EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, JULY 3 AT 3:00 PM EDT / 12:00 PM PDT / 8:00 PM BST / 21:00 CEST**
[Väckelsång, Sweden - July 3] Set in a haunting black-and-white world, Whistle Willie puts a nautical twist on the mobile base horror genre. Players captain a creaky steamboat, sailing between eerie islands harboring hidden dangers and scarce resources.
But Whistle Willie also adds a darker layer - reimagining the classic Steamboat Willie cartoon character as a monstrous steamboat spider who hunts the player relentlessly both on land and at sea.
“We thoroughly enjoyed playing Choo-Choo Charles,” said Dani, Co-Founder of Go Go Galago Games. “During Spelkollektivet’s Halloween Jam, we experimented with replacing the train with a boat, opening exciting new gameplay possibilities.”
“After the jam, we loved the concept and collaboration so much that we decided to make Whistle Willie a full Steam release. It’s become a shared passion side project ever since.”
Unlike many other mobile base horror games, Whistle Willie introduces a Dredge-inspired home base - a survivor island players return to between journeys.
“One thing we wanted to do differently was to create a stronger bond with the survivors,” explained Dani.
“Since we're not limited by rails, we introduced a central hub where survivors gather and players return - making the fight against Willie feel truly collaborative. Both players and survivors rely on each other, so losing anyone has real consequences.”
Whistle Willie turns the now-public domain cartoon icon into a grotesque steamboat-spider hybrid stalking players by land and sea. Set two decades after the events of the original cartoon, the game explores a world ravaged by his cruelty.
“We felt Willie was a natural choice for the antagonist.” Dani continued. “People often forget that in the original cartoon, Willie is quite cruel. Exploring what 20 years of that cruelty could lead to was creatively engaging. Because of the cartoon setting, it allowed us to add uniquely shocking moments to the game, satirizing the over-the-top harm cartoon characters endure in classic animation.”
While Whistle Willie is a passion project still in development, the teams are dedicated to delivering a full Steam release as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, prepare to sail into the unknown - wishlist Whistle Willie on Steam today.
Key features:
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Explore open-world islands filled with hidden secrets and deadly threats.
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Defend yourself against Willie, the relentless steamboat spider stalking land and sea.
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Upgrade your steamboat with weapons and fishing gear to survive.
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Manage scarce resources - scavenge, fish, and upgrade to stay alive.
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Collaborate with survivors, forging vital bonds.
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Developed collaboratively by three indie teams at Spelkollektivet, Sweden’s unique game developer hotel.
About the studios:
KasperDev, CANCAT Games, and Go Go Galago Games are small indie studios who are currently working on their debut games, all being published through Spelkollektivet. After collaborating during a Spelkollektivet game jam, they joined forces to work on Whistle Willie as a shared passion project in their spare time, and to turn it into a full Steam release.
Links:
Announce Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya36kIJiEHc
Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3367460
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/whistlewillie.bsky.social
X: https://twitter.com/WhistleWillie_
Website: https://whistlewillie.com/
Contact: contactwhistlewillie@gmail.com
Press Kit:
Press Kit Site: https://whistlewillie.com/press/
Press Kit Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_lNxCrfWe9VMyP2sZMI3pnMxCwUyw8aD?usp=sharing