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 novel _Journey 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: Wukong picks 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.]

In Black 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 to Black 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.

Sun Wukong Is The Final Boss Of Black Myth: Wukong

The Stone Monkey/Sage Wukong Vs. The Destined One

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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 that this is the shell of Sun Wukong, and that the Destined One will need to defeat his body and inherit his soul in order to become his successor, after which the journey will begin anew. The implication here seems to be that, in the world of Black Myth: Wukong , there is no one Monkey King, and Sun Wukong is repeatedly killed and reincarnated by his successors . The entirety of Journey to the West and Black Sun: Wukong seem to repeat themselves in a kind of time loop. black myth wukong games 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.

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 the hardest boss in Black 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.

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 that the old Sun Wukong has well and truly died . The Destined One reclaims his Relics, taking up the mantle of the new Monkey King .

Black Myth: Wukong's Bad (?) Ending

The Destined One Inherits Sun Wukong's Crown

In Black 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.

But whether this is actually a " good " ending is certainly up for debate . In Journey 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.

Players are left to ponder these questions, however, as the game comes to an end right then and there. They can continue playing Black Myth: Wukong after beating it to clear up any side content, and maybe find some more answers .

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 from Journey to the West in reverse order. This signifies the Destined One gaining Sun Wukong's memories , becoming the Monkey King in more than just name.

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 in Black Myth: Wukong , including additional endings.

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Black Myth: Wukong

Action RPG

Systems

6 /10

__

10.0 /10

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Avg:  81 _/100_ Critics Rec:  80%

Released

August 20, 2024

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence

Developer(s)

Game Science

Publisher(s)

Game Science

Engine

Unreal Engine 5

Steam Deck Compatibility

Unknown

Black Myth: Wukong is an action RPG game from the developers at GameScience. Based on the original Chinese novel Journey to the West, players take on the role of Sun Wukong, a legendary monkey warrior who fights against mythical beasts and beings to save his world.

Platform(s)

PlayStation 5 , PC

How Long To Beat

39 hours

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Pub: 03 Sep 2025 10:36 UTC

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