Black Is the New Gold

As China’s blockbuster video game Black Myth： Wukongtakes the world by storm， an American YouTuber has arole in its spreading popularity.

AMERICAN YouTuber AndrewSarran， a well-knownfigure on social media forhis videos on mythology，has an eclectic taste. Using thehandle “The Mythology Guy，” hehas made short videos on films， TV shows and video games based onthe myths and legends of northernEurope， Greece， India， Japan， Chinaand farther. His current favoriteis Black Myth： Wukong ， China’sblockbuster video game based on amuch-loved classic that has becomea top seller globally since itsrelease in August.

Black Myth： Wukong is the topgame on Steam， the world’s largestdigital game platform， with glowingreviews by 93 percent of Englishspeakingplayers and 96 percentChinese ones. One month after itslaunch， according to statistics frommarket research organization VideoGame Insights， its sales approached 21 million sets on Steam， grossingmore than US $1 billion.

Message Behind Myths

Sarran’s own videos on the gamehave also gone viral. They are reactionvideos， a genre in which oneor more people record themselveswatching something， usually a newrelease that has hit the headlines.The videos combine clips from theoriginal show and Sarran and others’reactions to it.

The audience is thrust into theheat of battle in the very openingscene of Black Myth： Wukong .The eponymous protagonist of thegame is Sun Wukong or the Mon-key King， a human-like monkeywith supernatural powers whoescorts a revered monk to the Westto keep him safe while acquiringBuddhist literature， as depicted inthe 16th-century novel attributedto Wu Cheng’en. In the scene Wukongfaces the three-eyed warriorgodErlang resolutely， gripping thejin gu bang ， his magic staff weighingeight tonnes. Though Erlang’sax can cleave entire mountains intotwo， Wukong never flinches.

“The gameplay is very unique，as the protagonist masters the 72transformations，” said Sarran， whoseems to know every detail of thegame， which enables him to explainthe story behind the game to hisviewers so cogently. He has a longacquaintance with myths and legends，including Chinese ones. Hismother is from Georgia， the EastEuropean country which sharesmany cultural links with Greece，and many Greek myths have aconnection to the region. “TheGeorgians are proud of this culturaltradition，” he said.

Also， at the age of eight hewatched Jackie Chan Adventures ，the cartoon series in which Chan，the beloved martial arts star， is anarchaeologist and special agentwho demolishes magical and supernaturalvillains based on mythologiesand supernatural stories fromAsia and around the world. Theseries taught Sarran the Chinesezodiac， and started his explorationof Chinese culture. When he cameacross the story of the MonkeyKing， he found it uber-cool. In Wu’sclassic Journey to the West ， SunWukong the fearless jumped outof a stone， accompanied Buddhistmonk Tang Sanzang to obtain Buddhist scriptures in the West，and eventually became a Buddha.The fantastic story made Sarranfeel that everyone can achieve theirgoals with dedication， no matterwhat their origin is.

He devoured the four-volumeJourney to the West ， then its comicbook version， and then watched theNetflix movie The Monkey King . Hefound that while many Americansare familiar with Greek and Nordicmyths， they know little about Chinesemyths. So he started to shootshort videos about Chinese mythsin 2020 and put them on TikTok. Inthis way household myths in Chinalike that of the Eight Immortals –ordinary people， including a beggar，who achieved immortality andenlightenment， and how the orderof the 12 animals was established inthe zodiac became popular amongyoung Westerners.

Culture Without Borders

Black Myth： Wukong is a standaloneaction role-playing game developedby video game developerGame Science based in Shenzhenin south China. In industry lingo，it is an “AAA” game – a label thatdenotes big budgets and highproduction value. It made overseasplayers so interested in the storythat many bought the book tonavigate the complicated labyrinthof legends.

“My friends started to borrow（my copy of） The Journey to theWest from me，” Sarran said. Forthose who have no time to readthe book or get it， Sarran’s reactionvideo is a godsend to understandthe background. So it has become amust-watch for veteran players.

The game made enthusiastsstart commenting on social media.Some remembered The Journey tothe West TV series， a collection of25 episodes that aired on CCTV in1986. Some said it made them realizethat Son Goku， the protagonistof Dragon Ball ， the popular Japalegendarynese anime TV series in the 1980s，was inspired by Wukong， includinghis power of transformation andthe Flying Nimbus， the magical yellowcloud that he used for transportation.

“The game’s music is fantastictoo，” said Sarran， who describedit as “ear candy.” “When fightingagainst mighty enemies， the powerfulmusic boosts my morale andmakes me feel invincible，” he said.

Music has no borders. WhenSarran’s reaction video plays theclip from the game with the “RebirthMantra ” soundtrack， Buddhistchants about the cycle of lifeand rebirth rendered in a cyberpunkstyle， or “Namo Amitābha ，”a tribute to the Buddha， in theelectronic rock style， playersacross the globe look stunned atthis versatility and universality ofChinese music.

The game designs are alsosteeped in Chinese culture. Thescenes extensively replicate ancientChinese architecture andicons， such as the Buddhist stupasand kungfu. The game developersscanned many places of historicaland scenic interest in China andpresented them in the game to giveplayers an immersive and realisticexperience.

Some enthusiastic playersfound a series of promotionalvideos for Black Myth： Wukong onTikTok released by the Culture andTourism Department of ShanxiProvince， showcasing many ofthe game’s real-life filming locations，including famous culturallandmarks such as the XiaoxitianTemple， （or the Temple of OneThousand Buddhas） built in the17th century， famous for its exquisitehanging sculptures.

Black Myth： Wukong has putChina on the global map of gamingjust as Liu Cixin’s 2008 sciencetrilogy The Three-Body Problem didfor science fiction emerging fromChina， and The Wandering Earth ，the 2019 sci-fi film based on anovella by Liu， did for Chinese sci-fifilms. And well-informed watcherslike Sarran have helped drive thisprogress.

More catalyst is expected in thefuture as Feng Ji， founder and CEOof Game cience， said that BlackMyth： Wukong is the first offeringin the series， meaning more will follow.Feng promised the Black Mythseries will be a series of magicalstories about different legendaryheroes in the oriental myth system，and Wukong is the starting point.“In the future， there will be moreChinese games that can competeglobally，” he said.