This game is one of the best indie games I have ever had the chance to play. Whether it's the gameplay, the graphics of retro video games, or even the story, this game perhaps has changed my life in the best way possible.
The Gameplay:
ULTRAKILL's gameplay is different from first person shooters such as DOOM or Team Fortress 2, as it is that of a fast paced shooter set in Hell, where you must utilize 5 weapons, with three variants and three types of weapons (such as the Jackhammer replacing the Shotgun) and other gameplay mechanics such as the parry to get the best possible score, being P rank. The movement is also fantastic, as there are in fact, many ways to utilize such mobility. Slam Storage, Core Nuking, and perhaps even Jackhammer Jumping gives players a sense of control over the environments of such levels, whilst also presenting that of a challenge to truly master movement.
The Story:
Moving past from ULTRAKILL's gameplay, the story is written surprisingly deep for such a fast paced, action shooter. The main story not following V1 (being the main gameplay protagonist) gives a fresh feel on the game through it's narrative protagonist (Gabriel) who is also the gameplay antagonist. It also further expands on the machines that are in Hell during the events of ULTRAKILL, such as the Gutterman. The Gutterman in my opinion is one of the most well written machines, as in 7-2 in the section where you get the Jackhammer, the coffin of a Gutterman can be broken open, revealing a book. If you red this book, it gives the hint that the machines are sentient during the events of ULTRAKILL, and the Gutterman presenting the human in the human in the coffin as a Mother perhaps could show how it portrays it's way of life through blood being fuel as shown with the sentence of [b]"The blood of your breast that nourish'd me and warmed me in its caress, when corpse and cruelty were all I witnessed"[/b] which shows the suffering this same Gutterman you can encounter in the level through the act of tearing its own fuel source off, to put its mother to rest.
The Characters:
The characters in ULTRAKILL are memorable and written well, with the biggest example of this being Gabriel. Throughout the game, in [spoiler]Gluttony and Heresy[/spoiler] you can see Gabriel's descent into hatred as shown with your second fight with him, in which [spoiler]he realizes that he had been deceived by the Council of Heaven, resulting in him slaughtering them, but in turn being doomed for death due to the loss of the Father's light[/spoiler], which makes his fate unknown as Treachery is not out yet, which the fans OBVIOUSLY want to know. This gives us a sense of deep understanding towards Gabriel, as anyone would act upon what he had done after learning what he was forced to do. On the other hand, V1 in the story is depicted as the main protagonist, through the use of being a bloodthirsty machine who went to Hell, to slaughter everything to stay alive. But in the death screen, it is hinted that [spoiler]V1 is sentient, with the capacity to feel emotion as shown with the final words in the death screen being [b]I DON'T WANT TO DIE[/b] which may make players believe that V1 may be forced to consume blood.[/spoiler] This is important as it shows how V1's fate in the game may be portrayed as tragic, through V1 losing the only think keeping him stable throughout his slaughter of demons, machines, husks and angels throughout Hell.
Overall, ULTRAKILL is peak.
