Black Myth: Wukong Final Boss & Ending Explained (In Detail)

Summary

Black Myth: Wukong’s story can be confusing right up to the very end. It’s a reimagined version of the 16th-century Chinese novelJourney to the West, which follows a ragtag group of misfits who escort the monk Tan Sanzang to the Buddhist heartlands in order to retrieve a series of sacred texts.Black Myth: Wukongpicks up long after simian protagonist Sun Wukong has completed his journey and become a Buddha. He rejects his newfound status and returns to the mountain of his birth. Sun Wukong duels the god Erlang, who would force his return to the Celestial Court, and is once again sealed in a stone as punishment.

[Warning: This article contains spoilers for Black Myth: Wukong.]

Black Myth Wukong English Key Art.

InBlack Myth: Wukong, players control one of his monkey subjects, known as the Destined One and charged with recovering Wukong’s lost Relics, which are spread throughout the world. After finding five of the six, and also tracking down Wukong’s arms and armor, the Destined One returns to their home of Mount Huaguo to discover the sixth and final Relic and meet their destiny.There are two endings toBlack Sun: Wukong, both of which depend entirely on whether the player completes an optional boss fight, and each of which has great implications for the game’s mytho-historical setting.

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Sun Wukong Is The Final Boss Of Black Myth: Wukong

The Stone Monkey/Sage Wukong Vs. The Destined One

As the Destined One returns to Mount Huaguo, the Old Monkey explains two important points of his journey:one, that five of the Relics each represented one of Sun Wukong’s senses, and the sixth, his mind; and two, that the Destined One is to become a vessel for Wukong’s reincarnation. On the horizon, they see the wizened, hardened body of a monkey bent in meditation.

The Old Monkey explains thatthis is the shell of Sun Wukong, and that the Destined One will need to defeat his bodyand inherit his soul to become his successor, after which the journey will begin anew. The implication here seems to be that, in the world ofBlack Myth: Wukong,there is no one Monkey King, and Sun Wukong is repeatedly killed and reincarnated by his successors. The entirety ofJourney to the WestandBlack Sun: Wukongseem to repeat themselves in a kind of time loop. The Destined One will become the new Sun Wukong, rule over the monkeys of Mount Huaguo, and eventually die so another Destined One can take over.

The Destined One in Black Myth: Wukong

Zhu Baijie objects to his cycle, and tries to get the Destined One to quit his destiny. But the Old Monkey seals the battlefield with a wall of magic, and the Destined One is forced to face his fate. Although not thehardest boss inBlack Myth: Wukong, the Stone Monkey, as his HP bar introduces him, is quite challenging. Still, the Destined One eventually breaks his shell, and the Stone Monkey transforms into Sage Wukong - basically a clone of the Destined One himself - in a burst of light.

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Sage Wukong uses his staff to reabsorb his own senses (the Relics) from the Destined One, but still fails in the battle against him. He falls to his knees and dissolves into a flurry of leaves, signifying thatthe old Sun Wukong has well and truly died. The Destined One reclaims his Relics,taking up the mantle of the new Monkey King.

The Destined One kneels in a screenshot from Black Myth: Wukong.

The Destined One Inherits Sun Wukong’s Crown

InBlack Myth: Wukong’s normal ending,the Destined One becomes Wukong as he was always intended to do. The Old Monkey monologues about the unreliability of the legends surrounding Sun Wukong: was he truly granted Buddhahood? Did the journey even happen? Either way, a new legend is about to begin, as the Old Monkey plucks Sun Wukong’s golden headband from the water and places it atop the Destined One’s head. A brief scene shows Sun Wukong sitting in a pool of amber, presumably within the stone egg from which he was born. The credits then abruptly begin to roll, signifying that there may be more of the Monkey King’s soul that the Destined One has yet to absorb.

Butwhether this is actually a “good” ending is certainly up for debate. InJourney to the West, Sun Wukong represents unrestrained desire, and his headband represents the temperance preached by Buddhism. To imperfectly equate them to Western concepts of psychology, Sun Wukong is the id, and the headband is the superego. It’s thrust upon the Monkey King after a murderous rampage. For the Destined One, it symbolizes achievement, power, Buddhahood - but also a loss of free will. The previous Sun Wukong rejected this fate for a reason, and the reality may not be all too pleasant for the new one, either.

Wukong from Black Myth: Wukong on the right looking at the Dark Souls 3 character.

Players are left to ponder these questions, however, as the game comes to an end right then and there. They cancontinue playingBlack Myth: Wukongafter beating itto clear up any side content, andmaybe find some more answers.

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Black Myth: Wukong’s True Ending

Defeating Erlang & The Four Heavenly Kings

Although the credits roll after beating Wukong,there’s a true final boss and secret ending cutscene that players can only unlock by continuing with their original save files- in other words, without starting a New Game Plus. In order to achieve it, they must track down Erlang, the Sacred Divinity for a second time, and defeat him in a much more difficult encounter. Afterward, they’ll be transported to a secret, snowy area, where the Destined One will transform into a giant stone monkey and face off against the Four Heavenly Kings at once.

Erlang will then transform into a giant, leonine beast, and the Destined One will need to defeat him in a one-on-one duel. Finishing this secret boss fight unlocks a new ending cinematic that opens with the Destined One kneeling before the Old Monkey, immediately after having defeated Sun Wukong. His eyes open widely as an animated scene begins, recapping highlights fromJourney to the Westin reverse order. This signifiesthe Destined One gaining Sun Wukong’s memories, becoming the Monkey King in more than just name.

The transformed Erlang Shang appears as a giant lion in a screenshot from Black Myth Wukong.

Although rumors abound of additional, secret, even truer endings to the Destined One’s journey, these are the only two to have been discovered thus far. One is certainly a more satisfactory conclusion, and requires a bit more effort, so for the time being it seems accurate to declare the latter the “true” ending. Still, additional player experimentation may reveal further secrets inBlack Myth: Wukong, including additional endings.

The studio behind Black Myth: Wukong, GameScience, has previously been accused of fostering a toxic environment for its workers. The 2023 allegations include sexualized comments against women, misogyny, fatphobia, and more. More details can be foundhere.