The problem with going for the plat in this game are the grindy trophies reliant on RNG (spent 30 mins getting a curio last night but I was listening to Sacred Symbols so it wasn't too bad). I don't like trophies that depend on RNG nonsense, maybe I will slowly chip away at it as I play other games (just started System Shock, still playing Darkest Dungeon 2, Astrobot next week!).
I've been contemplating my overall thoughts on the game now that I've had time to let it marinate. My overall GOTY is still Shadow of the Erdtree, Wukong doesn't even come close (FF VII Rebirth still firmly my number two). FROM's level design, world-building, build diversity, enemy/boss design, sense of adventure/discovery and overall art aesthetic is still head and shoulders above everyone else. Wukong does a lot right though (while being bogged down in other places) and as a debut from this dev what's here is rather remarkable.
The most interesting thing about this game is it's source material and how it adapts it to videogame form. There is *a lot* of narrative here though much of it is told indirectly (another FROM trope), I greedily read through every lore entry. The presentation is spectacular from the cutscenes that open each chapter (ch. 2 my favourite) to the unique animations that close each chapter (hard choice between ch. 2/3). The gorgeous dioramas with fantastic narration are another highlight. The lush animations, unique spells and striking enemy design round out the visual package.
The main issue this game has is it's level design and combat. I've seen lots of posts lamenting the lack of a map (another thing common in Souls-likes) and while I didn't mind it *too* much the fact is the level design isn't intuitive/interesting enough to justify it's absence and Wukong would have been better served copying GoW 2018/Ragnarok where it should have (both those games I consider far superior overall but I digress). Vast, confusing forests in ch. 3 were particularly egregious, ch. 6 does something cool but the world to explore is mostly empty and boring. It doesn't help that your running speed is slow relative to how much you need to backtrack and slows down even further on inclines (this isn't RDR2, I don't need that kind of realism in a game like this).
Now the combat. I actually enjoy the combat feel and the tools the game gives you. I also admire the originality of some of the spells, Ring of Fire is a prime example of taking a unique twist to what might be expected (especially after upgrading it). The fundamental issue is the *main* way you'll be engaging enemies which is with your staff. Yes it has 3 stances, yes it feels fun to use but after about 25 hours it just started feeling repetitive. Transformations thankfully can help break of the monotony (and are super cool to boot) but I wonder if we *do* get a sequel how much freedom the dev has to implement different weapon types vis a vis staying true to the source material, I don't know enough about Journey to the West to weigh in myself.
Otherwise I LOVED the many boss battles and enemy types to engage with. Countless games suffer from the issue of enemy variety, no such problem here. On the contrary, the sheer variety of enemy types and boss encounters is kind of bananas, devs deserve all the praise in the world for going all out here. Some of these bosses had me smiling ear-to-ear, discovering unique item mechanics for specific battles (another Souls staple) was satisfying. The NPC's likewise were universally great, the English VO surprisingly on par with anything FROM has done, pig homie might be my favourite character of the year.
In conclusion I loved my time with Wukong, against all odds it delivered the goods defying the vaporware expectations. Comparing it to another game that had a lot of hype around it and has some similarities in Stellar Blade I prefer Wukong (though I loved SB too). Rise of the Ronin has superior combat but as a whole I prefer Wukong once again. I've played a whole bunch of games this year but as of right now I *think* I have Wukong as my number 3, I'm impressed by what they gave us despite the criticisms I have, can't imagine where they will go from here, the future is bright! Praise the Monkey
