Wick, also known as Flicker of Hope, is a freeware Survival Horror platformer game developed by Studio Whip. You play as an anthropomorphic candle named Jean Wick, who must navigate his way through a dark cathedral ravaged by a mysterious plague to restore the light. But Wick isn't alone in the cathedral and there are some within who wish to keep the light away.
It can be downloaded here
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Not to be confused with the other horror game Wick or the John Wick franchise. Or with our internal hyperlinks, for that matter.
Contains examples of:
- Animate Inanimate Object: Jean Wick, the player character, is a living candle with little limbs who can magically light other candles. It's not entirely clear how and why he's alive and sapient, though it's possible he was brought to life to fulfil the dying priest's mission to bring the light back (the other candles in the cathedral don't appear to be animate).
- Blue and Orange Contrast: Heavily featured throughout the game; the cathedral is mostly blues and blacks, while the area surrounding Wick and any candles he lights is gold and orange.
- Creepy Cathedral: The setting is a Gothic cathedral where all the lights have gone out and seemingly everyone has been killed or driven away by a plague. And that's without mentioning the malevolent zombie nun and demon flies out to get you.
- Darkness Equals Death: Played with. Mara and the demonic flies known as Legions are attracted to Wick's flame and you can use a douter to dim the light and sneak by. Both enemies will try to snuff out the flame if they spot Wick; if they succeed he dies. Ditto if Wick melts completely.
- Extremely Short Timespan: The game appears to take place in a single night with Wick traversing a cathedral in that time, which is understandable given that he's only got little legs.
- Flies Equals Evil: One of the antagonists of the game are demonic flies called Legions, who can be found buzzing around some parts of the cathedral. They will chase and attack Wick if they spot his flame, causing him to lose wax with each hit.
- Floorboard Failure: Just as you seem to be nearing the end, part of the ceiling caves in because of the storm and the falling debris causes the floor to collapse beneath you, resulting in Wick falling into the crypts.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Mara has these, combined with Red Eyes, Take Warning, though they aren't always visible due to her upper face being partly hidden by her wimple.
- Incurable Cough of Death: At the beginning, the priest can be heard coughing and wheezing before dropping dead of plague.
- Jump Scare: The game relies primarily on atmosphere though it features a few jumpscares.
- There's a big one early on when the player first encounters Mara: as Wick finds the douter lying on a table, Mara suddenly rises up behind him and grabs hold of him.
- Other notable examples occur later in the game, including the floor abruptly crumbling beneath Wick and Mara's arm reaching down to try and grab Wick as he travels through the crypt.
- Life Meter: Jean Wick's health is represented by how tall he is, as he continuously loses wax from melting. Standing in puddles of wax will make him regrow and if he gets too short he will burn out.
- Light Is Good: Light represents life and benevolence in the game. If Wick's flame goes out he dies, lighting candelabras sets them as checkpoints and the entire goal is to bring the light back into the cathedral and drive back the darkness. Mara and the demonic flies actively seek to prevent the light from being restored.
- Meaningful Name: The candle's surname is Wick, as in candle wick, get it?
- Nun Too Holy: One of the main antagonists is an undead nun named Mara, who succumbed to despair over the plague and has seemingly aligned herself with the forces of evil. She constantly hunts Jean Wick, seeking to snuff out his light.
- One-Hit Kill: If Mara catches Wick, she will instantly kill him by snuffing out his flame.
- Posthumous Character: The priest who was attempting to bring light back to the cathedral before he succumbed to the plague; we only see his outstretched, plague-infected hand after he dies. Jean Wick must complete his mission.
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: Mara and the Legion both have a cloud of black and red smoke trailing after them.
- Shout-Out: The player character's name is an apparent reference to John Wick ("Jean" is pronounced like "John" in French).
- Shown Their Work: Early in development, the game's creators visited cathedrals and studied stained glass windows to replicate them and make the cathedral setting of the game look more realistic.
- Vader Breath: Mara has rather loud, raspy breathing (possibly from the plague that ravaged the cathedral), which can be a tell-tale sign she's nearby.
- We Need a Distraction: Wick can use some of his wax to create a small "buddy" candle the player can simultaneously control, which can be used to distract enemies and allow Wick to slip by unnoticed.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: Mara, according to the creators and the game's download page, was originally a kind woman who tried to heal the plague victims, but was eventually overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sick and dying people, eventually succumbing to despair.
