The Involuntary Monk: Playing Black Myth: Wukong Without Interactions

Game development is a difficult craft, as many users have very different machines they play on. Ranging from hardware to drivers, the list of facets that could affect how a game runs is longer than most End User Agreements. As such, I’m not sure what happened while I was playing Black Myth: Wukong for review, but I could not, for whatever reason, open any chests or interact with anything without getting an error message and having to restart the game, with the exception of souls and crafting resources. Being a stubborn man, however, I decided to press on and see how far I could actually get. I mean… when, if not now?

Note: Some minor spoilers for the beginning of Black Myth: Wukong.

So, I set off on the adventure of the Destined One, swinging my extendable willow staff at wolves and being horrible at dodging. The first Chinese Error Message of Doom (or CEM for short) came up pretty quickly in the form of a relatively simple chest guarded by some wolves at the edge of the forest. After a few attempts and CEMs, I gave up and logged Simple Chests as a done deal and vowed to never be tricked by their promises of treasure. After some battling and getting lost in the beautiful wilderness, I came across my first shrine… did I dare press the interact button and risk starting from scratch again or would I try to survive to the end without rest? Being a coward, I tried the shrine and to my relief, it worked! I was also able to loot an item out of a statue's head, so things were looking up!

One mini-boss and going the wrong way later, I found myself at a new shrine (worked!) and was happily exploring the Wolf Forest, occasionally being beaten to a pulp by the roaming Wight. My happiness was short-lived, however, as I found a Big Chest guarded by a humanoid creature who was much tougher than the other enemies I had faced. After a few close calls and one accidental run-in with the Wight, I finally got around to beating the Guardian of the Chest, only to be presented with a big CEM again… My hopes now dashed, I moved on, being reminded of the folly of greed and looking for something to hit.

Ingratiatingly, Wukong obliged and provided me with a Yaoguai General wielding a flaming polearm. Our duel was legendary, ending with me coming out victorious thanks to a lucky dodge at the last minute! I got a new skill, a bunch of Will, and found a neat bell I could ring to sound out my victory! … or not, as a lovely CEM was again thrown in my face. A true sage would not boast of their victories, it seemed. I still had much to learn, so I moved on yet again. Seeking greater foes and more challenge, I took on the meandering Wight yet again, beating the poor fool after a few tries. He too dropped a soul, though apparently, I lacked the tools to collect it… thank Buddha it wasn't a CEM though.

After some exploration, getting lost again, and finally finding a temple, I was greeted with the first larger foe, a Yaoguai King! The battle was great fun and I even managed to squeak out a victory on my first attempt! Riding high on my victory yet again, a voice said I should totally loot something the beast was guarding! Fool that I was, I forgot my vow and was banished once more by the divine CEM to fall back into shadow. Thankfully, the boss was still beaten, so little progress was lost.

Surprise surprise, I battled more wolves, even finding some snake people to fight, both living and reanimated. Serpentine foes now beat, I faced a giant toad, got lost in the woods and found a guy with a fan and lots of poison damage. Taking my time, getting my face stomped a few times, and learning how to master my transformations, I was again victorious! Learning this person was related to Mr Fire-Glaive-Wolf from earlier. Cool! I found another bell, but my instincts were finally sharp, so I avoided it and made my way toward the final path I had yet to explore.

Somewhere along the way, I met an errant painter, who taught me how to capture souls, as painters apparently do. With this knowledge, I loaded up the spirit of the Wight and headed to battle once again, fearing none but the strongest foes! I also ran into the biggest chest I had ever seen, succumbing to my all-too-base desires and being banished to the CEM dimension anew. Damn you chests, I just want loot!

Though I had had a few resets, I was surprised at how far I had gotten. Maybe the chests were just resources and the bells were extra skill points? With hesitant hope in my heart, I continued on, finding my monkey kinsman being harassed by a darned snake! One quick combat later, he was free and invited me into his home. After following him in and starting up a conversation, I got one line in, before the Jade Emperor himself must have cursed me, as a CEM left me wanting yet again… I had forgotten that a monk must remain dedicated to his task and do so alone... I guess?

No! The door opened and I flowed into battle, taking on some new varieties of enemies who all told me of the Black Wind… I even met Bojack the horseman, or someone related to him, who even talked to me. Maybe my divine mission did not count horses as a distraction? Anyway, after talking, fighting, and getting lost again, I made my way up towards a giant door… through which the dread bear was apparently waiting. With a breath, I entered their domain… but it was not meant to be. A CEM later, I was beaten. No further paths were in front of me, no other avenue of progress was left. So ended the journey of the Involuntary Monk, knock knock knocking on an enemy's door.

Going back to less-flowery prose, it seems you can make it all the way to the Black Winds door without interactions! A somewhat useless experiment, but a fun one nonetheless. Thankfully this issue was fixed soon after, allowing me to hop back into the beautiful world and practise my staff swings, vows forgotten, bells rung, and pockets full of sweet loot!