New system introduced with game economy also improved.
It has been one year since White Knuckle was released in early access. As part of this latest milestone, developer Dark Machine Games released a massive Anniversary Update that brings with it new systems and introduces massive reworks, to name a few.
In particular, the studio has reworked a lot of the systems in the game. The result is that progressing through the campaign becomes more engaging for first time players while at the same time adding extra challenges to players looking for more difficulty.
New System
One of the new features introduced is the Trinkets and Bindings system. How it works is that Trinkets offer minor buffs to the player while Bindings introduce massive hindrances. By using Bindings, players can begin with extra Trinkets which add to the score multiplier at the end of runs.
This new system changes the playstyle as players break limbs, stack items, and compete for higher scores than ever before. They can also unlock more of both as they progress across the campaign. Overall, there are 11 new Trinkets available along with seven new Bindings.
Economy Changes
One important change implemented is on the economy of White Knuckle. This is something that the studio has long been looking into. In particular, the goal is to make collecting Roaches in a run meaningful. The main issue was that once players had enough roaches banked, they never really needed to make decisions on what to buy or even save for something again. For the development it "has always felt wrong."
As a result, the Global Roach Bank is now the Facility Credit Bank. Players can use Facility Credits to buy Permanent Upgrades to each safe sector in the campaign. Meanwhile in a run, Roaches are used to buy Items and Perks, to name a few. However once the run ends, all banked roaches become Facility Credits.
The development team is offering players ways to convert Facility Credits back into roaches, though in a more limited capacity. For example, at the start of a run they can receive a transfer of roaches from their Credit pool. It starts at 5 but can be upgraded to 20.
Then during a run, players can use Roach ATMs to convert their credits into roaches directly using disks. Higher tiers of disk allowing players to withdraw more roaches.
White Knuckle is a first-person roguelite speed-climbing game. Players climb up the guts of SUB-STRUCTURE 17 through precision movement mechanics. The game is currently on Steam Early Access.
