Hello Climbers!
White Knuckle Early Access has arrived, so grab your pitons, your rebar, your grub, and start making your way to [REDACTED]
The last six months since the launch of the demo have been a wild ride for us at Dark Machine, and we’re so happy to finally be here. It’s a doozy, but what’s even crazier is how much stuff we still have planned.
In the short term, there’s a lot of content to get through in the launch build, new areas, levels, secrets, mechanics, items, denizens and so much more. So have fun and enjoy all the new stuff!
We’re working on a roadmap that will chart out the next major chunk of Early Access, everything from the big stuff (New regions, gamemodes, etc) to some of the little things that will come in the months ahead. We’ll share it with all of you in the next few weeks, so keep your eyes peeled for that!
In the short term however, here at Dark Machine we’ll be on bugfixing duty for a week or two while we get feedback from the community, then we’re switching into high gear for the next major update which will come with some highly requested features.
But more than anything, we are so excited for the amazing community that has popped up around the demo to actually get their grubby little climbing knuckles all over the game.
From the bottom of our hearts (And Substructure 17),
Thank you!
Holly, Jack, Quinn (Dark Machine Games)
Here’s a list of *nearly* everything that has changed between the Demo and Early Access.
NEW FEATURES/CONTENT
All-new Region: Habitation
- Forlorn Gateway
- Service Shaft
- Haunted Pier
- Delta Labs
- ???
- Expanded Underworks
Updated Content
- 15 New Levels in Silos
- 10 New Levels in Pipeworks
Perks
- 16 Standard Perks - Can be grabbed between regions in any mode.
- 19 Experimental Perks - Can be grabbed in the Break Room in the Campaign (After unlocking)
Biological Backups
- Create a temporary life that will extend your run if you die in the Campaign. Uses disks.
Iron Knuckle Mode
- Classic White Knuckle
- No Perks
- No Saves
- No Banking
Overhauled Hard Mode
- More Threats
- Denizen AI is more dangerous
Metaprogression
- Logbook (stat tracking, unlocks)
- New Unlockables
- Multiple tiers of perk to be unlocked through progression.
- Multiple tiers of each region to be unlocked for repeat playthroughs.
- Vendors now stock items based on what you find in the world.
All New Items
- Flare Gun
- Flashlight
- 👁️
IMPROVEMENTS/QoL
- All-new music within each region!
- All-new SFX & VO
- UI Overhaul
- Improved Controls, Controller Support, & Settings
- Overhauled Tutorial
- And for those who skip, popups on your first run!
- Updated Interludes
- Improved Rope Swing mechanics
- Improved Performance
NEW SETTINGS
- Subtitles (w/ BG settings)
- Crosshair Scaling
- UI Scaling
- Hand Icon Scaling
- Control Toggles
- New ‘Directional Swing’ setting
- New ‘Always Sprint’ setting
- New ‘Inverse Swing’ setting
- Controller Acceleration Setting
Other
- Leaderboards
- New setpieces and special areas not found in endless.
- Updated Endless Modes
- New Full Substructure Endless Modes.
- ???
- Death Screen Tips
White Knuckle Demo Update
The White Knuckle Demo has also been updated with the numerous QOL features that the main game have received! Check it out!