Black Myth: Wukong is, as our review said, both confounding and spectacular. Its an action RPG soulslike that has a lot of the genres usual beats XP and skill tree, checkpoints that save your progress while also respawning enemies while also putting its own unique spin on them.Our Black Myth: Wukong beginners guide will help you start your journey (to the West) as the Destined One with tips from our first 15 hours with the game. Weve got hints and advice on level layouts, the (confusing) crafting mechanic, fast travel, and your equipment.Your progress is linearTheres not really a gameplay loop in Black Myth: Wukong. Youll travel from shrine checkpoint to shrine checkpoint, dispatching enemy yaoguais (demons) along the way, but theres not much of a grind. Instead, youll be more focused on getting from one boss fight to the next there are a lot of bosses and boss-like enemies.That linearity shows up in your armor and weapons as well. You dont so much unlock them as you just reach a certain shrine and the crafting recipes for new equipment will be automatically unlocked (more on this below). The same goes for spells they are just given to you after beating certain bosses.That said, you dont want to just sprint from one shrine to the next becauseYou should watch for side pathsWhile your overall progress is quite linear, the routes between the shrine checkpoints do have branching paths that are almost always worth exploring. Youll usually find at least a chest or even an optional boss fight.Those boss fights will also give you plenty of XP and usually some rare upgrade materials as well. If nothing else, youll find some ingredients. Which will be useful eventually.You cant make medicine until chapter 2As you play through the beginning of the game, youll find a lot of ingredients like plants and mushrooms. Their descriptions will even say they can be used to make medicines, but you wont be able to do anything with them.And thats because thats a mechanic that doesnt unlock until chapter 2, several hours into the game.Embrace running awayVery early in Black Myth: Wukong, youll run into an enemy called a Wandering Wight. The first time you meet it, you cant beat it. (Well, its possible, but its not going to happen.) The trick with that fight, though, is that the way forward is past that enemy. You just have to run past it.Thats not going to work for most fights, but its an important lesson about how the game works youll get a lot more powerful and have more skills to draw from as you progress (linearly).If you hit a hard enemy or boss, you can always come back later once youre a bit stronger. Which brings us toFast travel is weird with no mapYou can (fast) travel from any shrine to any other shrine youve previously visited. But theres no map, so its a little awkward at first.When you choose to travel, youll just get a list of the names of shrines and their region. The names are descriptive enough, though, so its not too hard to figure out where youre going.Clothes make the MonkeyAs you progress through Black Myth: Wukong and defeat bosses, youll unlock new equipment to craft at shrines. Youll only ever fight with one weapon various versions of a staff so those are easy enough to understand. The clothes gear for your head, body, legs, and arms are a bit more interesting.Clothes have unique effects that you gain while wearing them. These include things like damage bonuses or speed increases. Some equipment has a number next to the unique effect that indicates how many pieces of that set of gear you need to be wearing to activate the unique effect.There are secrets (that grant rewards)While Black Myth: Wukong is mostly linear, youll find various secrets off the beaten path. Some of these reward Vessels accessories that grant helpful perks. For help in tracking down some of these early-game secrets, see our guides on where to find all hidden bell locations, how to help the Yellow-Robed Squire, and where to find and deliver all Buddhas Eyes.