Yes. The Signal Beacon is built at camp in four stages and each one needs a different kind of expedition: timber and stone from nearby, iron from the rock country, relics from ruins and standing stones, then a final haul of food and fibre. Lighting it gets you rescued, and the valley stays there afterwards if you want to keep playing it.

No, and you are told which is coming at dusk while there is still time to get home. Quiet nights are for pushing out, still nights have nothing moving at all, fog halves your visibility even with a torch, and on a pack night there are about twice as many wolves.

Yes. Wildwood is completely free in your browser on ArcadeWhale. There is no purchase, no account and no sign-up — open the page and walk into the valley.

No. It runs directly in your web browser and works in Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge on desktop, tablets and phones. There is nothing to download and no plugin to install.

Use WASD or the arrow keys on a keyboard. On a phone, touch the left side of the screen and a control stick appears under your thumb wherever you put it. Stand next to a tree, bush, rock, reed bed or ore vein and press Space or E, or tap the GATHER button, to harvest it. The name of whatever you are standing next to appears on screen so you always know what you are about to take.

There is no edge. The valley is generated from a seed as you walk, so it continues in every direction for as long as you keep going. What changes with distance is the mix — meadow near your fire, then thicker forest, marsh, rocky highlands and lakes further out — along with how dangerous the nights become.

A day lasts a little under three minutes and then the light goes. Wolves start appearing away from camp, and without a torch you can only see a few paces around you. Your campfire is safe ground: wolves keep their distance from it and standing in its light restores your health. Building a torch roughly doubles how far you can see in the dark.

You are not deleted and you do not lose the world. You come round back at your campfire having dropped about a third of what you were carrying. It is meant to cost you a trip, not a session — so pushing out further is always a real gamble rather than a bluff.

Yes. Your valley seed, day count, tools, materials and the spot you were standing on are all stored on your device, so closing the tab and returning later puts you back exactly where you left off. Harvested trees and rocks also remember when they are due to grow back.

They are landmarks with a one-time cache inside. Walk up to one and press the same key you gather with: a ruined hut hands over timber, fibre and food, and standing stones give worked stone and iron. Each is looted once and never refills, so they are worth travelling to rather than farming. An arrow at the edge of the screen always points back to your campfire so you can find your way home afterwards.

Eating it restores health anywhere in the valley, which is what keeps you alive away from the campfire. Bushes give berries, and a wolf you bring down with a spear leaves meat behind. When you are hurt and not standing next to anything to gather, the action button becomes EAT.

Yes. The New Valley button on the title screen rolls a fresh seed and generates a completely different map, with new coastlines, forests and highlands. Your best day count is kept so you can measure one run against another.