless monkey, embarking on their own journey to claim the title of Monkey King (or rather, of Wukong). This involves collecting a series of essences, while at the same time learning the techniques and powers of the original Wukong.
Now, when the game ends, it seems to do so abruptly, with many players wondering what it was all about. Well, for those wondering what that thing on Wukong’s head was all about, and if there are any other endings, you’ll find your answers here. We delve into the true ending of Black Myth: Wukong, explaining what it all means.
Spoilers For The End Of The Game!
The Story Of Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong takes placeafter Journey to the West, a 16th-century Chinese novel. In it,Wukong has redeemed himselffrom his past transgressions against the kingdom of heaven, but we see him once againbeing targeted by the heavenly armies.
Wukong is bested by Erlang Shen, the mightiest fighter in both heaven and earth and the only one known to have bested Wukong before. Yet this time,Wukong dies, and his body is sealed in a state similar to when he was born: inside a rock atop a mountain.
The Destined One
Centuries later, monkeys gather around the rock that holds the remnants of Wukong,an elder telling the story of how their King died.The player then takes control of one of the listening monkeys, a silent protagonist that journeys tofind the six Senses of the Great Sage, gaining many of Wukong’s trademark powers on the way.
Once they have five senses, they have to return to the rock andcollect the final sense: the mind.Doing so causes the Destined One toenter the rock holding Wukong, and they duel duringthe final confrontation of the game.The endingdependson certain side questsdone before that fight.
The Bad ending isthe one you get by default, and getting this ending is part of the processto unlock the True ending.In it, we seethe Destined One win itsduel against Wukong, absorbing the late Monkey King fully and finally earning his title.
There is, however, one thing the Destined One doesn’t inherit:the Golden Headband. This head accessory simply falls to the ground, butit is picked up by the elder monkeyfrom the beginning of the game, andhe places it on the head of the Destined One.
After this, we seethe Destined One/Wukong in a sort of stasis, his body now trapped inside the rock that used to hold Wukong. Then the game ends, leaving players wondering what happened or what the point of it all was.
The Golden Headband
The purpose of the Golden Headband is more explicitly revealed during the True ending, but fans of Journey to the West would already know its purpose. In essence,it prevents Wukong from defying the heavens, turning him into less of a threat to the status quo.
Nowthat Headband was removed by Buddhaat the end of the original novel (we even get a reminder of that during the True ending), but it seems that it wasn’t fully removed or that it was placed again. This means that,even if Wukong won against Erlang Shen at the start of the game, it wouldn’t have mattered.
Now that the Destined One has the Golden Headband,they too are subduedand unable to stand against the heavenly kingdom. Theelder monkey might have been an agent of the heavens all along, ensuring that Wukong remains fully sealed.
The True Ending
To get the True ending,you’ll need to find the Grand Pagodain Chapter 3 and complete a quest about finding Loong Scales. With that done, you’ll unlock a secret chapter, whereyou fight Erlang Shen as the Destined One, a fight that soon becomes a mighty brawl among titans and unlocksthe Rock Monkey transformation.
Curiously,Erlang isn’t slain at the end of the fight, something that happens very rarely in Black Myth: Wukong. Instead,black smoke is released from Erlang’s third eye, unlocking something undisclosed within the Destined One, and thenErlang leaves, claiming he is “now at peace.”
The player now needs toface Wukong once again, and the scene after the fight plays out in a similar fashion. Yet, as the elder monkey approaches with the Golden Headband,the Destined One opens his eyes, and an animation starts showingthe story of Wukong in reverse: from his death at the beginning of the game to the moment he left to face off against the celestial forces.
Wukong’s Real Plan
The one whogave the six Senses of the Great Sage to the different bossesof the gamewas Erlang Shen, but he didn’t do that out of spite.He knew that one day,a monkey would rise and claim them back, gaining Wukong’s power little by little.
This was likely plannedat the behest of Wukong himself, with the goal being simple:remove the Golden Headband from his head. To do this,a new monkey would need to riseand inherit everything that makes Wukong himself;the Headband is not included, hence why it isn’t automatically transferred to the Destined One at the end.
What This Means For The Series
The True ending shows Wukong rising once again; it might not be the same monkey, but it has his skills and memories and likely inherited his goals as well (the Destined One was more of a blank canvas anyway). This means thatthis isn’t the last we’ve seen of Wukong, making him possibly return in a future game.
But with Wukong’s story being so thoroughly told, what could we expect to see next? Well, if Wukong wants to bring down the status quo, we can expecta heavenly brawlnot unlike the God of War series, facing off against the many Chinese mythological figures.
We might also get a game based around some other characters, utilizing the naming convention of Black Myth: Character Name. Erlang Shen might be an interesting choice for that, althoughSha Wujing, one of Wukong’s original companions, is oddly missingfrom the story, making him the most likely choice.
