Black Myth: Wukong launched in 2024 to incredible success, apparently spawning several imitators as a result, and Nintendo Switch fans have been laughing as Wukong Sun: Black Legend hits the platform this week.
Online gamers have deemed the $7.99 Wukong Sun: Black Legend a rather blatant knockoff of Black Myth: Wukong, which is not available on the Nintendo Switch itself. Not only is the name incredibly similar, but the promotional image can easily be confused with the actual game image.
However, that’s where the similarities pretty much end, as Wukong Sun: Black Legend is a side-scrolling platformer, unlike the third-person action of Black Myth: Wukong. It also requires a modest 338 megabytes of disk space, according to Nintendo Internet shop side.
Its description makes no reference to this seemingly more confined experience, promising “a chaotic world filled with powerful monsters,” “extra abilities and crazy combat skills,” and “captivating graphics with an unforgettable story.”
“Seriously, it’s not even subtle,” one Reset Era a user wrote about the similarities between Wukong Sun: Black Legend and Black Myth: Wukong. “I’m not even trying,” wrote another. “Yeah, it looks like some kind of money theft with a shovel,” said a third.
Black Myth: Wukong is based on the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, so technically Wukong Sun: Black Legend could also be based on this source material, but this isn’t the first time this has happened.
For example, a game that looked eerily similar to PlayStation megahit The Last of Us was also released last year on the Nintendo eShop (and subsequently removed from it). Fans have complained that digital storefronts seem to have little or no quality control, and PlayStation itself faced a similar problem with its Grand Theft Auto 6 parody in early December.
Developers have also felt the brunt of this, with Unpacking original director Wren Brier calling on Nintendo to allow imitations of their game on the eShop. As reported EurogamerBrier called games like Unpacking: Deluxe Edition or Unpacking: Chill Music Pack “blatant frauds” because they are in no way related to their own game.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He will talk about The Witcher all day long.
