Game

WICKLING

A cheerful 8-bit kingdom with a candle for a head and something wrong underneath. World maps, power-up suits, fortresses and airships in the spirit of the NES classics. And a stalker that only moves when you look away.

Wishlist on Steam Game Support

WICKLING key art: a small figure with a lit candle for a head, and a tall pale shape standing behind him in a dark meadow.

The Kingdom of Brightmere has never known night

Its people, the Wicklings, have candles for heads and a Sun that never sets. Today the Procession barge came for Pip's little sister. It is a great honour to be chosen. Everyone said so.

Pip is going to catch that barge.

It plays exactly like the platformers you grew up with

Eight worlds of tight, hand-built levels. A world map with chapels, memory panels and wandering lamplighters. Seven suits: Moth Wings that let you fly when your P-meter fills, a Wax Mask that turns you into a statue, a Newt Suit for the lakes, a Bell Suit that rings enemies off the screen. Fortresses with crushers and ghosts. Barges full of cannons.

And every one of those systems has been turned a few degrees toward dread

Your head is the timer. The level clock is the wax of your own candle. When it gutters, the music thins out, the dark closes in, and you hear your heartbeat.
The Hush. A tall, pale thing that lives in the background of certain levels. It only moves while you face away from it. Look at it and it stops. You still have to reach the exit.
Graves. Every death leaves a candle stub on the world map, forever. World 8's map is nothing but them.
The Lamplighter walks the map. If he reaches your square, you run.
Gifts, not power-ups. The kingdom is generous. It is a little too generous.
Letters from home after every world. Her handwriting changes.

A bright green meadow under a smiling sun, with a tall grey figure standing motionless among the hills. — World 1. It is standing there. It does not do anything.

A dark level lit only by a candle, with large pale hands reaching in from the edges of the screen. — Later, it does.

A level almost entirely in darkness, with a small circle of light around the player's candle. — The level timer is your candle. This is what running out looks like.

A world map covered in small candle-stub grave markers. — Every death leaves a stub on the map. They never go away.

Classic side-scrolling platform action in a bright grassy world. — Underneath it all, a real platformer.

A chapel interior with a robed keeper offering three chests. — The Chapel Keeper. He is a little more melted every time.

Features

8 worlds, ~70 levels, 8 bosses, 7 suits, 15 map items
Authentic 256×240 pixel art in the NES palette; optional CRT filter
A live 2A03-style chiptune soundtrack that the horror systems bend in real time
Full keyboard and gamepad support with rebinding; Steam Input ready
Twelve save files, synced through Steam Cloud so a save follows your account to any machine
A Horror intensity setting that removes the flashing and the static for photosensitive players

Developer: Grey Line Interactive LLC
Publisher: Grey Line Interactive LLC
Platforms: Windows 10 64-bit, macOS 11 Big Sur or later
Players: Single-player
Language: English (interface and subtitles)
Store: Steam

Content notice

WICKLING contains cartoon horror themes (a kingdom that melts its citizens into candles), jump scares with brief flashing white frames and static, and unsettling text. There is no blood or gore. The flashing and static can be disabled in Options → Horror → Reduced, which keeps the game intact and removes the photosensitivity hazard.

System requirements

	Windows	macOS
OS	Windows 10 64-bit	macOS 11 Big Sur
Processor	Any x86-64	Apple Silicon or Intel
Memory	512 MB RAM	512 MB RAM
Graphics	OpenGL 2.1 / DirectX 11 capable	Metal-capable
Storage	50 MB	50 MB
Sound	Not required. The game runs silent if no device is present

Support

Problems, bugs or refund questions: see Game Support or email info@greylineinteractive.com.