Black Myth: Wukong's big new patch adds shrine challenges, a 'chart to chart the journeyer's journey'

And it's rolling out now.

We already knew Black Myth: Wukong was set to receive a couple of "surprises" before the end of the year, thanks to some previous teasing from its director - and it now appears at least some of those are here, courtesy of a big new update for the record-breaking action-RPG.

Black Myth's new stuff begins with its Keeper's Shrine challenges, which unlock after completing the game once. These come in two flavours - Return of Rivals and Gauntlet of Legends - both bringing back previously defeated foes for a rematch.

Return of Rivals is all about one-on-one fights, with players able to challenge former opponents to a duel across one of three levels of selectable difficulty. Gauntlet of Legends, meanwhile, features a number of returning enemies - some with new moves - battled in succession, with difficulty based around customisable curses. Successfully beating a gauntlet rewards rare treasures, but developer Game Science warns challenges won't be available if their corresponding opponents haven't yet been defeated in the main game.

Elsewhere in today's update (officially known as 1.0.12.16581, number fans), players can now lay their hands on Journeyer's Charts - featuring landscapes organised "for guidance and marking". Which is to say, maps. Journeyer's Charts are initially unlocked after meeting the Keeper in Black Wind Mountain, and new ones can be purchased for each visited territory at shrines. As Game Science so wonderfully puts it, "Let the chart chart the journeyer's journey."

And for players looking to shake up their wardrobe, Black Myth's new update brings four special armour pieces added to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year. These can be claimed under "Trailblazer's Gift" at any Keeper's Shrine.

Beyond the big headline additions, Black Myth's 1.0.12.16581 brings a whole host of bug fixes and improvements covering everything from performance and localisation issues to boss tweaks. Oh, and the Black Myth: Wukong Soundtrack Selection has been added to the music library. All this is available on the Epic Games Store right now, with the update slowly rolling out across other platforms - so you might need to wait a little before you can probe its wares. Full patch notes are available on Game Science's website.

Black Myth: Wukong's latest update arrives just ahead of this year's The Game Awards, where it's been nominated across several different categories: best action game, best art direction, best game direction, Player's Voice award, and game of the year. And if you're curious to know how it fares, the show kicks off this Friday, 13th December, at 1am in the UK. Or just go to bed and read about it all on Eurogamer when you're sufficiently ready to start the day.

Will The Game Awards also bring a long-awaited Xbox release date for Black Myth: Wukong (or maybe even a surprise drop in a similar fashion to Baldur's Gate 3)? All will be revealed soon.