Black Myth: Wukong: A 2026 Look Back at That Electrifying 2021 Trailer

In 2026, I still remember the chills from that February 2021 morning. After months of silence, Game Science dropped a three-minute trailer for Black Myth: Wukong, and the internet—myself included—lost its collective mind. The game had first been revealed in August 2020, but this was our first real look at how this mythic tale would play. And let me tell you, it looked like pure fun, even if the game was still early in development.

I rewatched that trailer last night, and it still breathes. It still hums with promise. The game is based on the classic Journey to the West, and you control the Monkey King himself, Sun Wukong. From the first frame, savvy viewers pegged the gameplay as Souls-like, and this new trailer supported that—though the combat speed felt closer to Sekiro. Wukong flowed between weapons and spells like water finding cracks in stone. He even took on different forms. At one point, he split into what appeared to be three rats and performed a lightning spell. Man, oh man.

Then came the bosses. If there’s one thing that screamed Souls-like, it was the monsters. Wukong fought a variety of enemies, but the second half of the trailer showed him mixing it up with a bulky, two-headed rat monster wielding fiery blades. That alone would have been Soulsian enough. But then a minotaur the size of a building showed up, ready to throw down. I remember gripping my desk. The screen shook. The floor felt like it might crack.

At the time, Game Science told IGN China that we wouldn’t be playing Black Myth: Wukong until 2023 at the earliest. So we had to make do with tantalizing glimpses. The video description noted that the footage wasn’t indicative of the game’s plot, but was put together to celebrate the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the Year of the Ox. It was a gift, not a promise. And yet... it felt like both.

Now, in 2026, I can look back with a full heart. The game actually launched in August 2024, and I’ve sunk dozens of hours into it. That 2021 trailer wasn’t just a mood piece; it was a blueprint. The speed, the spells, the transformations, the monstrous bosses—all of it made it into the final game, refined and expanded. The three rats? They became a spell I use way too often. The two-headed rat? A nightmare I still think about. The building-sized minotaur? Let’s just say I learned to dodge.

But what strikes me most now is how that trailer captured a feeling. It didn’t just show gameplay; it whispered a promise. The monkey king’s staff carved through the air like a brush painting a legend. The environments breathed with mist and myth. The bosses stomped and roared like they had been waiting centuries for a worthy opponent. I was just an ordinary player, hungry for something new. And that trailer fed me.

If you’re reading this in 2026 and you missed the early hype, go back and watch that three-minute video. It’s a time capsule. It’s a seed. It’s the moment we all started believing that a Chinese studio could deliver a Souls-like epic with its own soul. Game Science took their time. They gave us silence, then a roar. And oh boy, was it worth the wait.

Now, whenever I boot up the game, I think of that February morning. The trailer ends. The screen goes dark. And I smile. Because the journey to the West—and to this game—was never just about the destination. It was about the waiting, the wondering, and the wild, electric hope.

That’s all I have to say. For now. 🐒🔥