Souls like, souls Light, souls adjacent, Baby Souls. Blacksmith Wukong is none of those. And yet Blacksmith Wukong can fit into one of those subgenre categories. So how can this game be both and neither at the same time? Well, it depends on who you talk to. Black myth Wukong quite possibly has exposed a gamer generation paradox in the way that we describe third person melee action adventure games. The developers of the game continue to state that Black Myth Wukong is not a souls like. However, there have been a lot of content creators and video game journalists who beg to differ. Their stance is that Black Myth Wukong has most of the traits that are found within a souls game grandiose, difficult bosses, the shrines are similar to bonfires, healing items are replenished at the shrines, the levels have branching, interconnected paths, there’s a stamina bar, the list goes on. On the flip side, there are gamers like me who are older, who have been gaming for a long time and have played all of the Soulsborne games who would tell you that black myth Wukong is not a souls like, nor souls light, baby souls, nor souls adjacent. Black myth Wukong is simply a melee combat action adventure game. To me, the game reminds me of god of war. The new god of war, the old school god of War. Ninja Gaiden or Ninja Gaiden some people call it. Okami. And an indie game called 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, where the setting is based in China and the protagonist uses a staff and spells to defeat his opponents, much like the destined one in Black Myth. Wukong. It reminds me of the challenging hack and slash games that came out before Soulsborne was even a thing. So who is right? Well, I think when it comes to third person melee combat action games, if your only point of reference is souls games, then I can see how you may think it’s a souls like or Souls Light. Now if you’re like me, whose points of references include the challenging old school hack and slash games like Ninja Gaiden, Black Devil may cry three, or even the old school god of war games, then blacksmith Wukong may not seem like a souls like or a souls light, but what do y’all think? Let me know in the comments. Cheers!