Black Myth Wukong on PS5 has me worried about the Xbox Series S version

There's no denying that Black Myth Wukong is an excellent action role-playing game. However, it's not immune to criticism, especially when it comes to the technical side of things. While the game is an excellent showcase of what an absolute powerhouse Unreal Engine 5 can be, it's also an example of how taxing the so-called "next-gen" visuals can be.

My first playthrough of the game was on PC, where I had a rather flawless experience apart from a few instances of stuttering. However, as someone who prefers to play most of his games on consoles, I was genuinely interested in trying it out on my PS5, just to enjoy Black Myth Wukong from the comfort of a couch.

However, it seems the game's console version is vastly different from the PC version, and for the worse. On PS5, despite being completely playable from start to finish, Black Myth Wukong is far from an enjoyable experience. This got me thinking — how would the Xbox Series S, a vastly inferior system compared to the PS5 and Series X, handle this title?

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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Black Myth Wukong is far from an enjoyable experience on consoles, owing to the myriad of technical shortcomings

Black Myth Wukong is not unplayable on PlayStation 5, don't get me wrong, but it certainly isn't an ideal console port in terms of performance and stability. Think of it like Bloodborne, which, despite being lauded as one of the best exclusives to have graced the eighth generation of PlayStation consoles, is far from an ideal console port.

Black Myth Wukong can certainly be stunning to look at, on PS5, but performance leaves a lot to be desired (Image via GameScience)

I mean, that game could barely handle the 30fps lock on a PS4, despite not being all that taxing in terms of its graphical fidelity. Black Myth Wukong, on the other hand, aims for a smooth 60 FPS but rarely reaches that mark without major sacrifices. And for a game as fast-paced as Black Myth, you wouldn't want to play it on anything below 60fps.

However, the 60 FPS mode in Black Myth Wukong comes with a major caveat attached. Instead of being native 60 FPS, the game relies heavily on AMD's FSR3 Frame Generation to hit its frame rate target. While Frame Generation is incredibly useful, it comes with the added baggage of increased latency.

Now, to be fair, as someone who's been playing the game on a 144Hz monitor with VRR, I honestly didn't feel the latency to be all that bothering. PS5 already has to compensate for some latency due to its primary input being via Bluetooth. And the added latency due to frame-gen didn't bother me much, save for a few situations.

Surprisingly, the issues I faced with the game were not related to the use of Frame Generation or latency at all. Instead, most of the issues I faced were primarily related to the lack of stability of that "60fps mode." The first two chapters were pretty smooth sailing, with very minor stuttering and frame rate issues.

Chapter 3 is extremely taxing on the PS5 (Image via GameScience)

However, it was in Chapter 3 - The New West that I had to struggle the most with Black Myth Wukong on PS5. Up until the Pagoda Realm, the game was fairly stable, barring a few instances of slowdowns. But once I got past the Pagoda Realm and made my way towards the Thunderclap Temple, the game nearly broke down.

I'm talking constant stuttering, frame rate drops, freezes, you name it. And these issues persisted up until the final boss of the chapter - Yellowbrow. The stuttering was so bad that it even messed with the moment-to-moment gameplay by either misreading inputs or completely skipping them in certain instances.

The framerate was somewhat stable in Chapter 4 - The Webbed Hollow. However, once I stepped into Chapter 5 - The Flaming Mountains, I was in for another round of stuttering and freezing. The issues in Chapter 5 were even worse compared to Chapter 3, despite it being a fairly linear section, with limited exploration.

Performance goes downhill right before the Kang-Jin Star boss fight in Chapter 3 (Image via GameScience)

Chapter 6 - Mount Huaguo was a mixed bag as well in terms of stability and frame rate. However, it was definitely better compared to Chapters 3 and 5. Playing through Black Myth Wukong reminded me a lot of Remedy Entertainment's Control on the PlayStation 4. That game was also pushing the boundaries of visual fidelity.

However, like Black Myth, Control was also pushing graphical fidelity at the cost of performance, which most people won't prefer, at least on consoles. Again, don't get me wrong, I had my fun with Black Myth Wukong on PS5. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I even got the Platinum trophy for it.

However, that doesn't mean there weren't any issues. Judging from the kind and extent of issues I faced on PS5, I can only imagine what the Xbox Series S version will look and play like. Series S is a significantly less powerful machine compared to the PS5, I don't see it even coming close to hitting 60fps, even with Frame Generation.

Black Myth Wukong does deliver in terms of visual fidelity but needs a bit more work to stabilize performance on consoles (Image via GameScinece)

I just hope GameScience takes its time with the Xbox Series X|S port and does not rush it. Black Myth Wukong is an exceptional game, perhaps one of the very best action role-playing games I've ever played. And I honestly won't want anyone to experience a compromised version of the title, regardless of their platform of choice.