I took about 45 hours to beat Black Myth, which includes exploring areas for secrets and finishing quests. For the vast majority of the game, I was having an amazing time. Littered with unique bosses that often present different attack patterns and sometimes introduce elements I’d not seen before in a Souls-like, I was thinking, “How high do I score this?” Then came the final chapter, which introduced an entirely new mechanic to traverse the chapter. Exhilarated, I was wide-eyed at the prospects laid before me. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t land, and while I won’t go into specifics for fear of spoiling, it’s important that readers know I had wasted a few hours aimlessly trying to figure out what to do and how to do it. Disheartening, to be sure. Regardless, I muscled through and finished the game, but I hope the team adds some quality-of-life features to this section in a patch.

Other quibbles I have with this otherwise stellar experience involve how the game handles boundaries in chapters. For the most part, Black Myth plays as a linear game with several diverging paths, be them hills, drops, or turns. Maybe a wall you encountered earlier is gone now. The problem here is the ample use of invisible walls. Now, to present this breathtaking world as beautiful and open as GameScience has, I understand the need to use invisible walls. That said, sections that appear traversable but aren’t may appear later on and be absolutely traversable because a treasure chest lies in the distance. A simple example is a rock that’s about waist high: can’t cross it! Same sort of obstacle later? Totally can. The inconsistency hurts the experience and adds a touch of frustration for completionists who want to check every corner for hidden goodies. All this said, I’m not sure what the answer is, because putting in actual walls everywhere the developers don’t want players to go would hurt the visuals. Maybe some studious designer has the answer.