ULTRAKILL Review Summary

Brilliant soundtrack and addictive, replayable gameplay clash with brutal, inconsistent difficulty, frustrating bosses, and terrible Layer 8 performance.

Outstanding soundtrack and music: The soundtrack is frequently described as excellent, compelling, and full of bangers, fitting locations and situations. Music is also praised as magnificent and worth adding to personal playlists.

Weapon balance and synergy praised: Weapons are noted for complementing each other, offering fair balance and creative synergies that enable varied playstyles. Many reviewers highlight that each weapon feels multipurpose and blends well together.

Exceptional, engaging gameplay: Gameplay is described as beyond awesome, peak, and extremely engaging, doing exactly what it should. Reviewers find it satisfying and stunning, bringing tears of joy to some.

High replayability and content: The game offers insane replayability with lots of content, easter eggs, and almost infinite replay value. Many reviewers highlight this as a major strength.

Memorable boss fights: Boss fights are well-crafted, provide a decent challenge, and are unforgettable and extremely fun. Enemies and bosses are generally regarded as enjoyable.

Difficulty is extremely high and inconsistent: Many players find the game brutally difficult, with sudden spikes and inconsistent tuning, especially on Standard and Brutal modes. This makes it frustrating and unsuitable for casual players.

Layer 8 performance is terrible: Many reviewers report severe FPS drops, freezes, and crashes in Layer 8, often dropping to 5-20 FPS. The high enemy count, teleports, and particle effects cause unplayable lag even on decent hardware.

Boss fights are difficult and frustrating: Many bosses, especially on higher difficulties, are considered extremely hard, unfair, or boring. Players report frustration, repeated deaths, and a lack of enjoyment in these fights.

Game has many bugs and optimization issues: Reviewers frequently encounter bugs such as getting stuck out of bounds, doors not opening, softlocks, and game crashes. These issues often ruin runs and make P-ranking much harder.

Some levels are tedious and confusing: Several levels, especially in Acts 2 and 3, feature confusing layouts, excessive backtracking, and disorienting design. This causes players to get lost and frustrated.

Multiple difficulty settings: The game offers various difficulty levels, including Standard, Violent, and Brutal, as well as Harmless and Lenient. These settings allow players to adjust the challenge and replay levels on harder difficulties.

P-rank ranking system: The game features a P-rank system that grades player performance on levels, often based on time and style. P-ranks serve as a progression goal and are awarded for perfect scores.

Fast-paced FPS: The game is a fast-paced first-person shooter that requires constant movement and quick reflexes. Combat is aggressive and chaotic, emphasizing speed.

Rich weapon arsenal: The game includes a diverse arsenal of weapons such as revolvers, shotguns, nailguns, railcannons, and rocket launchers. Weapons complement each other and offer multiple uses.

Movement mechanics: Players can slide, dash, jump, wall-jump, and ground-slam to navigate levels quickly. These mechanics are integral to the fast-paced gameplay and combat.

Runs Well on Low-End PCs: Many players report that the game runs smoothly even on very low-spec hardware, including Intel Celeron processors and old laptops.

Layer 8 Performance Issues: Layer 8 suffers from severe lag and low FPS, especially in small rooms with moving segments, dropping as low as 5 FPS.

Fraud Layer Optimization Problems: The Fraud layer causes significant frame drops, lag, and performance issues, even on high-end systems.

Late Game Level Lag: Late game levels, particularly those in Act III and Violence, suffer from poor optimization and lag.

General Optimization Needed: Players report overall poor optimization, with FPS drops due to enemy count and level tricks, requiring further improvements.

Strong recommendation for Ultrakill: Many reviewers give the game a strong recommendation and encourage others to play it. It is often described as a must-play game.

Great for fast-paced FPS fans: Reviewers frequently recommend the game to fans of fast-paced shooters, especially those who enjoy DOOM or movement shooters. It is considered ideal for players who like chaotic and speedy FPS action.

Buy the game now: Numerous reviews urge players to purchase the game immediately without hesitation. The game is often described as addictive and a must-buy.

Worth the price: Many players feel the game is worth every penny and offers excellent value. Some mention that it is worth buying even at full price.

General recommendation: Many reviewers simply recommend the game without additional detail, expressing overall approval and high regard.

Community fair range: $24.00 - $30.00.

Game completion: 16.0h.

Session length: 1.0h.

Endgame: 130.0h.

ULTRAKILL is often called addictive from the start, but the strongest time-linked reports say it clicks after early friction, especially once mechanics are learned or after beating 4-4 and unlocking the whiplash/grappling hook. One reviewer explicitly says this took about 8 hours.

Reported time to anchor: 8h.

Friction: Steep learning curve with many mechanics to learn; Sparse tutorial and hidden movement, gunplay, and style mechanics; Difficulty spikes that can stall progression; Slow early levels and extended tutorial before 4-4; Repetitive or annoying enemy encounters and hit-and-run fights.

Hardcore Completionist: Plays on high difficulties, P-ranks every level, speedruns, and hunts for secrets. Motivation: Mastering the game's challenges, achieving perfect ranks, and pushing personal limits. Stance: buy.

Fast-Paced FPS Enthusiast: Aggressive, fast movement, using a variety of weapons to destroy enemies. Motivation: Adrenaline and power fantasy from fast, chaotic shooting. Stance: buy.

Casual Newcomer: Plays on lower difficulties, uses accessibility options, learns at own pace. Motivation: Accessible enjoyment and experiencing the game at a comfortable pace. Stance: buy.

Across the largest cohorts, the game is generally well optimized and playable on mid-range Windows systems. Low-VRAM Windows and Linux/Proton users report recurring lag and severe frame drops, especially in the Fraud and newer layers.

Windows <8GB VRAM / <16GB RAM: mixed. Users report the base game can run surprisingly well on low-end PCs, but the newest Fraud levels cause severe lag, low FPS, and instability for many.

Windows <8GB VRAM / 16-31GB RAM: positive. Most users report smooth performance and good optimization on low-VRAM systems with 16-31 GB RAM, though a minority cite frame drops and bugs in the latest content.

Windows 12-15GB VRAM: positive. The cohort generally reports strong, playable performance, with some complaints about performance drops and crashes in the Fraud update.

Steam Deck: The Steam Deck experience is mixed but generally playable. Many users report excellent performance, high frame rates, and smooth handheld play, while others encounter friction: limited Steam Deck control remapping, severe frame drops in Act 3 and the Fraud layer, and Linux/Proton compatibility issues that sometimes require Proton version changes or Wine. No external launcher or unreadable UI problems are reported in the evidence, and most reports do not indicate frequent crashes or a total launch failure. Because compatibility tinkering and performance caveats are present, the experience falls into the Tinkering Required range rather than Seamless.

Linux and Proton: The audit finds that Linux and Proton compatibility is broadly positive. Numerous users report the game running flawlessly or perfectly on Linux, including Arch and through Proton. A few users mention minor issues: performance on Linux Mint resolved by lowering settings, a driver-related problem, and a preference for Wine over Proton. One isolated reviewer could not get the game working across Proton versions, but this is outweighed by consistent positive reports. Overall, the game works well with only minor tweaks.

Monetization: The reviews provide no evidence of real-money in-game purchases, loot boxes, paid power, paid convenience, battle passes, or currency obfuscation. Multiple reviews explicitly confirm the absence of microtransactions and pay-to-win elements. Price complaints are limited to the upfront purchase cost, and the DLC/merch references concern external merchandise or free updates rather than in-game monetization. Under the scoring overrides, the game is a fair one-time purchase with no predatory monetization evidence.

External guides: The dominant complaint is that ULTRAKILL's combat and movement mechanics, style system, and hidden content are poorly explained in-game, forcing players to consult an external wiki or walkthrough. This matches Tier 3 (The Student) for instructional data dependency. Some minor technical and UI frustrations appear, but there is no evidence of farming, drop-rate, inventory, or crafting-related wiki dependency.

Early Access Status: The game is currently in early access and still in development, with no set release date. Some layers, such as layers 8 and 9, are not yet available.

Compared to DOOM: The game is frequently compared to DOOM and DOOM Eternal, with many saying it is better and faster. It is also compared to Quake and Devil May Cry.

Developed by Hakita: The game is developed by Hakita, a single dedicated developer, and published by New Blood Interactive. Hakita is known for supporting piracy if you cannot buy the game.

Rich Lore and Story: The game features a huge and complex lore, with a story based on Dante's Inferno. The worldbuilding is immersive and praised by players.

Low-Poly Art Style: The game uses a stylized low-poly aesthetic and retro style graphics. The graphics are decent and have a unique style.