When a new souls-like game comes out, I always buy it on release because it's rare for a game in this genre to be disappointing. Black Myth falls into this genre but refines the Souls mechanics to create a unique experience that diverges significantly from games like Elden Ring.
It doesn’t resemble the original Souls trilogy, Bloodborne, or Lies of P very closely. Instead, it's more akin to something like Bayonetta, though it leans more toward souls-like rather than action-RPG.
I’ve finished the first of what appears to be six chapters and part of the second chapter.
I won’t be reviewing the story, as it’s not a major focus in games like this, but I will mention that the cutscenes are excellent, and there are animated music videos.
I've yet to see any of the girl NPCs though.
It's basically a souls-like game that's more focused on being a replayable boss gauntlet.
Gameplay
Black Myth plays like most other souls-like games. You have an i-frame dodge, a healing flask, earn souls from enemies, and rest at bonfires to level up. There’s also a crafting system, skill trees, and a built-in shop within the shrine (bonfire) menu.
It thankfully deviates from typical souls mechanics by removing outdated features such as losing souls on death, complex stats, and skill reallocation tied to obscure NPCs.
You won’t lose all your souls upon dying to a boss, and you can reset your skills as often as you like at any bonfire.
There aren’t stats to level up beyond HP, Stamina, and FP. These can also be improved by finding items in the world, similar to the prayer beads mechanic in Sekiro.
Additionally, there’s no weapon or armor upgrade system. Gear is acquired through crafting after defeating a boss or finding specific locations. Farming drops isn’t tedious, as enemies drop only souls and crafting components.
Bosses
The boss design, both in gameplay and aesthetics, is undoubtedly impressive. Each encounter is unique and visually stunning, even though I’m running the game on low-to-mid graphical settings.
Most of the bosses I’ve encountered so far are most similar to those in Elden Ring and Sekiro. They move quickly, have powerful attacks, and may require some learning to defeat.
Unlike in Elden Ring, where fast bosses often require either easy strategies or extensive practice on a suboptimal build, Black Myth allows for a variety of strategies. You can immobilize a boss with a spell, then transform into a giant humanoid bull and attack with a flaming twin-blade. There are enough evasive options to move around while your spells are on cooldown.
If your current approach isn’t working, you can completely change your build in just a minute or two.
Level Design
Unfortunately, the world design isn’t as impressive as the boss design. It’s not bad, but if you can run it on high settings, some issues might be mitigated. Each area is relatively linear and lacks unique features or decorations.
I’ve only encountered one instance of a souls-like shortcut, an area where you open a big gate to get back to the bonfire, and there are numerous invisible walls in unexpected places. You might walk down a path and hit an invisible wall simply by straying a few steps in the wrong direction. I assume this was due to most of the development focus being on the impressive bosses and enemies, so don’t expect anything close to the expansive map of Elden Ring.
Overall, I highly recommend trying it out, especially if you have a PS5.
The PC performance is poor, but this might be due to me running it from an external drive, at least according to ChatGPT.
