Shortly after a successful showing forBlack Myth: Wukongat The Game Awards 2024, where it won in multiple categories, an apparent imitator seemingly “inspired” by its success appeared on the Nintendo eShop, drawing mockery from Switch owners andBlack Myth: Wukongfans alike. First released in August 2024,Black Myth: Wukonghas enjoyed a largely positive reception from players, having been nominated for Game of the Year.
As reported byIGN, however,a game with an extremely similar title,Wukong Sun: Black Legend, has appeared on the Nintendo eShop, in an apparent attempt to capitalize onBlack Myth’s popularity and success.Wukong Sunis set to be released on August 04, 2025, and the game’s cover art features a 3D render of an anthropomorphic monkey, presumably Wukong, which bears a resemblance toBlack Myth’s own cover image of its main character, The Destined One. LikeBlack Myth,Wukong Sun’s description relates it toJourney to the West.
Wukong Sun: Black Legend, Has Hit The eShop
Wukong Sun: Black Legend Bears Several Similarities To Black Myth: Wukong
WhileWukong Sun: Black Legenddoesn’t seem to be an entirely “fake” game, as gameplay screenshots on its eShop page show it to be a cartoony 2D platformer, the resemblance of the game’s title and cover art to those ofBlack Myth: Wukonghas created some doubts about the developer’s intentions. The title, especially, is notable for being what could result from scramblingBlack Myth’s title around and using a thesaurus to get “Legend” instead of “Myth”, and the game’s screenshots don’t exactly convey the “packed battles, stunning environments, and legendary foes” promised by the description.
All New Features Added In The Black Myth: Wukong Patch Update (December 2024)
The recent Black Myth: Wukong patch introduces new gameplay features, including Challenges, a map, new armor, and new music library functions.
In a thread posted by userL.O.R.D. on ResetEra, fan reactions to the game have been uncharitable at best, with comments referring toWukong Sunas “overly inspired”, “Black Myth: Wukong at home”, and a “shovelware cashgrab”. A few comments have pointed out, however, that whileWukong Sun’s title and cover art bear a more-than-suspicious resemblance toBlack Myth, the game is also technically not in the wrong, legally, if viewed as an adaptation ofJourney to the West, which is public domain - though Nintendo likely wouldn’t need a legal pretext to take the game down anyway.
Our Take: More And More Concerning Titles Are Appearing On The Nintendo eShop
Wukong Sun Isn’t The First “Copy” To Appear On The eShop - And Probably Won’t Be The Last
As pointed out in the IGN article,Wukong Sunis far from the only “copy” of a much more popular title to appear on the Nintendo eShop. Infamously, a game titledThe Last Hope: Dead Zone Survival, seemingly intended to be a “copy” ofThe Last of Uswas previously released on the platform and subsequently pulled from it, as reported byEurogamer. Indie titleUnpackinghad copycat issueson the platform as well, with several misleadingly titled “Unpacking” games, unaffiliated with the original, having been removed from the eShop only after a public callout from one of the game’s developers.
Notably,Wukong Sunisn’t even the first eShop title to bear some superficial resemblances toBlack Myth- a game titledWukong’s Child: Monkey King Myth, which appears from screenshots to more closely resembleVampire Survivors, was released just one month afterBlack Myth. Luckily, the third Wukong game on the eShop,Sun Wukong VS Robot,does appear to be a wholly original indie Metroidvania, released in 2021 - and while it looks nothing likeBlack Myth: Wukong, it’s currently on sale for $2.49, and probably a better use of the money than either of the other Wukong games.
Sources:IGN,L.O.R.D./ResetEra,Eurogamer
Black Myth: Wukong
Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG game from the developers at GameScience. Based on the original Chinese novelJourney to the West,players take on the role of Sun Wukong, a legendary monkey warrior who fights against mythical beasts and beings to save his world.
