Two that stand out, in particular, are Lies of P , a grim, Bloodborne-esque Soulslike based on the tale of Pinocchio, and Lords of the Fallen , a reboot of the 2014 Soulslike of the same name which looks very similar to Dark Souls in its style and aesthetic. Both of these are set to release in the next couple of months. [[https://Blackmythwukongfans.com/|Black Myth Wukong DLC|https://blackmythwukongfans.com/]] Myth: Wukong , alongside these titles, could make the next couple of months an exciting one for the Soulslike ge

 
Gamescom 2023's Black Myth: Wukong coverage could also offer the first glimpse of how the character progression works, as there has been no indication of a skill tree or leveling up as yet. This is another key aspect of the genre and is one that the game needs to get right in order to be a success. Black Myth: Wukong still has a ways to go before its release, but for fans who can't wait that long, the Soulslike sub-genre seems to constantly produce other games to get excited ab

 
(Image: [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PDpT8svT3uQ/hq720.jpg|https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PDpT8svT3uQ/hq720.jpg]])As to be expected from a game in the Souls tradition, the difficulty wasn't for everybody, and after two hours of queuing, one member of the public told me that while they could appreciate what the game was trying to do, they weren't a fan of the difficulty. Another person revealed to me that although they loved the game, they couldn't beat the first boss as "it was a little bit too tou

Soulslike fans love unique challenges. One of the most impressive feats you can achieve in Dark Souls is playing through the entire series without taking a single hit , but that might not even be the hardest challenge out there. Someone once beat Dark Souls 3 using only Morse code. Another completed the original Dark Souls using 20 bananas as a controller. Twitch streamer Luality is famous for playing Dark Souls 3 on a Dance Dance Revolution dance pad. Last week I myself faced one of the greatest Soulslike challenges there is: playing Black Myth: Wukong for the first time in front of its developers. You think a deathless run is hard? Try dying to the first boss seven times while the makers of the game silently judge you.

It is the first time for Game Science to release a console game globally, and we are currently facing limitations in offline resources required for the import, export, transportation, distribution, and sales of physical discs. These factors have made it difficult for us to sell physical discs simultaneously with the official release of the game.

As a filthy casual, I can confirm that Black Myth is not going to be a beginner-friendly entry point to the genre, but it’s also easy to see this is the real deal - something that transcends the label of ‘Dark Souls clone’ and stands on its own as a competent, well-designed action RPG. The only criticisms I have are about the generic forest environments that, while beautiful, don’t leave much room for exploration, nor do they inspire the imagination the way Bloodborne’s Yarnham or even Lies of P’s Krat do. This is just the game’s intro though, so I anticipate there’s a lot more to see.

 
While some found the difficulty too much, others certainly didn't, and I spoke to one person who had queued up twice, totaling nearly five hours, who told me that they loved the Chinese mythology theming of Black Myth, that they loved Soulslikes and that it is simply "such a wonderful game." They also touched on the mechanics, something which others were keen to talk about. "The attacks are super-smooth," one player told us, while another mentioned how much the three different stances had an "impact on the enemi

 
Players were given 30 minutes to try and defeat four of the game's different bosses, with most people I spoke to only managing to defeat two of them. The Elite Macaque Chief and Tiger Vanguard were two of the more popular bosses, with Game Science saying the Tiger was the harder of the two, but a member of the public sharing that "actually, the Monkey was hard

 
I, frankly, couldn't handle the wait, nor did my scummy press pass count for much for this particular game, so I figured I'd do the next best thing and get impressions of those who had actually managed to play it at Gamescom. Here's what I uncove

 
The first point that every single person I spoke to was keen to make was just how good Black Myth: Wukong looked. Superlatives such as "amazing", "brilliant" and "super beautiful" were thrown around, and not a single person I spoke to failed to mention the game's visuals. It's also pretty clear that Black Myth: Wukong is going to live up to the Soulslike difficulty stand
Combat has a very different flow from what you might be used to in this genre. Activating your light attack unleashes a flurry of quick, acrobatic hits that combo together several times before ending in a heavy finisher. The heavy attack (the default is a long-range, overhead slam) needs to be charged up before it can be used, either by holding the heavy attack button for a few seconds, or landing consecutive light attacks until you store a charge that you can unleash later on. The stamina gauge limits how much you can attack and dodge, though, so you can't just spam light attacks over and over. Even against weak enemies, fights require a lot of patience. It's all about building up your power and waiting for the right moment to unleash a string of devastating attacks on your opponent.