#ultrakill speculation

[kyhora]

Yall... I'm nooticing smth. The projectile Providence fires out is HELL ENERGY. THIS THING MAY NOT BE AN ANGEL, OR THIS ANGEL IS UP TO NO GOOD.

[bracken-lc]

I love Swordsmachine, big 'ol scrunkle, they're so cool, they even show advanced problem solving like when a Stalker is nearby, purposely kill them to sand themselves, and the fact that the OG one was so good many other machines took to shaping themselves in it's image bro was just like that

Stupid Theory - 1 /// The Setting

Natrually, among conceptualizing what a Swordsmachine game could look like, I also wonder what their initial look and purpose was, like we know the Guttermen were the first warmachine (and Russian) and Guttertanks were a direct counter to them (and were German), so on and so fourth, there are still questions like where do virtually all other machines (except for Earthmovers, those weebs) come from, Swordsmachine included, we don't know basically anything about them, not even what they originally looked like

And it is virtually impossible unless some new information comes out or is discovered, but I do have a loose theory on what/why they exist, since they all seem virtually identical, I imagine they're all from the same manufacturer unless all scrap-heads are the same, and we know their swords are self-made, what do we know isn't? Their shotguns. . . presumably,

The Theory - 2 /// Their original purpose

Regardless, all Swordsmachines have the same shotgun, do we know where the Core Eject shotgun was made? Nnno, but their abundance, again, tells me that they were probably made together, knowing the Guttermen were the first warmachines, while they have a giant shield and a minigun, they're also pretty big, you know a weapon that excels against large targets? A shotgun.

Its never stated that the Guttertanks were directly after the Guttermen, what if, to try and occupy the Guttermen, some group created agile and quick-thinking footsoldiers that could be relatively mass produced, so while the Guttermen are trying to mow down whatever is in front of itself, it would be relentlessly pelted on all fronts by the Shotgun Soldiers, and if the Guttermen would try to knock them away, since they were agile, the Guttermen would fall, leaving them even more susceptible to fire

This would also mean that they don't necessarily have to be after Guttermen, it could be after Guttertanks or some other large machine that would be open to mobbing.

Stupid Theory - 3 /// The Sword

One big reason I think the Swordsmachine wield a sword would be due to they could implement a sword into their movement, sure, guns are generally more effective, but you can't really shoot someone if you're not aiming at them, and if theres multiple opponents, hope you're fast at reloading. Swords could generally compliment their perfered movement style more reliably than a gun, thought they still maintain their shotgun since its just easy firepower. Correct me if I'm wrong, but swords have a very large range of movement styles and techniques compared to a shotgun, and while their sword is much larger than most usable swords, but I imagine its not an issue, if they made the sword they've probably made sure their body can handle using it

Stupid Theory - Climax /// General Gushing

I also just imagine, when they don't have their sword on them, they just grab the enemy and start repeatedly decking them in the face

Seeing as they use Sentry legs for their own, and the fact that they carry around a sword bigger than themselves, I feel like all their limbs could beat someone to death really easily, and I love that for my sweet it/its, I frickin love their characterization, while most machines don't use vocal replicators since its a waste of energy, the Swordsmachine have them just because its a hoarder, like

"I DON'T CARE IF ITS UNOPTIMAL I WILL KEEP THIS VOICEBOX AND YOU WILL DO NOTHING ABOUT IT!!!!"

I LOVE IT

I LOVE HOW DESPITE THEIR HEADSHAPE MAKING THEM SUSEPTIBLE TO EASIER HEADSHOTS, THEY KEEP IT ANYWAYS, LIKE WHY BRO? Zawg is just that confident in itself and I love that for them

TLDR: Swordsmachine were made as agile footsoldiers to overwhelm larger machines like Guttermen and Guttertanks, with their swords being made to compliment their more agile fighting style

[heister-shmeister]

random ideas/predictions i have for fraud

geryon, the beast that ferries dante and virgil from the layer of violence to the layer of fraud makes an appearance

no gross shit river but maybe a river full of garbage could be cool

a shit ton of swordsmachines. like the most swordsmachines, seeing as all of them are impersonating the one we defeat in prelude

og swordsmachine fight again would be funny idk why depending on how you kill him in prelude he can either leave a ragdoll or not leave a ragdoll which means if i huff enough copium hes alive

no fight with v2 (shes dead) but maybe mentions of him because theyre kinda like a v1 impersonator in a way. not literally but kinda symbolically

if not that then maybe like. other machines trying to be v1

pure speculation but maybe a museum full of fake biblical artifacts. like a fake copy of THE cross, or a clearly counterfeit copy of the creation of adam

better yet, a replica of the sistine chapel with clearly fake paintings on the ceiling

in dantes inferno, malebolge (the layer of fraud) is covered in causeway bridges. i could see v1 taking the route of a bridge then falling down into the trenches. there HAS to be an excess of guttermen and guttertanks in said trenches simply because it is fitting

an enemy type of a husk with its head on backwards walking backwards towards you representing the sorcerers of the fourth bolgia

final boss being the earth giants and titans that guard the entrance to the final circle of hell

a lot of schisms due to schismatics being a rank of sinners punished in the ninth bolgia

the malebranche somehow idk

[angrycheesegirl]

Ultrakill's Encores are far and away my favorite levels in the game currently; taking the aesthetics of the earlier layers and making them difficult enough to stand with P-2 is more than welcome, and it's got me thinking about what the other Encores could look like when they finally release in 20 fucking years. Each Encore so far has followed a pattern, that being the first half of the level being the Layer without its defining characteristic, and then the second half being that characteristic returned; albeit dialed up to a cartoonish extent. So here's just some thoughts on what the Encores could theoeretically look like.

(DISCLAIMER: Alex is not claiming to have insider knowledge of Ultrakill nor does she pretend to be the definitive viewpoint on this matter; speculation is entirely subjective. Alex also knows not every level on this list needs a gimmick mechanic, but is merely suggesting potential ones.)

So before we jump into the yet-unreleased Encores, I think it's prudent to give a brief analysis of the current ones, those being Prelude and Limbo

Prelude and Limbo Encore both start the polar opposite of their layer, with Prelude being frozen over with blue lighting, and Limbo being grey and devoid of any life. Both of these layers share the feeling of complete lifelessness; their souls sucked out and an empty void in their place. Halfway through these levels however, the player reactivates the layer in some way, creating a heavily over-exaggerated version of the layer. Prelude becomes so hot so quickly that it cracks V1's heat shield, and Limbo begins flashing the different skyboxes of its illusion as it literally begins to fall apart. This is a distinct pattern between these two, and it stands to reason that the following Encores will take the same route, no?

LUST // ENCORE

(Reusing images from my layer intros post to make this point)

Lust in Ultrakill is a sprawling, technologically advanced city; one that was built by humans, for humans. However, we can still see remnants of Lust's origins in the distance; massive windstorms stepping over buildings and sending husks flying. To remove Lust's defining attributes would perhaps mean making the city go dark, with the wind having reclaimed its dominion in the absence of King Minos' Corpse. Perhaps this means the unique mechanic of Lust Encore (assuming it has one) will be wind hazards? Hard to say, but it would line up nicely with Dante's Inferno, which Ultrakill deliberately ignores for Lust. Reactivating the city could potentially cause power overflows, collapsing buildings, perhaps floods from the massive industrial drains we see in Third? I have no doubt large portions of this level will be high up above the dead city, but hopefully more is done with it than just visual novelty.

GLUTTONY // ENCORE

Gluttony is made entirely of twisted human flesh; the walls, ceilings, floors, and everything inside made of various tissues and bodily fluids. It visually resembles the digestive system due to the use of Stomach Acid, which asides from the bitter irony is a fun hazard. If Gluttony's attributes are removed, then there's only one way to do that: make the flesh dead. The entire layer has been overcome with Necrosis, rotting away to reveal the bone beneath. Once reactivated, Gluttony's flesh could potentially begin writhing in its disgusting rotted state, new appendages flailing outwards as the old crumbles into heaps of muscle and sinew. I really want the Encore to lean on the Body Horror of Gluttony, as we only get one real level in this layer, and which I love Belly of the Beast, it did not quench my thirst for this layer. We don't have much to work with here due to the short nature of the Crescendo layers, but what is here could prove very interesting.

GREED // ENCORE

Greed's defining attribute is far and away the unmatched power of The Sun. It beats down on the desert, making every single grain of golden sand into a searingly painful torture method. We obviously can't remove the sand without removing any resemblance to Greed, but Ultrakill already has the perfect solution in God Damn The Sun: get rid of it. Have the Encore set partially during the night, and potentially bring back some of the darkness mechanics from 4-3 (but not to the same extent or I'll burn this fucking house down.) Once the Sun is once again forced to rise, maybe it unintentionally can become so powerful that even direct exposure to its rays will do damage, creating light beam hazards that need to be avoided lest the player take damage.

WRATH // ENCORE

Wrath is honestly a tough one due to the layer already being in such a state of disarray when we arrive that an entire ocean has formed where the River Styx once flowed. Draining the ocean seems the obvious answer, but because of how obvious that would be... I find it boring. I struggle to think of a way this could be made particularly interesting, but that's why Hakita is making Ultrakill; because if I made it, it would fucking suck. If we do follow the idea of the ocean being drained, maybe the basin filling again at such a speed can create a depth pressure mechanic? Again this doesn't really seem that interesting, and I apologize for that.

HERESY // ENCORE

Heresy is another layer we don't get to see much of unfortunately; but what is there is some solid content: the entire layer consists of the upside-down city of Dis, hanging in a fog of blood (and we know that's literal because of P-2.) Just on instinct, my thoughts are that Heresy Encore would be completely absent of the red tint, revealing the dark and desolate city stretching on forever into the distance. Perhaps this could be tied to a mechanic that reduces blood-based healing, forcing the player to rely more heavily on Parries? Once reinvigorated, perhaps Heresy's Blood Rain becomes a literal storm of Blood, ravaging the layer's landscape and causing large portions of it to collapse under the weight of the downpour. Overall I really want to see more of Heresy's unique architectural style; P-2 was good, but I need another hit.

Heresy is the last Encore I'm going to talk about, as it's the last layer with a consistent theme throughout. Violence (and I expect Fraud and Treachery) gave each level a unique setting and theme, paying homage to the Divine Comedy's depiction of the layers past Dis. I frankly have no idea what Hakita is cooking up for the Encores of Act III; we can only hope that he knows how to make them interesting and novel. Knowing Hakita, that won't be a problem.

[snakeoilferryman]

It would be really cool if Layer 8: Fraud focused a tiny bit on the possible upper class that benefited from the Final War back on Earth I'm mainly saying this because I NEED to learn more about the Final War, just Violence isn't enough for me I reckon It would be pretty cool if just most of Act 3 focused on the Final War as a whole, that's just wishful thinking though

[petrenocka]

I skimmed over the Dante's Inferno wiki article and now I am ready to make some god damn Ultrakill Act III predictions babyyyy.

So obviously liberties have been taken, but overall Ultrakill so far was surprisingly faithful to Divine Comedy's portrayal of Hell. Wrath and Limbo being the standout "to a tea" ones.

7th layer of Hell is Violence. In Inferno it is devided into 3 rings itself. However the third ring, a scorching desert for those who committed violence against God, was already integrated into Greed in Ultrakill.

This lives us with 1st ring and its boiling rivers of blood for those who committed violence against their neighbors, and 2nd ring for those who committed violence against themselves and are turned into infertile trees harassed by harpies.

Thus I expect 7th layer to be mostly forrest themed, with rivers of blood for the deadly "floor" like water was in 5-2. Specifically, I expect it to draw from the Japanese Aokigahara, the suicide forrest. Somehow. Maybe one of the levels is going to happen in a suspended tree house city type location, and another will be rafting down a river.

Additionally, both Limbo and Greed have introduced a flying enemy to the roster - Drones and Virtues respectfully. So I suspect Violence is going to continue that and add Harpies, who I think will be husks, if only because I can hardly imagine an Ultrakill demon flying. Maybe they'll be somewhat tengu-like in appearance, or just Filth with jetpacks. Who knows.

7-s will 100% be a Duck Hunt reference. I can feel it just as surely as I could a fishing minigame for 5-s.

Moving on. I straight up have no idea what Hakkita will do with Fraud. None at all. There is like a fucked up city there in Inferno, but Ultrakill already moved that to Lust. Other then that, maybe it'll be a volcano level, idk why. I do find the potential to have a surviving Council member as a boss here extremely exciting, although unlikely.

Maybe 8-s will be an Ac Attorney reference, because it would fit Fraud.

Moving on again.

Treachery, the last level of the Act and of the game too most likely. The gauntlet. The one where P-3 is.

Oh, Treachery. In Inferno, it is a frozen lake with sinners encased in ice. I thus expect the 9th layer to be ice themed, although since it is The Gauntlet™ there won't be new mechanics and therefore no ice physics, don't worry. But we do lack a white level, and blood splatters will look beautifully on the snow.

1st Round of Treachery punishes "Traitors of Their Kindred", and I am like 80% that either 6-1 or its ost will get called exactly that, since this is such an Ultrakill name.

2nd Round of Treachery is for traitors of their country. I think it fits Gabriel pretty well, considering he never really betrayed God of you think about it. He went against the Council. And yes, obviously a Gabe fight in 6-2, is there even a qestion about it?

Very low chance, but maybe there is 6-3 where we kill Hell itself, since it's sentient and all.

Now for P-3. Take out the crack kids, we'll need it for this one.

3rd Round of Treachery is for traitors of guests and I think it will correlate to the gauntlet before P-3 boss. This in not the part we need drugs for.

And that is because in Inferno the 4th and final Round of Treachery, at the very bottom of Hell reserved for those who betrayed God Himself, Satan, aka Lucifer, is encased in ice and is chewing Judas.

For Ultrakill that means that we have them fucking options for our Flesh and Prime.

For Flesh it could be just another container cube. But since this is the very bottom of Hell, and Hell is alive, it could also be The Heart of Hell, or something. It could also, hear me out, be Satan. In Inferno, Lucifer is basically Judas' flesh prison, in fact, I am half convinced that the imagery of Judas being chewed by the Devil is the very reason why Flesh Cubes have teeth.

Our first two Primes were ancient Greek Kings. And the Prime of P-3 might be another ancient Greek king who I am sleeping on entirely.

But I think it is pretty safe to assume that this pattern is getting broken, just like we are not going to fight V2 in act 3 either. As far as I know there is no Greek king more into defying gods then Sisyphus and the game requires escalation.

What is more important about Primes to me is that both we have so far are enemies of God. We have a peaceful protestor in Minos, then a revolutionary in Sisyphus. So the Arch Enemy of God in Lucifer seems like a plausibility for our next ass wooping.

I am personally more in favor on Judas for that role though. I mean, he is kind of the guy who managed to get God killed, if you think about it, a natural progression from Sisyphus who tried but failed. Also Judas hung himself, so him being the King of Violence, specifically the forest part of it, makes sense.

This concludes level predictions.

We are also getting Red variants for 4 weapons, a new Arm and probably an Alt version, which is ridiculous. Absolutely zero idea how the new guns will be like. Imo S.R.S is already pushing the bloatedness of our arsenal, but Hakkita is obviously a super genius, who made the ball work, so will see.

As for the arm, we are defo getting it from 7-4, and because of the colour, my bet is that we are ripping it off of the Real Swordsmachine, the twist being that the ones in Prelude were copycats afterall, explaining why there are suddenly so many of them in 6-1. Maybe it's V-0 or something, the machine that spearheaded the modular design approach, or the first blood-powered machine, period.

I also, for literally zero reason other then "what else could it be", expect the new Alt to be a Slug variant for Shotgun. A Winchester lever action rifle sort of deal.

Ye, rant over, I don't have a concise way to wrap this up.

[azzydoesstuff]

you know what would be really cool? if the yellow arm ends up being a swordsmachine sword (predictable), but when you fight gabriel for the final time in 9-2, he takes all of your weapons except for the yellow arm and you have a swordfight duel. that would literally be so epic

[lynnbecks-mainblog]

My predictions for the visual/gameplay themes for each ULTRAKILL Act 3 layer, and the reasoning for each.

Violence - Doom-style tech-base, maybe with elements of a Quake castle. Both are retro first-person shooters, which is usually a violent genre.

Fraud - reuses assets and setpieces from earlier layers. Would essentially be lying about being a new layer, as it would just be recycled from earlier parts of the game; would also work well as a setup for a boss-rush.

Treachery - the obligatory ice-level. Literally just because the Inferno had Treachery as a giant icy lake, and also because ULTRAKILL hasn't had an ice level yet.

Potential bonus layer (because hey, maybe they'll do it) - Heaven.