They say “don’t play with fire,” but that’s exactly what developer morgauma’s game Candle Prickwants you to do. This pixelated puzzle adventure has you controlling a tiny candle knight armed with a sword.
You need to ‘prick’ candles with your sword to snuff them out, and the orientation of the sword depends on how your character approaches it. Sound familiar? It’s very reminiscent of Stephen’s Sausage Roll, where you’re roasting sausages using an oversized fork instead. The opening scene sees the little knight standing in front of a large marshmallow-like being, who asks you to collect more candles. From there, the first few levels familiarize you with the mechanics of the game —swing your sword around to prick the candles and snuff them out.
A dense, interconnected web joins all the levels in Candle Prick’s overworld a la SuperMario World. When there are branching paths, I choose to explore each one until I’m fully satisfied, before heading back to the main path. Levels are ranked with stars to denote difficulty, and new worlds are unlocked as the knight beats more levels. A forgotten garden and a dying wasteland were amongst the lands I traversed over — I couldn’t solve those later puzzles just yet, but the ability to scope out the overworld was pretty handy in deciding my next move.
At first I can prick candles with ease, but soon I’m in a stage with delicate marshmallows, which I need to carefully avoid poking and killing. The knight can move these around and use them to push the sword to reach otherwise unreachable candles. Acting as stepping stones, they can also allow the knight to cross gaps. Orange-tinged boulders litter the landscape, and these are useful in repositioning the sword or character in order to prick the candle at the right angle.
Candle Prick’s minimal pixel art defines the atmosphere of the game — all interactable elements are tinged a bright orange, akin to the candle’s flame. Unlockable palette-swaps can alter these colors, providing a refreshing visual change. The first one I picked up was Cyberboy — which turned the overworld and levels a glitchy red. It's a minor complaint, but there are some areas of the game such as the Gardens where it can be difficult to visually distinguish the sword from the environment.
Candle Prick made me feel smart. The puzzles never felt like they were punishing me, and although it had a hint system, I chose to press on without it. The game tells players that these puzzles are meant to be difficult, and only offers hints once the player asked for one — thereby eliminating any negative hand-holding feelings. This was a nice touch, and gave me the motivation to finish a particularly difficult puzzle without being tempted to immediately go for a hint.
Candle Prick’s music is very pleasant, a wonderfully crafted soundtrack that made me feel right at home in the world. Accessibility functions are abundant in this game: it’s clear the developer put a lot of thought into any and all players that might want to pick up Candle Prick.
I look forward to more of moraguma’s works — as the developer’s first release, Candle Prick shines brightly, and it only points towards a brighter future in the genre.
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