Dragons, double-headed rats and blood-drinking sword-wielding tigers; Black Myth: Wukong is filled with fantastical creatures for the staff-swinging simian protagonist to confront in battle across dense jungles, dusty mountains and temple ruins. Known as Yaoguai, the monsters you’ll encounter have their origin in Chinese mythology and are especially inspired by the classical novel Journey to the West. Here’s a look at some of the mythical creatures you’ll discover in the early game…
Multiple Monkeys
Journey to the West’s most well known character is arguably Sun Wukong, the monkey king who joins the monk on his pilgrimage to retrieve sacred buddhist texts in the Chinese novel. For English audiences, the 1942 abridged translation by Arthur Waley titled Monkey is named in reference to Sun Wukong. And it is this monkey you see first upon starting Black Myth: Wukong. But this is no origin story; clad in opulent armour, the opening of the game sees the monkey king challenge a host of rivals, ranging from the towering to the magical and acrobatic. But it wouldn’t be much of an opening if everything went to plan…
After a valiant effort Sun Wukong is bested and crashes onto a mountain top–it is here that years later, a greying elder-monkey tells this tale to a troop of monkeys, listening intently to the story of how the monkey-king divided his spirit into six relics, which if recovered and reunited with the rock said to contain his remains, could see him rise again.
This epic tale catches the attention of one particular monkey, who comes to be known as ‘the Destined One’, and it is this adventurous monkey we control throughout the game. On his journey to uncover the lost relics in this land of mythical wonder, this primate will meet numerous friends and foes.
Keeper of Black Wind Mountain
The Destined One begins his quest on Black Wind Mountain, and it isn’t long until he meets the mysterious Keeper of Black Wind Mountain. His hunched posture and unkempt hair betray him as a wise old man, and indeed he is knowledgeable on both the area and magical abilities, claiming he’s been waiting for your arrival. Appearing from a cloud of mist, the Keeper of Black Wind Mountain first visits the Destined One to direct him to the temple ahead, but when trouble starts brewing he disappears as quickly as he arrived.
Continuing to provide guidance as an omniscient voice, the Keeper appears a couple more times, once in a moment of danger to bestow the Immobilize spell, and again after resting at a Keeper’s Shrine (for the shrines are this same Keeper’s) to briefly transform the Destined One into a golden cicada in order to scout out the area ahead stealthily. Who is the helpful old man? And how many magical tricks does he have up his sleeve? Whatever his motivations, the advice and abilities he grants are essential for dealing with the not-so friendly creatures you will encounter…
Yaoguai
Black Myth’s mythical world is inhabited by creatures both big and small. Known as Yaoguai, these monsters often take the shape of humanoid animals, talking, walking on two legs and fighting in uncannily human ways. In the early area, you’ll exchange blows with various forms of foxes, wolves and snakes, each of which have their origins in Chinese mythology. Others from the animal kingdom also represented include rats, frogs, bats and crows–but it's not just the fauna you need to look out for, some particularly well disguised flora will surprise you when you go to pick them. These serve as the lower level enemies known as Lesser Yaoguai–but don’t let that name fool you, they can still pack a punch.
When you start to spar with those who have a health bar at the bottom of the screen, you’re likely in the presence of a Yaoguai Chief or the more powerful Yaoguai King, a group of particularly formidable foes. These specifically named enemies are often characters from Journey to the West who have been lifted from the page and onto pixels. Ahead of a confrontation with Black Bear Guai at the end of the first chapter, the Destined One must first defeat Lingxuzi, a large grey wolf, and the Whiteclad Nobel, a snake in a man’s body–reflecting the relationships between the characters in the classical novel. The game is a retelling of the mythical legend, so while some elements will adhere closely to the novel, as is the case with all adaptations, changes will likely be made to better fit this new medium.
The sheer number and variety of creatures you’ll meet is vast, fortunately, Black Myth: Wukong has a Portraits section within the Journal on the pause screen, that functions as a form of bestiary or logbook for the monsters you’ve bested and characters you’ve met. There you can see evocative ink illustrations of each Yaogaui along with more information about their backstory.
Intrigued to see what other mythical creatures await in this land of vast wonders? There’s no need to wait, Black Myth: Wukong is out now on PS5 and PC. And if you’re already playing, what’s your favourite creature you’ve seen so far? Let us know in the comments below.
