-- WEB PROJECT --
-- Overview --
ULTRAKILL is a fast-paced ultraviolent old school first-person shooter developed by Arsi "Hakita" Patala and published by New Blood Interactive. You play as V1, a combat machine fueled by blood who has ventured into the depths of Hell after the extinction of humanity. Hell abounds with demons and tormented souls, sources of blood that you must rend apart in order to refuel yourself and survive.
Game Creator
Publisher
Game poster
ULTRAKILL's gameplay combines features from classic shooters like Quake, modern shooters like Doom (2016) and character action games like Devil May Cry. The game places emphasis on movement, dodging attacks, and efficient gunplay in its arena-style levels. In addition, the player's health can only be restored by showering in the blood of enemies, requiring the player to adopt an aggressive playstyle that regularly places them in close combat with their opponents.
The game's prologue and first act were released in early access on September 3, 2020, and a free demo is available on Steam.
-- Game Story --
In the universe of Ultrakill, God has disappeared. This results in The Council taking over Heaven in God's stead as an emergency reaction to the chaos spreading across Heaven. In addition, humanity has been rendered extinct an unknown amount of time after the end of The Final War and the beginning of The New Peace.
Technological advancements allowed the creation of machines able to use blood as a fuel and became a standard due to the abundance of blood during times of war. The player takes the place of V1, a machine that remained in its prototyping stages with the unique ability to absorb blood through contact, contrary to other machines needing to refuel manually.
Fan Comic
Game Aesthetic
V1 descends through the layers of Hell in order to harvest the blood of the various creatures living there. Along the way, V1 battles deceased sinners, a variety of demons, other machines also looking for blood, and a host of angels. V1 periodically duels a multitude of bosses, including V2, an updated V model made for peace, King Minos of the Lust layer, King Sisyphus of the Greed layer, and the Archangel Gabriel, appointed as the Judge of Hell.
End of the first Act
At the end of the first act, after his loss against V1, Gabriel is severed of his Holy Light as punishment by the Council for a perceived lack of devotion. He is to be given back the Holy Light under the condition of proving himself worthy of it by killing V1. If Gabriel is unable to kill it, the absence of the Holy Light will kill him after 24 hours.
-- Protagonist --
Overview
V1 is one of many blood-fueled Machines left to roam the Earth after the extinction of mankind, and the protagonist and player character of ULTRAKILL. Like its peers, it fights in Hell for its own desperate survival after blood ran out on the surface, slaying all manner of husks, demons, angels, and fellow machines in order to sustain itself with the blood they shed.
Later Prototype
V1 is the first version of V model, an earlier prototype that came before V2. It specializes in quick repairs, using an experimental armor plating that can absorb Blood on contact rather than a separate blood refueling process. Apart from its blue color scheme, the only visual differences between V1 and V2 are the "V1" displayed on its chest and difference in left arm. On its back are eight glowing wing-like protrusions which enable its aerial maneuverability, dashing, and continuous sliding, along with storing weapons that are not in use.
-- // --
The V model was built for war, with V1 boasting a new kind of exterior plating that allowe refueling through contact with blood rather than through a separate refueling proces Due to its necessary thinness,
it is far less durable, but the ability to fix itself and rebuil broken parts on the fly would outweigh the negatives on an active battlefiel However, during the prototyping phase, the New Peace was established and war became irrelevan V1’s planned production was cancelled and an updated model, V2, was developed instead, using th standardized plating, since durability was far more important during times of peace when n bloodshed was necessary.
-- // --
Abilities
Movement Guide:
V1, as a blood-fueled death machine, is capable of moving in all directions with equal speed, can jump, dash, slide, wall jump, and slam onto the ground from heights. By default, it has 3 stamina bars at maximum.
Dashing allows V1 to halt its current momentum and rapidly move horizontally in a specified direction, also granting it brief invincibility. Dashing costs 1 bar of Stamina.
Sliding temporarily stops stamina regeneration and does not make you invincible, but allows the player to continuously move in a single direction, though V1 is almost incapable of moving in any other direction in a slide, only being able to shift its momentum by moving left or right. It does not cost stamina, and one can chain slides for as long as they are willing to.
Ground Slams can be performed while in the air. While slamming, V1 will deal 2 damage to whatever it hits. Holding the slam button when landing creates a shockwave that launches light enemies straight up, increasing with time spent slamming and costing 1 bar of stamina. Time spent slamming also increases the power of slides and jumps done immediately after landing.
V1 can also make use of its left arm for various purposes, mostly for punching enemies and grabbing items, though upon obtaining the Whiplash from the late V2, it can use the Whiplash to grapple onto hookpoints positioned around levels, onto enemies to either be pulled to it or to pull the enemies over, or to grab and place objects from a longer range. When arms are unequipped, V1 can interact with the Terminal at the beginning of each level with latent telekinetic powers, but if it attempts to punch, it will be met with an error message.
V1 has a unique feature shared by no other machine as of now: the ability to directly absorb blood from enemies simply by soaking it through their armor. This is the main way to heal in ULTRAKILL, so players will need to actively hunt down enemies to obtain fresh blood.
-- Enemies --
ULTRAKILL offers a variety of enemies that differ vastly in appearance and behavior. They can be categorized into different types:
Husks
| Enemy | Description | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Filth |
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| Stray |
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| Schism |
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| Soldier |
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| Stalker |
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| Sisyphean Insurrectionist |
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| Ferryman |
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Demons
| Enemy | Description | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Filth |
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| Stray |
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| Schism |
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| Soldier |
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| Stalker |
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| Sisyphean Insurrectionist |
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| Ferryman |
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Machines
| Enemy | Description | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Filth |
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| Stray |
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| Schism |
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| Soldier |
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| Stalker |
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| Sisyphean Insurrectionist |
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| Ferryman |
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Angels
| Enemy | Description | Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Filth |
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| Stray |
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| Schism |
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| Soldier |
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| Stalker |
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| Sisyphean Insurrectionist |
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| Ferryman |
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-- Bosses --
Common bosses are enemies that are introduced or otherwise used as a boss, but also exist as a standard enemy appearing elsewhere in the game.
-- Common bosses --
Malicious Face
SwordsMachine
Cerberus
Hideous
Sisyphean
Ferryman
Unique Bosses are enemies that spawn exclusively as a boss for specific areas, and are not used as normal enemies at any point in the current state of the game.
-- Unique bosses --
V2 (First Encounter)
King Minos
Gabriel
V2 (Second Encounter)
Druid Knight
Leviathan
/ About him /
The Malicious Face, also known as Maurice or “Spider” internally, are Lesser Demons and the first demon enemies that the player encounters. One first appears as a boss in the mission [ 0-1: INTO THE FIRE ] and starts to appear as a normal enemy in the mission [ 0-4: A ONE-MACHINE ARMY ].
/ Appearance /
Malicious Faces appear to be giant stone heads with faces carved onto them. Though at first glance they seem to float in the air, a closer look reveals that they stand on four translucent, spider-like limbs. Upon death, these limbs seem to disappear, causing the head to drop down onto the ground.
/ Combat /
Malicious Faces are slow, only moving to catch up if they are out of range of the player. When in range, they remain in place, barraging the player with volleys of hell bullets or fire a malicious explosion. Malicious Faces at half-health or below have cracked exteriors, to differentiate them from healthy ones. Upon death, the Malicious Face falls to the ground, killing any enemies beneath it and creating a non-damaging shockwave that launches both V1 and nearby enemies into the air. This corpse can be destroyed via a ground slam. Any explosive projectiles, such as cores, rockets or projectile-boosted shotgun pellets will bounce off of Malicious Face and its corpse.
/ About him /
The Swordsmachine is a Greater Machine and the first machine enemy encountered in ULTRAKILL. It is first seen killing enemies out of V1's reach in the mission [ 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER ], and appears as a secret encounter in the same mission. It is properly fought as a boss in the mission [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ]. Weaker versions of the Swordsmachine appear as common enemies in later waves of the Cyber Grind, and, beginning in [ 6-1: CRY FOR THE WEEPER ], regular levels.
/ Appearance /
The Swordsmachine is a large, humanoid machine with a tall rectangular head. Its armor is painted yellow with black joints, with a damaged, burnt appearance that is likely caused by battling with the residents of Hell. Its eyes are on the top of its head, mismatched in positioning, which glow blue. Its lower right arm is a Shotgun, despite it having a handle and trigger. Held in its left hand is a large sword that constantly revs with the sound of a motor. As the Swordsmachine swings this sword, it glows orange and leaves behind a lingering yellow trail of light.
The Swordsmachine makes vocalizations as it gets hurt. When hit, it produces a robotic "grunt" noise. When its first health bar is depleted, it falls to one knee and makes a pained keening noise. When one of its melee attacks is parried, it enrages and produces an extended, high-pitched whirring noise. Upon death, it makes lets out a beep identical to a Streetcleaner.
/ Combat /
The Swordsmachine is incredibly fast, relentlessly chasing V1 on foot. It has two phases; in the first phase, the Swordsmachine will attack V1 at range with a shotgun and try to close the distance to use its sword. After the Swordsmachine takes sufficient damage, it will lose its shotgun and transition into phase two, gaining a new variety of attacks with its sword. While transitioning into phase two, the Swordsmachine will be stunned for a moment, leaving it vulnerable.
Many of the Swordsmachine's attacks can be parried. After being parried, the Swordsmachine will be stunned similar to when its first phase ends, leaving it open to attack. However, it will also become enraged for a short period of time, attacking faster and far more frequently. When enraged, the Swordsmachine can still be parried, but will not be stunned, requiring dashes or quick movement as to not get hit directly afterwards.
In [ 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN ], the first encounter with the Swordsmachine will not transition into phase two. The Swordsmachine will instead drop its Core Eject Shotgun and run away, and is fought later in the mission in its second phase.
/ About him /
The Cerberus is a Lesser Demon that makes its first appearance as a boss in the mission [ 0-5: CERBERUS ], returning as a common enemy in the mission [ 1-2: THE BURNING WORLD ] and onwards. Statues of Cerberus can be seen as early as the game's intro, though they are stationary and do not attack.
/ Appearance /
Cerberus are massive, featureless humanoids with stone-like skin. They hold a yellow-orange energy orb shaped suspiciously like an apple that they can throw at foes. They serve as the guardians of Hell, even guarding the door bearing the famous quote from Dante's Inferno: "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." The majority of Cerberi are completely dormant, little more than motionless statues. In this state, the Cerberus will remain stationary on its pedestal, pondering its energy orb.
/ Combat /
Cerberus are initially dormant, only leaving their pedestal when the player enters the arena. In combat, Cerberii are slow and predictable, but deal high amounts of damage that can catch the player off-guard. They are strong in numbers, as it becomes significantly more difficult to predict their attacks. Once they are at half-health, large cracks will appear on their body, indicating their weakened state.
/ About him /
The Hideous Mass is a boss fought at the end of the mission [ 1-3: HALLS OF SACRED REMAINS ], and can be encountered as a regular enemy in select arenas in the Cyber Grind. Two of them appear at the end of the mission [ 6-1: CRY FOR THE WEEPER ].
/ Appearance /
The overall shape of the Hideous Mass resembles that of a scorpion. In design, it is almost entirely made up of featureless meat covered in armor that protects it from attacks.
There is some armor in the shape of a face that, as of the remodel, appears to be "mewing" on the front, and what appears to be mouths on the ends of its arms. Along with this, it has a head on top of it that appears to be a lion's head, which is most easily seen in its laying form.
It bears 6 long legs despite the fact it never moves from its starting location. It has a long, scorpion-like tail with four faces that have glowing eyes that it can fire a harpoon from, and it alternates between an upright and laying form. However, when lowered to a certain amount of health, the Hideous Mass will become enraged and lie on its back, exposing its weak spots.
/ About him /
Sisyphean Insurrectionists are Supreme Husks first encountered as a boss at the end of the mission [ 4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN ]. They appear in later levels of the campaign as normal enemies, and are also encountered as special enemies in later waves of the Cyber Grind.
/ Appearance /
The Insurrectionist is a large light-brown Husk with a large cut across the body, leaving it without a head or right arm. It appears to be wearing some garments across its hips, in order to keep the age rating down. Below its fragmented ribcage, large incisor teeth appear to be growing out of its open wound. The feet are soaked in blood, allowing it to travel the dunes of Greed without injury. Its left arm is clutched around an allegedly-deceased Malicious Face, which will still give fresh blood when damaged.
/ Combat /
The Insurrectionist is a unique enemy in terms of health and damage. It cannot take damage from enemy attacks, cannot burn from Greed's golden sand, and gives very little blood unless set aflame. However, it takes 50% more damage from everything except explosions and double damage from fire, and attacks to its torso will heal more than usual while it burns, which means keeping it aflame is the key to victory.
/ About him /
Ferrymen are Supreme Husks first encountered as a boss at the end of the mission. [ 5-2: WAVES OF THE STARLESS SEA ]. They appear in later levels of the campaign as normal enemies, and are also encountered as special enemies in later waves of the Cyber Grind.
/ Appearance /
The Ferryman is a skeletal humanoid figure with blue bones, and a small, white robe covering his torso. He wears gold, ring-like artifacts around his limbs, and on the top of his hood is a figure that resembles a crescent moon. He also wields a large white boat oar.
/ Combat /
To initiate the boss encounter, V1 must destroy the Idol blessing the Ferryman. Upon the Idol's destruction, he will backflip right onto the deck, starting the fight.
The Ferryman will relentlessly chase V1 on the deck of his ship. This fight has 2 phases: the first is fought on the deck, while the second is fought somewhere on the ship's roof.
During the fight in [ 5-2: WAVES OF THE STARLESS SEA ] Ferryman will generate a translucent box around the ferry's deck and then, in the second phase, the roof, creating a closed arena for them and V1 to fight in.
While V1 is moving, the Ferryman will sometimes combat roll around the arena. This mainly serves to catch the player off-guard and make them miss their attack.
When his first HP bar is depleted, the Ferryman will run to the roof and will repeatedly attempt to strike V1 with lightning. These lightning strikes can easily be avoided by stepping away from the transparent white lines that indicate where the bolts are going to hit. The lightning bolts are an AoE attack, so it is recommended to keep a good distance away from the lines when they show up.
A second Idol will also appear on the roof, blessing him. To reach the Idol, you must jump on the barrels in a corner of the arena, then until you reach the stairs, jump over the obstacle blocking them, and then walk up the stairs. The destruction of this Idol will initiate the Ferryman's second phase.
-- V2 --
V2 is a Supreme Machine, making its debut in [ 1-4: CLAIR DE LUNE ] and appearing again for a rematch in [ 4-4: CLAIR DE SOLEIL ]. It is the first major boss of ULTRAKILL ACT I, with parallels to V1 in both appearance and abilities.
V2 is teased shortly before its first fight, briefly glimpsed sliding through the manor after V1 places the first blue skull on one of the pedestals. When confronting V1, it bows before the fight begins, as if to signal honor and respect. In its second fight, V2 is seen sitting on a throne. When V1 enters the room, V2 stands up and cracks its knuckles before the fight begins, as if to state that this fight is personal.
Appearence
V2 Appearence
"V2" is displayed on the chest portion of its chassis. Both models share wing-like adornments from their back glowing with yellow light, making the unit vaguely resemble an angel. In [ 1-4: CLAIR DE LUNE ], V2 will have the Knuckleblaster equipped as its left arm, while in [ 4-4: CLAIR DE SOLEIL ] it has the Whiplash as its left arm.