How did a fairly straightforward video game based on an ancient legend become the latest battleground in the “Awaken” war?
Black Myth: Wukong The ancient legend of the Monkey, or Monkey King, is an iconic character whose travels were most famously chronicled in Ming Dynasty masterpieces. Journey to the Westand expands on it. The game first attracted interest in 2020, when its creators debuted a 13-minute-long Trailer That got over 10 million views and won Wild praise From gamers around the world. The anticipation of the next four years paid off: within a day of its August 20 release, it was allegedly sold 4.5 million copies and reached over 2.2 million concurrent players on Steam; It is currently Placed As the second most played game of all time on the platform.
This could be an easy and exciting win for the Chinese gaming industry; Ukong It’s the country’s first major top-tier game release – not to mention a major export of Chinese culture on a massive global scale. But therein lies the problem: Few US viewers of the game think so faith The game itself is a Chinese promotion. It doesn’t help that before the game’s release, the game’s co-publisher, Hero Games, Attempt to issue a suspension Between reviewers and streamers on some uncomfortable topics — including elements that have nothing to do with the game, such as “feminist propaganda” and Covid-19.
Was this a mere face-saving gesture for the Chinese Communist Party? Was this a sign that the game was actually serving a conservative agenda? Or was it something else entirely? No one is sure; But given the game’s success, a mix of wariness about China and right-wing embrace has led to a backlash against the game from some on the left. Now, being angry about the game is seen as tantamount to being angry about the American right.
All in all a game whose only real goal is arguably players having fun fighting and collecting cool stuff.
No one can agree on that Ukong Well either way, it’s undeniably popular.
In Journey to the WestMonkey, aka San Wukong, is a cunning archetype who becomes immortal but rebels against the Buddha. He is then cast out of heaven before repenting and slowly redeeming himself, eventually leveling out through constant battle to attain enlightenment and becoming Buddha himself. It’s a perfect story for a video game.
Black Myth: WukongA single-person action fighter RPG, imagines that Monkey died at some point after his journey to enlightenment. In this loose sequel, you play as Monkey Reincarnation, working to collect six relics that can help you revive to your former state as Buddha. You do this by fighting the bad guys. Lots and lots and lots of bad guys. There are between 90 and 113 “bosses” in the game’s six chapters, depending on how you count.
Whether or not Wukong is good based solely on his gameplay merits is as much in the eye of the beholder. Some say game boring easy; others, Forbiddingly difficult. The linear structure of the game, where you face off against game bosses one by one, is Very innovative or just Basic fun. it happens Wildly overhyped or actually even better than the players expected. (That last review raised an important question: “What other game lets you transform into a giant rock so you can fight another giant rock?”)
almost everyone agreedHowever, that UkongIts art design is flawless. The graphics and visuals are gorgeous, the animation is great, and the details are meticulous, especially with careful attention to recreating authentic Chinese relics and artifacts. (A closed museum that preserves such artifacts is in China’s northern Shaanxi Province, where many Ukong Performed recently announcement Given the game’s popularity, it is being relaunched.)
The game builds on and expands upon mythology journeywith Elements of Buddhist and Chinese folklore always present The main goal – to retrieve six relics from different regions – is based on the six senses of Buddhism (ie, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind). Players have praised the game’s world-building, inspired by many pseudo-historical characters journey in a litany of customizable RPG mechanics, many of which draw further on Chinese culture.
But while all of the praise mentioned above comes from English-speaking gamers, the most prominent line of attack against the game is from those who want to insult its popularity. claim Most of that UkongIts biggest sales come from China. While this doesn’t seem like much of a problem, unless you assume that all Chinese gamers are bad taste or brainwashed nationalists, there’s plenty of evidence that the game is experiencing global popularity. It currently stands at an English-language score of 82 Metacriticand steam, 95 percent Over 700,000 user reviews are positive, and they appear to be written in a balanced mix of language
The game, however, started a strange discourse of — guess what — diversity and inclusion that the game itself invites. Now, overshadowing all the conversation about its themes and use of Chinese mythology, players and critics alike are embroiled in an uncomfortable debate over whether. Ukong “Wake up” or not.
Ukong Not anti-awakening or awakening, but that hasn’t stopped players from using it to fuel their own agendas.
Wukong has been mired in controversy since its release. Just before August 20, co-publisher of the game apostle the aforementioned List of Prohibited Subjects To gamers, reviewers and streamers who requested preview access to the game and who are preparing to livestream their gameplay on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. The list of “don’ts” gamers were instructed to avoid running thus:
Do not insult other influencers or players.
Do not use any offensive language/jokes.
Do not include politics, violence, nudity, feminist propaganda, fetishization, and other content that promotes negative speech.
Don’t use trigger words like ‘quarantine’ or ‘isolation’ or ‘COVID-19’.
Do not discuss content related to China’s game industry policies, opinions, news, etc.
Needless to say, gamers of all stripes bristled A This restriction on their freedom of speech. Yet there are several reasons why the company might have sent this list of in-game discussion rules that have nothing to do with trying to cancel discussion for the sake of canceling the discussion.
It is important to understand the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at this time. CCP has a way of being basically a frozen industry that quickly became popular; For example, see, it banned palace plays for a few years at the time due to the popularity of one particular palace play. Gaming has already arrived growing fire On behalf of the government, what has been attempted dramatically limited How many hours do children spend playing video games? Sending such a list could therefore be a strategic way for its developers, game science and publishers to avoid potential backlash from the CCP while mediating the government’s view of the game and its sudden popularity.
Still, some critics on the left who might already be skeptical of a game originating in China have taken off their gloves. An outlet blasted the game for “Blatant lack of variety;” other argued that “the lack of diversity and inclusion resonates with misogynistic comments reported by developers … the underlying feeling that women are not welcome in this world was felt throughout my gameplay experience.”
Even the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post Issue taken With workplace sexism that has undermined the game. As multiple media outlets indicatedThere’s some evidence that game science isn’t exactly progressive. In November 2023, IGN reported A history of lewd and lascivious comments made against women by multiple company employees on social media, including the two co-founders. One of the co-founders envisioned expanding the workforce and getting felticos from all new employees; Another activist claims that women’s games are different from men’s because they have different biology.
Find other gamers ribald promotional image The studio has used in the past. The juvenile imagery, and many of the staff’s jarring comments, fit the general “boys will be boys” gamer milieu that dominated gamer culture in the US prior to the last decade. But years of concerted efforts to make games more accessible to women and other marginalized players have undercut that rampant sexism, and in 2024, it’s hard to read some of these statements as anything other than hopelessly dated and actively hostile to women in games. Worst company ever that doesn’t help response For media requests regarding this history with “no comment”.
To gamers on the right, this outcry from the left was validation — a sign that the vigilante media had gone off the rails in a rush to tackle something that seemed anti-diversity. “Let me tell you, I’m glad as the next guy that journalists and DEI advocates can “cope with Ukong’s success.” wrote A redditor on KotakuInAction, Reddit’s long-running pro-Gamergate subreddit.
Yet despite all this background, there’s nothing really offensive about the game. claimed that Ukong No woman lies; There are plenty of female characters too woman bossAnd (as far as we can see from a poke around the internet) there’s nothing overly sexual or fetishistic about their designs.
As for the claim that the game lacks diversity, while this is true in a technical sense, it lacks racial diversity, it’s also a fantasy of an anthropomorphic rhesus macaque fighting other fictional creatures of all shapes, sizes and species. . And it’s set in a world based on a culture that US gamers typically have limited exposure to. The game only provides its players with a valuable experience by introducing them to the culture and folklore of China.
Is it less often? Perhaps, but it’s still one that not everyone meets. “I was in a second-hand bookshop the other day and suddenly caught it monkey king In my hands,” a gamer wrote In the KotakuInAction post mentioned above. “I’ll buy it next time and read it and then buy the game (on sale!) I think it will enhance the experience significantly.” This might be a rare sight (which users, alas, ruthlessly downvoted). its fans Ukong The game is not necessarily used against waking up for Embracing Chinese culture, but a cheeky riff on that culture is still on offer through the game.
The most annoying thing about the controversy around UkongIn fact, how little they have to do with the actual game. They are fought almost entirely on meta-arguments rather than actual consideration for the narrative itself or the goals of those who created it.
What is this fight? by doing Tell us, however, that this is in contrast to neighboring Korea, China campaign Exporting its soft power will likely be fraught with mistrust and even bad faith. Fandom and gaming are toxic cultures on a good day — and the entry of Chinese manufacturers into the fray will likely exacerbate the worst tendencies of the worst players.
