Sun Wukong vs Robot [Xbox]

Developed by bitca & Indienova, Sun Wukong vs Robot is a pixel-art metroidvania that follows the story of the titular hero Sun Wukong, after he awakens inside a large mechanical maze where he has been imprisoned by four robots. The opening cinematic, done in a classic style, introduces us to our Monkey King - it’s a new twist on a classic Journey to the West character, with his usual weapon of choice - a staff - being present here, but we see him in a different setting from what we’ve typically seen before.

The simple gameplay consists of you working your way through this maze, taking on bosses and gaining new abilities along the way. To begin, you’ve got your melee attack as well as a jump, and as you progress you’ll be able to upgrade Sun Wukong with experience you’ve earned, gaining access to new abilities such as a Double Jump and shooting Fireballs. You can also find upgrades as you explore, allowing you to increase your health and mana. You’ll be able to explore the full map from the start, even before you’ve managed to get any upgrades - so you might find yourself in a bit of a pickle if you end up coming across enemies that are too strong for you.

Sun Wukong vs Robot has a very simple pixel style, that feels ever so slightly lacking due to how tiny your character - and enemies - appear on screen, making things sometimes appear quite bland. Some enemies are larger than others, and the bigger ones are definitely a lot better designed. Bosses each have their own unique appearances, including a lightsaber-wielding boss, and they also have their own fighting style, so you’ll need to work out how to take them down. It has a very Mega Man style feel to it, although far less challenging. The cutscenes you’ll see at the beginning, and dotted throughout, are really well designed - similar to the key art in the logo shown above - so when you finally get into the action, the appearance can leave you feeling a little disappointed. The music is quite basic too, with an ambient track that is barely noticeable throughout much of the game, although admittedly this does ramp up during boss fights to become much better.

For £4.99 on the Xbox Store, it’s nice and cheap given it’s hour or so of gameplay (Allan actually managed to get through it in approximately 40 minutes on his first try), but could have been doing with being a little longer. You usually know what you’re getting into with Ratalaika titles so the price point isn’t surprising, nor is the length - but the simple, relatively enjoyable gameplay did leave us wanting more. It was a pleasant enough time, and if you’re a fan of Mega Man/Metroidvania style games - especially if you’re looking for a little less on the difficulty front - and have a fiver to spare, you can’t really go wrong.

In the end, we decided to give Sun Wukong vs Robot the Collecting Asylum rating of 6.5/10.

Have you played Sun Wukong vs Robot yet? What did you think of it?
Let us know in the comments below!

- V x

Thank you to Ratalaika for the Sun Wukong vs Robot Xbox review code!