Whenever a new action game sparks interest, someone always considers it a "Souls-like" game. This year, both Sword Star and Armored Core 6 have been labeled as such. The latest victim is Black Myth: Wukong. If you search for this game online, you'll find dozens of articles, Reddit posts, and game forum threads questioning whether Black Myth: Wukong is a Souls-like game, followed by a bunch of articles and posts explaining that no, Black Myth: Wukong is not a Souls-like.

This is a common misunderstanding. I want to make my point clear: Black Myth: Wukong is not a Souls-like game. However, this excellent action game is clearly inspired by Dark Souls, as well as other great works like God of War and Bayonetta.

What qualifies a game as "Souls-like"? 

Definitions of "Souls-like" can vary slightly (sometimes drastically), but it usually refers to a game with elements of "risk/reward" (such as losing souls, experience points, or other resources upon death), challenging bosses, melee-focused combat, and limited healing options. In fact, Hidetaka Miyazaki, creator of Dark Souls and Elden Ring, defined "Souls-like" games in an IGN interview as dark fantasy third-person action games focusing on melee combat and a sense of achievement.

Personally, I believe Souls-like games are characterized by high-difficulty boss fights, a leveling-up system dependent on defeating enemies (which necessitates respawning enemies at checkpoints), and exploration elements. FromSoftware games feature complex map layouts with shortcuts and small paths connecting different areas, making the whole map feel like a giant maze.

Having "Essence Bottles" doesn't mean a game is Souls-like.

Black Myth: Wukong indeed exhibits many Souls-like features—challenging boss fights, a melee + dodging combat style, stamina-draining actions, and limited healing items—but I think it has more in common with Boss Rush games like No More Heroes. The level design in Black Myth: Wukong is distinctly different from any FromSoftware game—the maps in Dark Souls are complex, intricate puzzles, while Black Myth: Wukong's maps are more linear, guiding the player from one boss to the next.

The reason Black Myth: Wukong uses this less "Souls-like" format is largely influenced by its source of inspiration, Journey to the West: to obtain the Buddhist scriptures, Sun Wukong must overcome 81 trials, almost like 81 game levels, as IGN China's editor Charles Young pointed out.

As mentioned in our review, during pre-release playtests, due to limited exposure time and Black Myth: Wukong's "checkpoint system, stamina bar affecting action usage, and dodging-focused combat style," we initially mistook it for a Souls-like game. However, after receiving the full game, we quickly realized that Black Myth: Wukong stands on its own.

Many games are like this. Over the past decade, the Souls series has been so influential that the "Souls-like" label has been applied to many action-adventure games, but in reality, Souls-like is just a branch of action-adventure games.

FromSoftware's profound influence Many design elements in recent FromSoftware works have been learned and borrowed by other games, but this does not mean they are Souls-like. Elements like limited healing items, stamina bars, and respawning enemies are also found in non-Souls-like games, such as Black Myth: Wukong and Sword Star, as well as FromSoftware's own Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (which definitely is not a Souls-like; feel free to debate).

Sekiro is technically not a Souls-like. In the past, saying that stamina bars and limited-use healing items (Essence Bottles in Dark Souls) were core elements of Dark Souls might have been accurate, as they significantly impacted the game's difficulty. However, after Dark Souls became popular, more developers incorporated these elements into their action games. Sword Star features a combat system similar to Black Myth: Wukong and adopts the Souls-like checkpoint system but abandons the stamina bar. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses a stamina bar (and some surprisingly powerful bosses), but no one considers it a Souls-like.

Clearly, what was once a hallmark of Souls-like games has now taken root in non-Souls-like games. We must accept the fact that action games have entered a "post-Souls" era. Just because a game has elements reminiscent of FromSoftware's style does not mean it is a Souls-like game.

This is an important distinction because, whether you believe it or not, many action game enthusiasts do not like the Souls-like style. That’s fine, but it’s a pity if these players miss out on excellent games like Black Myth: Wukong or Sekiro (again, Sekiro is not a Souls-like) simply because they were incorrectly categorized as such.

Instead, we should appreciate the unique qualities of games like Black Myth: Wukong and recognize the changes that FromSoftware has brought to the action game genre (which, in my view, are positive changes). At the same time, we should accept that not all excellent action games with challenging bosses should automatically be labeled as Souls-like.

This also allows us to better appreciate the strengths of games like Black Myth: Wukong. As we mentioned in our review, the most outstanding features of Black Myth: Wukong—whether it’s its diverse mechanisms or its creative elements—are not borrowed from other Souls-like games.