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White Knuckle
White Knuckle is a first-person roguelite speed-climbing game. Ascend through the guts of SUB-STRUCTURE 17 using precision movement mechanics. Sharp reflexes and resource management will bring you out from under ten thousand meters of concrete and decay.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “addictive climbing gameplay” (90 of 100 reviews) and “oppressive eldritch atmosphere” (26); the most common complaint is “extreme run-ending difficulty” (22). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-30 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
90 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“This game and its climbing mechanics are really amazing. For an early-access the game is really fleshed out and has a lot of content to unlock. But the thing that kills it for me is the fact that there is no way to…”
“one of the best movement-focused games on steam there isnt much else to say, just play it”
“This game is great, very stressful at times but it really adds to the immersion of this already well crafted game”
26 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“This game makes me lean in my chair and go "OOF" and "HAAH". It's rare to find a game which feels truly unique while also being incredibly engaging, and this game nails both. The Events also showcase unique applications…”
“great game the climbing in this game is so well done the monsters are so perfect the layout the maps and everything is so cool i would recommend this to anyone”
“Holy moly. This game has gone beyond my expectations. I've been obsessed with it for the past week. The movement and climbing feels genuinely perfect. The level design is smart, varied, immersive. The horror aspects are…”
21 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“This game and its climbing mechanics are really amazing. For an early-access the game is really fleshed out and has a lot of content to unlock. But the thing that kills it for me is the fact that there is no way to…”
“This game is great, very stressful at times but it really adds to the immersion of this already well crafted game”
“Holy moly. This game has gone beyond my expectations. I've been obsessed with it for the past week. The movement and climbing feels genuinely perfect. The level design is smart, varied, immersive. The horror aspects are…”
14 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“This game is really something special. In an era where you can find just about any kind of roguelike, this is the first one to really stand out in a LONG time. The core gameplay loop is satisfying, addicting,…”
“A game where the areas not only get better as you progress in the game, but also old areas become better as you learn to navigate them. It might seem hard, and it is, but it is a game that greatly rewards experience…”
“I do not understand how White Knuckle is so appealing to me. I don't like the usual suspects in challenging games like the Souls series and especially don't like rage games about climbing like Getting Over It but I like…”
14 of the 100 reviews raise this.
“One of my fav games I've ever played. It's super addicting and there's so much replayability and you never run out of things to do! 11/10, worth every penny!”
“This game is really something special. In an era where you can find just about any kind of roguelike, this is the first one to really stand out in a LONG time. The core gameplay loop is satisfying, addicting,…”
“I've been obsessed with White Knuckle ever since I picked it up, and this is easily my most favorite game of all time. If I was to be asked what my favorite part of wuckle is - its the feeling of personal progression.…”
22 of the 100 reviews raise this · 22 of them still recommend the game.
“The new update finally calmed me down for this game... The previous one was too hard... that I lost my top 5 rank on global... but I will climb it again like A KING! ps. love the game btw, but hate it at the same…”
“This game is part of my daily routine: I play it every night! though, wouldn't recommend for people with medical conditions as it can be quite intense! anyway back to my routine, I wake up in the ICU as usual Doctor…”
“игра оставляет шикарное впечатление кроме последней локации - после нее пришлось отмывать клавиатуру и мышь от потных разводов, и все тело болело от напряжения (не шутка) такое мы одобряем”
4 of the 100 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“A negative review? Don't be fooled - I do like this game, but there's one major issue I have: this game truly does not respect the time of new players. I would like to be able to actually save and quit without using my…”
“This game and its climbing mechanics are really amazing. For an early-access the game is really fleshed out and has a lot of content to unlock. But the thing that kills it for me is the fact that there is no way to…”
“Loving the game so far. Love the climbing. Movement feels great. The environments are amazing (except the vents in habitation). The creatures add an interesting layer of challenge and the game overall is challenging in…”
3 of the 100 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“This game and its climbing mechanics are really amazing. For an early-access the game is really fleshed out and has a lot of content to unlock. But the thing that kills it for me is the fact that there is no way to…”
“awesome bug I experienced bugs but the worst one was wiping all my save data after a game crash. I do highly recommend making regular .json backups of your save data”
“really fun game. i'm looking forward to what's next in store. there are some small performance issues here and there (streaming on discord, for example) and the occasional bug but it's to be expected with an early…”
3 of the 100 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“This is a great game, even though I only play at 13-15 fps, i can still feel the joy and rush of the game play.”
“2/10 runs at 1 fps and takes up 98% of my cpu, gpu, and memory”
“really fun game. i'm looking forward to what's next in store. there are some small performance issues here and there (streaming on discord, for example) and the occasional bug but it's to be expected with an early…”
3 of the 100 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“im wuckling it im wuckling it so good -I hate bloodbugs -I hate vent things -Teeth is actually really easy -Go do drugs infront of your grubs”
“Pretty good but the game's riddled with random kill-boxes for high up (spoiler hidden) . They don't even put them at the distance where you would die from fall damage. Just like 10-20 feet below you”
“Its a good game but DANG they need to nerf the turrets, I will NOT waste a trinket spot for something that only appears in one region =( over all 9/10 just because those turrets”
Counted across 100 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 98.0% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“10.2/10 My buttcheeks have merged into one from all the ass clenching moments in this game.”
— a player, Steam review · 65 hrs played“The game may be in Early Access, but it feels like a fully fleshed out and complete experience, so for there to be more to come is very exciting. White Knuckle is brutal, with every part serving its oppressive horror atmosphere. The game tells you nothing about its items and…”
— a player, Steam review · 52 hrs played“I love you. This is the game of 2026. It made me seethe with rage dying in the abyss 14 times in a row...but reaching the end of the abyss and unlocking the opportunity to finally practice it, i can now consistently reach ~5000m in endless abyss without till I get tired and…”
— a player, Steam review · 68 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-20.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-26). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
The Growing Terror - White Knuckle
Boo! Got you didn't I? With that out of the way, it's time for White Knuckle to celebrate the spooky season ! As mentioned in the Shortcuts and Accessibility Update post, we've been hard at work on Co
White Knuckle Beta 0.61f
Changes Rendering Switched back to DX11 to fix a couple of crashes that were happening on older systems with poor DX12 support. Performance Further reduced passive memory usage to hopefully reduce hit
White Knuckle Beta 0.61e
Changes The papers in Interlude: Analysis no longer respawn if they've been grabbed during the run. The Entity Scanner now highlights Keys and Handwheel items. Reduced the cost of Grapple Pitons from
White Knuckle Beta 0.61d
Changes Grapple Piton Increased the Grapple Piton range by 5 meters. The Grapple Piton now gets a 10 meter range boost with Piton Enthusiast. Added a light which indicates whether the target surface i
White Knuckle Beta 0.61c
Crash Notice Hey there! We've been getting reports about crashes on launch , and in nearly all cases they seem related to having mods previously installed that are incompatible with the newest version
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Early Access |
| Player tags | Early Access · Parkour · First-Person · 3D Platformer · Horror · Platformer · Adventure · Rogue-like · Old School · FPS · Survival Horror · Precision Platformer (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 54 |
| Official site | https://whiteknuckle.net/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows 7 Or Later Processor: 2.4GHZ Dual Core Processor Or Higher Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: GTX 670 or Equivalent DirectX: Version 9.0 Storage: 2 GB available space