On Sept. 3, 2020, Arsi “Hakita” Patala released the early access of Ultrakill to the Steam game store. Ultrakill is a fast–paced first–person shooter video game where players take the role of a war machine referred to as V1.
The gameplay draws heavy inspiration from games such as Doom and Devil May Cry. Throughout the game, the player traverses through hell to kill various enemies to obtain more blood as fuel for survival after the extinction of mankind.
The structure of hell is split into nine different layers, drawing heavy inspiration from “Dante’s Inferno”, a 14th–century poem written by Dante Alighieri. The poem created a fantasized version of hell that is split into nine circles, each one increasing in severity the deeper each layer is.
The layers that Dante listed were Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Wrath, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. Throughout the game, players traverse through each layer with their own unique environments and obstacles.
One thing that captures a player’s attention quickly in the game is the fast-paced gameplay, with aggressive fodder enemies and relentless bosses that easily punish carelessness, even more so on higher difficulties. Another aspect is the extensive arsenal the player becomes equipped with throughout the game, with weapons such as revolvers, shotguns, nailguns, railcannons, and rocket launchers.
Each one has three variants with unique traits and applications, such as the marksman revolver, which allows the player to toss a coin that they can shoot, allowing it to ricochet into the nearest enemy’s weak point, whereas the sharpshooter revolver’s charged shot can pierce enemies, ricochet off walls, and explode enemy projectiles.
The health system is based around the concept of the player having a frail defense, yet being able to quickly replenish health when coming into contact with fresh blood from enemies that the player kills. The player can also replenish health through performing parries.
Parries are a mechanic in which the player can interrupt certain enemy attacks and reflect projectiles with the Feedbacker (the blue arm), and it is by far one of the most iconic features in the game. (Do not try this with the Knuckleblaster.)
Similar to the Devil May Cry series, Ultrakill includes a style mechanic that is scored based on the player’s performance and tricks that they pull off. For example, performing a parry awards the player with the “+PARRY” style bonus, and killing an airborne enemy with an explosion awards the “+FIREWORKS” style bonus.
Style will be factored into the player’s overall grade of the level they are playing, alongside time, number of enemies killed, and deaths. The player also obtains points, which can be spent to unlock new variants of weapons and free color customization of weapons.
Ultrakill offers some of the most difficult bosses ever seen in first–person shooters, such as Minos Prime and Sisyphus Prime, both acting as “secret bosses” as they can only be accessed by getting perfect ranks in every level of their respective acts–Minos Prime in Act 1 (Limbo through Gluttony) and Sisyphus Prime in Act 2 (Greed through Heresy). Both utilize extremely fast attacks that require memorization, mastery of the game’s techniques, and precise timings to avoid being utterly crushed and/or destroyed.
Playing through Ultrakill myself has been one heck of an experience; becoming proficient with the game’s mechanics, delving into its multi-faceted lore, and meeting new friends who also enjoy playing the game. With the release of the Fraud layer coming in the foreseeable future, many others and I are definitely excited for what Hakita and the development team have to offer.
I highly recommend buying Ultrakill if you’re into faster-paced gameplay or enjoy complex video game lore in general; it’s definitely worth trying out.