WHAT IS ULTRAKILL?
ULTRAKILL is a Fast-paced FPS game made by Arsi "Hakita" Patala. It was released September 3rd, 2020, in Early Access under the publisher, New Blood, and is still in EA as of writing this page (August 2025) with layer 8 being teased with a possible 2025 release date. The game itself has been noted to have been inspired by games like Quake, DOOM, and Devil May Cry.
The game follows the player, a machine known as V1, and its descent into Hell in search of blood, which it and all other machines use. It starts out in an abandoned mining facility before going through the different layers of Hell, loosely inspired by Dante's inferno, and fighting increasingly difficult enemies.
In terms of gameplay mechanics, the goal is to complete the level in a certain amount of time, while also avoiding dying/resetting and getting style points, with the possible ranks being P, S, A, B, C, and D (as well as - which is rewarded by using cheats in a level.) Style is rewarded via killing enemies in different ways and using different weapons, encouraging players to swap items via a "Fresh" bonus (and conversely, is given a debuff "bonus" referred to as "Stale" if a player uses a weapon too often.) In the game as well, the player is only ever able to heal themself via killing an enemy in close range in order to absorb their blood, thus encouraging an aggressive style of play.
WHY DO YOU LIKE THIS GAME SO MUCH?
ULTRAKILL is honestly what got me into the genre of FPS games. Before finally picking it up (and honestly taking a while to pick it up as well-- I didn't play it until September of 2024,) I had thought that the genre wasn't for me since a lot of the games either had a very steep learning curve or were just not fun for me. ULTRAKILL was such a stark difference and while it was difficult in some parts, it wasn't punishing. It also didn't unnecessarily punish you or make fun of you for choosing to play on an easier difficulty. There's also a lot of accessibility options available that people can use that don't invalidate progression/hinders the player from getting a rank, which feels so incredibly rare nowadays. Overall, I'd say ULTRAKILL is a very accessible game and is great for people who are new to the genre a/o have been jaded towards it in the past.
It wasn't just the gameplay either that won me over. The story of ULTRAKILL and it's characters are what ultimately got me to make the jump and play the game, thanks to a friend talking to me about it. And to say that I fell in love with the world within the game is an understatement. The worldbuilding within the game that's shown throughout via environmental storytelling and snippets of writing scattered throughout is such a treat to see. The writing within it is also so well done, with one of my favorite bits being found in the final level of the Violence layer, the passage found on the Earthmover. It also is just purely interesting seeing how the game talks about not only the extinction of humanity, but also the absence of God. The general relationship between humanity and Heaven is so interesting as well, with there being one sole mention of it, and how the Angels keep the humans separate from the rest of Heaven, not wanting anything to do with "God's Little Experiment." I could honestly write about so much regarding the parallels between the Angels of Heaven and the Machines, the implications of Machines having feelings and the ability to process human emotions (and also being filled with actual flesh organs,) but I fear this page might get too long.
I can't forget about the characters though. So many of them have become really dear to me and I enjoy being able to pick them apart (even if they appear once or twice. And die the second time you see them.) In general, Gabriel, V1, and V2 are definitely among my top faves, but with how much I like all of them, most aren't too far behind. It's also really funny to think about how my brain looks at a game about the death of humanity and the absence of God, and it just decides that the game is a source of comfort and the characters inside are "cute."