Summary
By all accounts,Black Myth: Wukonghas been a resounding success. Itsmashed the record for most concurrent playersin a single-player game onSteam, beating the four-year-old record set byCyberpunk 2077, soldten million copies in three days, and scored a very respectable81 on Metacritic. Not bad for a studio’s debut game.
However, while the game is already a critical and commercial success, there have been some major bugbears for players, most notably the invisible walls that plague the world. This has led to a flurry of player complaints online.
Black Myth: Wukong’s Major Invisible Wall Problem
Invisible walls are nothing new in video games. They’ve been around for years, preventing players from reaching areas and locations they’re not supposed to. Not many are as frustrating as Black Myth: Wukong’s, however.
Posted on Reddit, one player shared a video clip of one of the most egregious invisible walls in video games.
Approaching a valley, which is almost as wide as the player’s screen and that looks like a walkway to a new area, the player is suddenly and abruptly hit by an invisible barrier, preventing them from going any further. Despite their best efforts to circumnavigate it, they found it’s truly a dead end and just one of the many examples of this issue within the game.
This sparked a major discussion among players, many of whom share the same frustrations. Usually, games will use some environmental objects to indicate a path is blocked — a rock, a tree, a fence — but not Wukong, which allows you to think you’ve discovered a new area, only to block you off randomly.
“Why would they make it look so clearly like a path you can go down?",one player saidin response to the original video, witha second adding, “The problem is that SOMETIMES you can go down, which means you now have to check every single walls and cliff because it might lead to a big optional area or important item.”
The environment and level design was called the game’s “biggest detractor”. The area in question could have just had a full “cliff face, instead of a path with an invisible wall,” it was suggested, with the fact that there are “steep rock faces on either side of the path,” making the decision even stranger.
The complaints weren’t limited to Reddit either. In Black Myth: Wukong’sSteam reviews, players were quick to point out that one of the biggest cons is that “invisible walls are especially noticeable in the first chapter,” and that it’s “Annoying to see something that looks like a cave, but has an invisible wall five feet in front of it.”
A lack of a mini-map or compass was lamented by players and suggested as a simple solution to this issue. As was having the barriers glow a particular color when approached to make it clear the area was a no-go zone. Whatever the reason for it, though, this design choice is an odd one.
Black Myth: Wukong
WHERE TO PLAY
Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG rooted in Chinese mythology and based on Journey to the West, one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.You shall set out as the Destined One to venture into the challenges and marvels ahead, to uncover the obscured truth beneath the veil of a glorious legend from the past.As the Destined One, you shall encounter powerful foes and worthy rivals throughout your journey. Fearlessly engage them in epic battles where surrender is not an option.Aside from mastering various staff techniques, you can also freely combine different spells, abilities, weapons, and equipment to find the winning strategy that best suits your combat style.
