‘Black Myth: Wukong’ boss responds to Game Awards snub: “I came here for nothing”
‘Astro Bot’ won Game Of The Year and some people aren’t happy
by Ali Shutler · NMEBlack Myth: Wukong director Feng Ji isn’t happy that Astro Bot won Game Of The Year at the 2024 Game Awards.
Black Myth Wukong was released in August and quickly became one of the biggest selling video games of all time.
It was then nominated for four trophies at The Game Awards and ended up winning two in last week’s ceremony, including Best Action and the community-voted Player’s Voice. However a number of fans think it should have also won Game Of The Year over Astro Bot.
Following the awards, Astro Bot was review bombed on Metacritic. “The kind of game that makes you question why it even exists. It brings absolutely nothing new to the table. There’s no effort to craft a world that feels alive or worth exploring. Even the story (if you can call it that) is a cliché-ridden afterthought,” reads one of several new 0 star reviews.
Game director Feng Ji has also responded to the apparent snub. In a post on Chinese social media site Weibo, he wrote (via Google translate): “I am here to say a few words from my heart. After all, I didn’t have the opportunity to speak on stage yesterday.”
“The four nominations for Black Myth: Wukong (Best Action Game, Best Art Direction, Best Game Direction, and Game of the Year) are all the first in China. In the end, it won the Best Action and Player’s Voice, especially the Player’s Voice, which is gratifying. But I must admit that there are disappointments and regrets. The games nominated this year are all excellent, but I really don’t understand the selection criteria for this year’s Game of the Year. I came here for nothing!”
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“I have also seen strong dissatisfaction, unwillingness and unhappiness in the comments of many players – most of them expressed in a humorous and deconstructive way, which is hilarious. It’s normal to be a little angry when you are so confident but not recognised by others. I am actually more confident than you (refer to my first answer on Zhihu). The speech for the annual game was written two years ago, but it was not used.”
He went on to say that Black Myth: Wukong’s success wasn’t a fluke. “It is not accidental. It is the inevitable result of the collision of Chinese culture, talents, game industry and the vast number of players around the world. Some say it will be difficult to replicate in the future [but] I believe that there will be more colleagues who will bring better, more interesting, and more confident Chinese stories to the world,” he added.
The team at Game Science are reportedly working on an expansion for Black Myth: Wukong.
In other news, Kit Harrington is returning to the world of Game Of Thrones with new game Kingsroad, which is due out next year.