On the morning of August 20^th, at 10:00 AM, the highly anticipated Chinese AAA game "Black Myth: Wukong" launched simultaneously on PS5, Steam, Epic Games Store, and WeGame. The game quickly dominated trending topics across major social media platforms. The impact on gaming platforms was even more evident—by 10:35 AM, "Black Myth: Wukong" had surpassed "CS2" on Steam's concurrent player leaderboard with 935,745 players online, securing the top spot. The game rapidly climbed to the top of global sales charts, leading in countries such as China, the U.S., Italy, France, and Japan.

The game's rapid success has sparked curiosity among many netizens: Why are international audiences suddenly captivated by Sun Wukong? Have they read "Journey to the West "?

How popular: record-breaking numbers and gamer frenzy

According to Metacritic, "Black Myth: Wukong" received an average score of 82 from 52 global media outlets. The authoritative site IGN gave it an 8 out of 10, while IGN China awarded it a perfect 10. On August 18th, the game was available for pre-load , setting a new record on Steam for pre-load bandwidth usage (70 Tbps), with the Asia region alone accounting for 59.3 Tbps, surpassing the previous global record set by "Cyberpunk 2077 " in 2020 (51 Tbps).

In the capital market, the game's impact was equally impressive. On August 20th, shares of Zhejiang Publishing & Media , the game's publisher, hit their daily limit. Other related companies, such as CITIC Press , Huayi Brothers , and Silkroad Vision , also saw significant stock price increases. On the commercial front, a collaboration between "Black Myth: Wukong" and a popular coffee brand resulted in a product selling out almost immediately.

Why Popular: Eastern aesthetics with a powerful cultural export

Undoubtedly, "Black Myth: Wukong" represents a significant cultural export. Reports suggest that many international players who had never read Journey to the West eagerly did so before the game's release. The game's prologue features an intense showdown between Sun Wukong and the Four Heavenly Kings , vividly recreating scenes from the original text, such as "Yellow wind rolls, shrouding the sky, and purple mist rises, darkening the earth ." Many players took to social media to praise the captivating charm of Eastern mythology, enhanced by the game's aesthetic.

According to the feedback from the players, the game's exceptional visual and narrative quality effectively showcases Chinese traditional culture to the world. Yang Qi, the game's art director, views "Black Myth: Wukong" as a "cultural tribute". To recreate the ancient temples described in the original work, the team traveled across China to create the country's first virtual asset library of ancient architecture. Historical sites like the Dazu Rock Carving s in Chongqing and Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou are faithfully rendered, with even the dust left intact to preserve the beauty of Eastern architecture. Yang believes that the digital expression of Chinese culture can transcend borders.

The game prominently features the Dazu Rock Carvings, one of the world's top eight cave temples, in its opening scenes, meticulously reproducing its grandeur. Other notable sites, such as ancient temples and towers in Shanxi, also appear throughout the game, offering global players a breathtaking glimpse into Chinese culture. The Chinese Embassy in Italy even posted on its official social media account, encouraging people to embark on an adventure inspired by "Journey to the West" and featuring the legendary Monkey King: "Are you ready to dive into Chinese mythology and face various formidable monsters?"

The rapid global spread of "Black Myth: Wukong" is closely tied to the world-class literary value of "Journey to the West". As a symbol of Chinese culture with nearly 200 years of global influence, the novel has a broad international audience. 

Many cultural scholars believe that "Journey to the West" is the most relatable of China's four great classical novels to Western audiences. Scholar Li Shixue has noted, "The journey for scriptures in Journey to the West parallels many aspects of the quest in Homer's 'Odyssey '."

It seems that "Black Myth: Wukong" has struck a chord with both Eastern and Western audiences, blending the traditional traits of the Monkey King with a heroic spirit that resonates globally. It is indeed a winning combination.

Source :Yangcheng Evening News

《黑神话：悟空》让中华文化强势出海！ 

8月20日上午10时，有首款国产3A游戏之称的《黑神话：悟空》，在PS5、Steam、EpicGamesStore、WeGame平台同步上线。一时间，这款游戏的开服话题在各大社交平台热搜榜霸榜。游戏平台的数据更直观——在Steam平台的在线人数榜单，10时35分，《黑神话：悟空》以935745人的在线游玩人数超越《CS2》，升至榜首；随后，这款游戏迅速登顶全球热销榜单，并同步登顶包括中、美、意、法、日等多个国家的热销榜单。

《黑神话：悟空》迅速破圈，让许多网友开始关心：为何老外突然爱上了“孙悟空”？他们读过《西游记》吗？

有多火？数据破纪录，游戏玩家集体狂欢

根据Metacritic统计，52家全球媒体为《黑神话：悟空》给出了82分的均分。其中，权威媒体网站IGN海外评分为8分，IGN中国打出满分10分。8月18日，《黑神话：悟空》开启预载（预载是游戏发布前让玩家提前下载大部分数据，以便游戏发布后立即开玩）。该游戏在预载期间就创下Steam平台预载带宽使用记录（70Tbps），仅亚洲地区就占了59.3Tbps，打破了2020年发售游戏《赛博朋克2077》预载的全球纪录（51Tbps）。

资本市场，游戏板块表现十分抢眼。8月20日，《黑神话：悟空》出版方浙版传媒股价涨停。此外，与该游戏相关联的中信出版、华谊兄弟、丝路视觉等股价均大幅上涨。商业市场，《黑神话：悟空》与某咖啡品牌的联名套餐，一经推出就被卖断货。

为何火？东方美学晕染：中华文化的强势输出

毫无疑问，《黑神话：悟空》是一次绝佳的文化输出。据悉，不少此前没读过《西游记》的外国玩家，在这款游戏上线之前，已兴致勃勃地读完了原著。在游戏序章中，压迫感十足的四大天王与孙悟空对峙视效场面，完美再现了《西游记》原著中“黄风滚滚遮天暗，紫雾腾腾罩地昏”的描写。不少玩家在社交网络赞叹东方神话经过东方美学晕染之后的无穷魅力。

根据目前玩家反馈，《黑神话：悟空》过硬的视觉、叙事效果，足以实现优质中华传统文化的强势输出。游戏科学美术负责人杨奇将这款游戏视为一次“文化致敬”。为了再现原著中的古寺，技术人员走遍我国大江南北，建立了中国首个古建筑虚拟资产库，海量的历史古刹、文物古籍被还原，重庆大足石刻、杭州灵隐寺等皆有惊鸿一瞥。他说：“在渲染时，我们甚至连灰尘都舍不得抹去，最大程度保留东方建筑的美感。我们相信，中国文化数字化表达能够超越国界。”

据悉，被誉为世界八大石窟之一的大足石刻，被游戏设计团队放到了开场画面中，恢宏大气的造像得到了高度还原，此外，山西的知名古寺、古塔也出现在游戏中，随处可见的奇观让全球玩家对中华文化叹为观止。中国驻意大利大使馆更在官方社交账号上发文推荐《黑神话：悟空》：“您准备好开始一场以中国经典名著《西游记》为灵感，以传奇美猴王为主角的冒险了吗？沉浸在中国神话中，面对各种可怕的怪物！”

《黑神话：悟空》在海外的急速传播，离不开原著IP《西游记》世界级的文学经典价值。《西游记》是中国文学海外传播的代表作品，也是知名中国文化符号，有近200年的海外传播史，受众广泛。

不少文化学者认为，《西游记》是四大名著中与西方世界文化接近性最强的作品，极易被西方人接受。学者李奭学曾指出：“《西游记》取经或朝圣的历险旅程，和荷马的《奥德赛》有许多相互呼应的地方。” 

目前看来，《黑神话：悟空》中的孙悟空形象兼容了东西方审美，既保留了原著的美猴王特征，又赋予了英雄式的精气神，可谓十分讨巧。

文 | 记者 龚卫锋
图 |《黑神话：悟空》官方网站、剧照
译 | 赵凡
英文审校 | 林佳岱