Game Science has finally shown Black Myth: Zhong Kui in motion. A 15-minute gameplay reveal dropped on August 20 — exactly one year after the sequel was announced at Gamescom 2025 Opening Night Live — and it's the first real look at how the studio's follow-up to Wukong actually plays. Captured from a work-in-progress build in 21:9, the footage trended at #1 on Bilibili within hours and cleared 3 million views there before the day was out, with fans calling the UE5 visuals "Netflix-level" in the comments.

If you need the full story so far — platforms, mythology, and release-date speculation — our Black Myth: Zhong Kui everything we know guide has the background. Here's what the new footage actually shows.

This is not your Monkey King's combat

The biggest takeaway is that Zhong Kui plays nothing like Wukong. Gone are the staff stances and aerial acrobatics — the new protagonist fights with a straight sword and bare-handed martial arts, favoring grounded, deliberate strikes with a lot of weapon-to-weapon clashing. The official gameplay page breaks down the toolkit: sealing arts for capturing demons, soul transfiguration that alters your abilities, and spirit sight for spotting hidden paths.

Three mechanics stood out in the footage:

  • Parrying is the baseline. Wukong required the Rock Solid skill to parry; Zhong Kui's protagonist deflects by default, and a stance bar fills as you hit, parry, and dodge to unlock sword techniques — closer to Phantom Blade Zero than to a Wukong reskin.
  • Elemental blades on demand. Mid-fight, the hero flings a firebomb, ignites a cluster of enemies, then channels that fire into his sword for bonus damage. Later he charges the blade with lightning the same way.
  • A spirit partner who fights on his own. A hulking warrior spirit fights alongside the protagonist and can be possessed directly for burst damage — the "tag-team" mechanic Game Science says is still experimental.

A world with room to breathe

Wukong's biggest criticism was that the land between bosses felt empty. The Zhong Kui footage shows a denser world by design: the hero and an elderly companion build a raft that's smashed by a biblical-scale tidal wave, he dives to a lakebed to rescue a woman trapped by a clam-like monstrosity, and the montage closes with fishing, cooking, playing music with a skeleton trio, and even getting his makeup done. One Bilibili commenter noted the game is "moving beyond Wukong's dark aesthetic" toward something with more everyday life in it.

The boss everyone's talking about

Roughly halfway through the video, the protagonist faces a moth-like humanoid with shell-covered wings, barnacles, and scales — a multi-phase fight that leans on the spirit partner, with the player taking direct control for the finishing blow. PC Gamer's hands-on write-up called it "confident swordplay" and "the coolest skeletons I've ever seen."

When does it come out?

Still no release date — Game Science reiterated the project "is still in early development" and that some mechanics shown are experimental. Platforms are confirmed as PC and major consoles, and the studio has stressed it won't rush the project or use AI in development. Don't expect it before 2028 at the earliest; Wukong took about four years between first gameplay and launch, and Zhong Kui appears to be on a similar arc.

Holding for a launch window? Keep an eye on Black Myth: Wukong's 30% anniversary sale — it's the deepest discount the first game has ever had, and it runs until August 25 on Steam if you need a Black Myth fix while you wait.

Watch for Gamescom 2026 next week — Game Science passed on debuting this footage there, so whatever else the studio has planned for the show is still under wraps.