So, here I am, two years after Sun Wukong first crashed onto our screens, and I still get asked the same question all the time: “Is there a way to make Black Myth: Wukong easier?” I get it. You’ve seen those massive boss battles, heard the whispers about it being a “soulslike,” and you’re worried you’ll just keep dying to a giant tiger demon over and over. Well, I’m here to tell you straight up: as of 2026, Black Myth: Wukong still does not have traditional difficulty settings. Yep, no easy mode slider. No “story mode” that lets you breeze through. But before you click away, let me tell you why that doesn’t have to be a dealbreaker.
Honestly, calling this a soulslike is a bit of a stretch. It’s more like a hard action RPG with its own rhythm. While it sure ain’t a walk in the park, it’s not out to punish you like Sekiro. The difficulty feels… fair? You can definitely hit a wall, but there are so many ways to smash through it aside from just “git gud”. Let me walk you through how my journey went, and how you can tilt the odds in your favor.
Spark of Hope: Leveling Up is Your Real Difficulty Slider
The game’s progression system uses Sparks – basically skill points you earn from leveling up. Every boss you beat, every goon you sweep aside, it all adds up. When a boss stomped me into the ground for the tenth time, I didn’t just bang my head against the wall. I wandered off, found a nice little farming spot, and came back a few levels higher with a couple of extra Sparks. I spent them on beefing up my health bar and unlocking that one critical combo from the Smash Stance, and suddenly that same fight felt… different. Not easy, but doable. It’s like the game whispers, “Take a break, kid, and come back stronger.” And you can.
Skipping Bosses? It’s Tempting, But…
Yes, the game is kind of open-ish. You can literally avoid certain side bosses if they’re making you miserable. And trust me, some of these optional encounters are real headaches. But here’s the catch – the game rewards you for sticking with it. Those tough guys often drop unique items, new transformation spells, or crafting materials for killer armor sets. Plus, the XP you get from toppling them is massive. I remember skipping the Mad Tiger in Chapter 2 on my first playthrough. Big mistake. Later I realized I missed a perfect vessel that would have made a certain dragon fight laughable. My advice? Breathe, and if you must skip, maybe come back when you’ve upgraded your gourd and pluck of many.
Upgrade More Than Just Your Stick
A lot of players fixate on the basic light attack combo and forget they have a whole arsenal. Once I started pouring Sparks into my spells, everything changed. The Immobilize spell? You can make it last longer, or even let it affect multiple enemies. Your transformations become not just panic buttons but absolute wrecking machines. For the longest time, I treated the Red Tides transformation as just a cool-looking gimmick until I leveled it up – then I realized I could practically solo a boss just by managing my might meter. If a fight is giving you trouble, look at your spell tree and your stance skills. A tiny tweak there can be more impactful than ten levels.
Going Solo… Always
And here’s the part where some of you might sigh. There are no summons. No NPC phantoms to take the heat off you, and no co-op friends popping in to save the day. This journey is yours and yours alone. It’s an intentional choice to keep you as the legendary Destined One, not the Destined One And His Really Good Friends. I won’t lie, in certain arenas I’d have given anything for a tanky companion to distract the boss while I healed. But the sense of victory when you finally nail that perfect dodge-and-counter sequence all by yourself? Chef’s kiss. It’s a lonely road, but a rewarding one.
…
Look, I can’t promise you won’t die. You will. But there’s something weirdly meditative about Black Myth: Wukong once you stop seeing each death as a failure and start treating it as a lesson. The game doesn’t judge you for struggling; it just waits for you to figure it out. So, no difficulty sliders, no co-op crutches. Just a monkey, a stick, and a whole lot of stubbornness. And honestly? That’s exactly how it should be.