Wickwell
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About Wickwell
Wickwell is a tube shooter drawn in glowing pixel lines. Under the mining town of Ossery a shaft runs down into a sleeping star, and cold sparks called the Hollowborn climb up out of it. You are Wick, the last lamp drone of the well-keepers, and you guard the rim of the Deepwell.
The well is seen from above, as a tube that narrows into the dark. Wick moves around its rim lane by lane and shoots straight down the lane it sits on. The Hollowborn appear far below and climb towards you, each kind in its own colour and shape: amber motes that climb straight up, green skitters that hop to the next lane, magenta bellows that hover and spit embers, cyan husks that take three hits and split in two, and red lurchers that wait just under the rim and lunge.
Every Hollowborn that reaches the rim cracks the seal. The seal has five panes, and when the last one breaks the run is over. Wick itself never dies: an ember that reaches the rim on its lane only stuns it for a moment.
The twist is the lamps. Every kill kindles a small lamp on the lane where it happened, and three kills make a full lamp. A full lamp under Wick can be spent as a flare that burns that lane and both of its neighbours from the rim to the bottom. Any full lamps still burning when the bore is cleared pay a bonus, but a Hollowborn that breaches a lane also puts out its lamp. You choose all the time between spending a lamp to save the seal and keeping it for the points.
The Deepwell has twenty-four bores in twelve shapes: round, hexagonal, square, open fans, trenches and stepped pits, cogs, stars, twin lobes, teardrops, hooks and triads. Every shape changes how you move, because a closed tube lets you wrap all the way round while an open one has two ends. The second twelve are the deeper ring: the same shapes in teal light, with faster climbers and more of them.
A bore cleared without a single breach mends one pane of the seal. Every bore starts with a short quiet moment to read the new shape, and every kind shows a tell before it does something dangerous.
From the third bore on, the Hollowborn also come up in broods: three side by side, drawn to the light of a full lamp. The bottom of their three lanes glows first, then the brood rushes up together, exactly one flare wide. Stand on the lit lamp and flare, and all three burn at once.
Game Details
- Developer
- PixelDen (original)
- Released
- Genre
- Shooter
- Platforms
- Desktop, Mobile
- Controls
- Left and Right arrows or A and D move Wick around the rim. Space, Up, W or J fires down the lane. Shift, X, Down or S spends a full lamp under Wick as a flare. P or Esc pauses and M toggles sound. With a mouse, click or hold inside the well to aim at a lane and fire, and right-click to flare. On a phone, touch the well to aim and fire, drag left and right on the pad (below the well when upright, on the left when sideways) to turn, and tap the FLARE button.
- Languages
- English, Español, Deutsch
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the lamps for in Wickwell?
Every kill lights a lamp on the lane where it happened, and three kills fill it. A full lamp under Wick can be spent as a flare that burns that lane and its two neighbours, or kept: every full lamp still lit when the bore is cleared adds a bonus to the clear score.
What is a brood?
From bore 3 on, some Hollowborn come up three at a time, side by side, drawn to a full lamp. The bottom of their lanes glows amber just before. They are exactly one flare wide, so standing on that lit lamp and flaring burns the whole brood.
How do I lose?
Each Hollowborn that reaches the rim cracks one pane of the seal. The seal has five panes, and the run ends when the last one breaks. Wick itself can't be destroyed, embers only stun it for a moment.
Can the seal be repaired?
Yes. Clear a bore without a single breach and one pane is mended, up to the full five.
How many bores are there?
Twenty-four. The first twelve are twelve different shapes of tube, and the second twelve are the deeper ring: the same shapes, faster and more crowded. Holding the seal through all twenty-four seals the Deepwell and wins the run.
How is the score calculated?
Motes are worth 10, skitters 20, bellows 30, lurchers 40, husks 50 and embers 5. Kills count double from bore 5, triple from bore 9, four times from bore 13, five times from bore 17 and six times from bore 21. Each cleared bore pays 150 plus 40 for every full lamp, times the bore number, and sealing the well adds 5000 plus 500 for every pane left.
Can I play Wickwell on my phone?
Yes, upright or sideways. Touch the well to aim at a lane and fire, and Wick glides to the lane you touched. Drag left and right on the pad (below the well when upright, on the left when sideways) to turn, and tap the round FLARE button.
