Do people actually find this character appealing? I don't like monkeys very much, and I find this main character an immense turn off. Just curious if it's a me thing or not.
Wukong is an incredibly popular literary/mythic character in China and originally tied into Taoist religious beliefs. I guess if you just see him as a monkey you might not get the appeal.
No offence taken! I don't actually know anything about it other than it's super popular in China. I saw a chart claiming that something like 85% of sales of this game were in China
American Chinese here - yes I watched a lot of Wu Kong / A Journey to the West adaptations as a kid. Both animated and live action.
He's known as a trickster in the source material even though the style in which he's presented in this new game portrays him edgier and more serious. Usually he's more akin to Hermes or Loki.
I haven't watched any trailers so don't know much about the game, but in A Journey to the West, he's tasked with protecting and escorting a Buddhist Monk on an adventure along with other ensemble characters (like a pig for instance).
On their adventures, the monk guides and teaches him about Buddhist principles like Nirvana and enlightenment and he works on becoming less monkey-like (not giving into his impulses, anger management, etc.) Much of the humor of the series stems from their contrasting personalities.
He's also known as the Monkey King. But since I'm not fluent in Chinese it was hard to grasp some of these details and what they mean to the story. They encounter many deities, demons, spirits and other such mythological beings along the way.
His main weapon is a magical staff. From what I remember, it can grow and shrink and transform. His fur is also magical as he can pluck it and perform some magic tricks with it.