Wickward — The Last Light

Throw your light. Change the angle. Call it home.

Your torch is shelter, bait, and a weapon. Throw it past the shadows, leave it burning while you reposition, then recall it through the enemies between you and the flame.

Wickward — The Last Light is a free browser action game made for AI Browser Game Jam 5 and its TORCH theme. Painted characters, warm torchlight, and an angled courtyard bring the fight out of the dark.

Two ways to keep the flame

• Journey: learn, then restore the courtyard. A guided tutorial teaches movement, throwing, repositioning, recall, and dodging one step at a time. Defeat five shadows, then enter First Light: kindle three braziers across an open courtyard, choose two flame gifts, and face the Hollow Warden.
• Three seals, three tactical tests. Bait the Warden into stone, cut across its exposed side windows, and lead your return through its pursuing core. Persistent instructions and targeting cues explain each step.
• Rooted, but still fighting. Between seals, stone chains hold the Warden at the hearth while its summoned pair attacks. Cinder shots mark fixed coral circles: move out, or bait them with a planted torch. Clear the pair to release the next seal.
• Endless: build your flame, survive the pressure. Fight growing crowds while shield rushes and ash lobs gradually enter the mix. Earn repeat upgrade choices: twin torches, longer throws, wider light, Wide Return, Hot Catch, and spreading Wildfire. After the permanent upgrades, temporary Surges keep choices coming.
• Targets worth chasing. Save Journey and Endless personal bests. Compare each Endless run with the House Rivals: fictional arcade benchmarks stored locally, not an online leaderboard.
• A courtyard that wakes. Copper-lit Ash Court, cool Moss Steps, and blue-lit Gatewatch each reveal their own landmark and sound layer. Break the final Warden seal to complete Journey and celebrate the restored courtyard.

How to play

Keyboard and mouse required. Use fullscreen for the clearest view. Headphones recommended; sound begins after you start.

• WASD / arrows: move; mouse: aim
• Left click / E: throw
• Right click / Q: recall
• Space: dodge
• Esc / P: pause; M: mute
• Restart button: asks before abandoning a run. R: retry from results only.

The tutorial highlights and enables each input as it teaches it. In First Light, leave the planted torch in the active brazier ring for three seconds; lit fires stay lit. After all three fires and the remaining shadows, break the Warden's three seals. The final core hit completes the run immediately. Pause for help or reduced motion.

Version 1.1.0: stronger courtyard transformations, faster Warden movement and charges, rooted ranged support, and an ending where the final battle finishes. Endless arrivals vary within each learning phase. Earlier door-exit Journey bests remain archived separately from the current route; Endless bests are unchanged.

Credits & AI usage

Human direction and playtesting: the creator chose the concept, directed the visual style and design, and refined the game through hands-on playtesting.

OpenAI Codex: generated the majority of the programming, game systems, interface text, procedural effects, synthesized Web Audio, and background tests under human direction. OpenAI image generation: painted characters, environments, props, and promotional cover. Screenshots show the playable game.

The game runs locally in your browser and makes no runtime AI requests. No account, downloads, or payments are required. Personal bests, House Rivals results, and preferences stay in your browser; clearing site data clears those records. If storage is blocked, records last for the current visit.

Fonts: Cormorant Garamond by Christian Thalmann and DM Sans by the DM Sans Project Authors, bundled under the SIL Open Font License. Full credits and font licenses are available in-game through Credits & AI usage.