Please Don’t Miss Out on This Crazy-Cool ‘First-Person Roguelite Speed-Climbing Game’

The roguelite genre took over gaming in the 2010s, giving us a multitude of titles where players wander through procedurally generated worlds, trying their best to survive and/or kill everything they can reach. These days, everyone has at least one memorable roguelite that they just can’t shake. From Hades 2 to Risk of Rain 2, Slay the Spire to Dead Cells, the genre spun off from the roguelike realm by giving players a better shot at success every single run. Want to try a roguelite for yourself? Well, this recent indie release might be the easiest purchase of your life.

Introducing ‘White Knuckle’

Dark Machine Games’ White Knuckle is a climbing roguelite. No, seriously, it’s a game where you climb up. And up. And up. A lot. A gameplay trailer on Steam shows a first-person view where players use their hands to carefully scale a tower. At first blush, I actually thought White Knuckle was a VR game. Its fluid climbing physics focus on capturing the feeling of, you know, trying and struggling to work your way up a massive structure, one hand at a time.

Can you honestly remember the last flatscreen title that focused so heavily on the role that gravity, acceleration, and velocity play on climbing? Not to mention the feet-tingling roguelite intensity of working your way up an enormous structure that you could fall from at any moment? VR games commonly simulate this experience well. But climbing is still treated as a nuisance best left simplified in first-person games. The fact Dark Machine Games gave so much special attention to climbing, to the point where I thought I was looking at a VR game, made me realize that White Knuckle deserved my attention.

“Ascend through the guts of SUB-STRUCTURE 17 using precision movement mechanics,” the game teases on its Steam Store page. “Sharp reflexes and resource management will bring you out from under ten thousand meters of concrete and decay.”

Alongside the game’s immersive climbing mechanics? White Knuckle warns players that they must carefully curate their inventory, lest they “become encumbered and fall to [their] death.” The game offers a progression system that advances run after run (hence the term “roguelite”). Featuring an underlying horror setting where “strange life” somehow “flourishes far underground.” In other words, you won’t just be fighting against gravity and physics. Expect some bizarre, horrific threat from deep within the underground to stalk you.

A roguelite that ‘easily surpasses so many AAA games’

White Knuckle, for the record, has been incredibly well received by players across Steam. According to SteamDB, the roguelite has a 91.48% approval rating across 582 reviews. One reviewer said White Knuckle “easily surpasses so many AAA games when it comes to production quality, content, gameplay, and horror aspects.” Another described it as “a phenomenally well-designed game.”

“If you’re a fan of tight player movement, roguelike style runs, horrifying concrete megastructures, and beautiful retro aesthetic, get this game now,” that player said.

You can try White Knuckle for yourself on Steam via a free demo. The game remains on sale for 10% off until April 24th, when it will be available for full price at $12.99.