Gwyl's Great Escape

The first day of work is always the hardest, especially for first-time jewel miner Gwyl the Symol, who finds himself trapped deep underground after a cave-in. Fortunately, Gwyl is quite clever; with a patchwork balloon and his loyal pet Lightmite, the young Symol just might have a way out...

Who lines a mine with iron spikes, anyway?

How to Play

Gwyl's Great Escape has an interesting and fairly unique control scheme; in place of your mouse cursor is a small Petpetpet known as a Lightmite, which will flap its wings when you hold down the left mouse button. As Gwyl is suspended from a balloon, you can use the air gusts created by the Lightmite's wings to move him around. How much the balloon moves depends on how close the Petpetpet is to it: being close to the balloon pushes it more, while being farther away pushes it less. If you need to move downward through a narrow gap, it's easiest to position Gwyl above it, then let gravity pull him down.

Look, you work with what's available to you, okay?

The goal of the game is to collect all of the gems scattered about a level, which will activate the Meowclops statue that serves as an exit point. A time bonus is awarded for reaching the statue quickly, but don't be too hasty; the levels' walls are lined with spikes, which will drain Gwyl's health bar if he or his balloon touches them. As Gwyl has only two lives and the game contains no power-ups to restore health, you must find a balance between speed and precision when navigating the large, spiky caverns. Gwyl and his balloon can make contact with spikes fifteen times before the health bar is empty, meaning that through the course of a single game you can only take thirty hits before reaching a Game Over. On the bright side, contact with spikes will give you three seconds of invulnerability, which should be plenty of time to pull away.

When trying for a high score, we recommend that you take note of the passwords you're given upon beating a level; using these from the "continue game" screen will allow you to replay the levels, and practice your route through them.

Scoring

Each of the six different colours of gem found in the game is worth a different number of points, ranging from 2 points for a pink gem to 20 points for blue. Including the secret stage (see the Level Maps section below), you can collect 90 gems throughout the course of the game, for a total of 675 points.

2 points

4 points

5 points

6 points

10 points

20 points

Based on the gems found in each level, here are the scores you can expect to get from gems alone:

In order to qualify for a high score, however, you will need to move quickly. You are given approximately two minutes to complete each level, with every second under the two minute mark being converted to bonus point upon reaching the end of the level. The exception to this is the final two levels: you are given three minutes to complete Snowy Mountain I, and four minutes for Snowy Mountain II. To receive the highest score possible, you should try for a time bonus of at least 50 points on the majority of levels.

Quick Tips

• The distance between the Lightmight and Gwyl's balloon affects how quickly Gwyl moves.
• Take note of the passwords you're given after each level, as they're unique to each user.
• Enter the password gwylsgreatestescapeever on the 'continue game' screen to access the secret level.
• Try to collect all the gems and reach the end of the level as quickly as possible for a high time bonus.
• If you're confident in your skills, use up your extra life in Catacombs III for a higher time bonus.

Level Solutions

These maps are designed to take you through the game's levels as quickly and efficiently as possible. To use them, click on the blue arrows to view the next or previous level, or select a level from the drop-down menu.

Glitches

Due to the imprecise nature of the game's controls, Gwyl will sometimes pass through platforms or the Meowclops statue, preventing you from completing the level. Hovering on the Meowclops statue will usually fix this, but if the problem persists, taking damage seems to help as well. In a worst-case scenario, you may need to lose a life or restart the game. Playing with the game quality set to low may also fix the issue.

The sections of background containing lava in the Lava Caves levels are a different colour than the rest of the background, and the cracks in the rock are missing the highlights seen elsewhere. This seems to be an oversight on the part of the game's artist, and has no impact on gameplay. Similarly, the background section containing lava in Lava Caves III is misaligned with the rest of the background, making it stand out quite a bit.

Video

Game Info