This review contains spoilers
Note: Replay
When I first played Ultrakill last year, I was very unfamiliar with the FPS genre. At most I had played the recent DOOM revivals, the original DOOM, and a few thousand hours on Overwatch (we don't talk about that). So when I played Ultrakill, and got a taste of something truly exciting and fastpaced, I could not put it down. The game was tough, but I was able to push through and beat it. Fast forward to this year, I wanted to give the game another go. I missed a lot of the side content and only pushed through the main story, and the new Act was just a week away. Seemed like the perfect oppertunity.
However, after beating the game, I enjoyed it, however a lot of the magic was gone. The spark that once ignited me before cannot work on a used fuse. I was no longer blown away by a revolutionary experience, and I was left with a good game that desperately needs to be tweeked.
A big part of the problem comes with the enemy and room layout. Ultrakill is all about movement, and it feels incredibly fun to control, however the game never lets this shine. The only time I felt like I had to try was bosses. Despite seeming like an impassible challenge a year ago, P ranking every level was much easier than imagined. Not one level or boss really gave me trouble in this aspect.
Getting the P ranks was worth it though for King Minos, who is easily the best boss in this game. There is one MAJOR flaw though; the snakes. In my opinion these guys completely ruin the fight. Getting a full heal from parrying these easily readable projectiles is broken, and when I figured it out the boss went from a painfully difficult challenge to a skillful walk in the park.
Overall though, despite these flaws, I still really like the game. It's no where near perfect, but I enjoyed my time and would like to return. And speaking of that, the next Act after this must get harder and more varied, right?
No.
Act 2 is a disappointment. Disregarding the fact that 40% of the Act was already released a YEAR before the rest of it, the Act isn't even finished. There's no prime sanctum or bonus level, two of the most fun features in the game. Do the levels make up for this though?
No.
They're all as easy as the previous levels. They introduce really cool mechanics like the statues and the double guns but they're never used in clever or interesting ways, just "oooo one enemy can't be killed now, bet you didn't think of that!".
There's also changes like the hook. Before, the hook was incredible. So good that I was really hoping they would nerf it by reducing the amount of healing or just zeroing it in general. And guess what? They did! Man, I sure hope this change is well balanced and doesn't make the hook usele-
No.
The hook is now terrible, and literally puts you at a disadvantage for using it. If you use it at ANY HP level below 100, then your HP gets lowered. And yes, even mid grapple. This "hard HP" stays for a good few seconds. It doesn't sound bad, but in the rush of battle, it can completely ruin you. I can understand not wanting people to hook often, but to make the item essentially useless? It's just annoying.
Oh and how could I forget, the story. After Act 1, you'd assume that, this being the mid point of the game, the story would start heading in a more unique and interesting direction, setting up things for the finale, right?
No.
Instead, you fight V2 and Gabriel AGAIN, with little changes to their fight. After which, Gabriel then kills the angels with little build up. Ok? Maybe I'm being harsh but while the story is interesting, it feels way too late to actually be building up to anything cool. Unless every boss in Act 3 has cool story, I can't be that excited. This feels like the second Act in a 4 act game, not the 2/3 point of the game. It sucks too because I am incredibly biased for biblical/religious shit in games. This game felt like it nailed that perfectly in Act 1 but then it just didn't do anything with it in Act 2.
At this point, I'm unsure what to think of Ultrakill. I'll always appericiate the first time experience it gave me. The 4 hour thrill ride this game gave me is unforgettable. However, I feel nothing towards the game now but disappointment. Is it even worth checking out Act 3 at this point? I'm unsure at this point. I don't want to deliver my final say on this game until it's actually completed, but for now I am left with a hollow feeling.
When I first played Ultrakill last year, I was very unfamiliar with the FPS genre. At most I had played the recent DOOM revivals, the original DOOM, and a few thousand hours on Overwatch (we don't talk about that). So when I played Ultrakill, and got a taste of something truly exciting and fastpaced, I could not put it down. The game was tough, but I was able to push through and beat it. Fast forward to this year, I wanted to give the game another go. I missed a lot of the side content and only pushed through the main story, and the new Act was just a week away. Seemed like the perfect oppertunity.
However, after beating the game, I enjoyed it, however a lot of the magic was gone. The spark that once ignited me before cannot work on a used fuse. I was no longer blown away by a revolutionary experience, and I was left with a good game that desperately needs to be tweeked.
A big part of the problem comes with the enemy and room layout. Ultrakill is all about movement, and it feels incredibly fun to control, however the game never lets this shine. The only time I felt like I had to try was bosses. Despite seeming like an impassible challenge a year ago, P ranking every level was much easier than imagined. Not one level or boss really gave me trouble in this aspect.
Getting the P ranks was worth it though for King Minos, who is easily the best boss in this game. There is one MAJOR flaw though; the snakes. In my opinion these guys completely ruin the fight. Getting a full heal from parrying these easily readable projectiles is broken, and when I figured it out the boss went from a painfully difficult challenge to a skillful walk in the park.
Overall though, despite these flaws, I still really like the game. It's no where near perfect, but I enjoyed my time and would like to return. And speaking of that, the next Act after this must get harder and more varied, right?
No.
Act 2 is a disappointment. Disregarding the fact that 40% of the Act was already released a YEAR before the rest of it, the Act isn't even finished. There's no prime sanctum or bonus level, two of the most fun features in the game. Do the levels make up for this though?
No.
They're all as easy as the previous levels. They introduce really cool mechanics like the statues and the double guns but they're never used in clever or interesting ways, just "oooo one enemy can't be killed now, bet you didn't think of that!".
There's also changes like the hook. Before, the hook was incredible. So good that I was really hoping they would nerf it by reducing the amount of healing or just zeroing it in general. And guess what? They did! Man, I sure hope this change is well balanced and doesn't make the hook usele-
No.
The hook is now terrible, and literally puts you at a disadvantage for using it. If you use it at ANY HP level below 100, then your HP gets lowered. And yes, even mid grapple. This "hard HP" stays for a good few seconds. It doesn't sound bad, but in the rush of battle, it can completely ruin you. I can understand not wanting people to hook often, but to make the item essentially useless? It's just annoying.
Oh and how could I forget, the story. After Act 1, you'd assume that, this being the mid point of the game, the story would start heading in a more unique and interesting direction, setting up things for the finale, right?
No.
Instead, you fight V2 and Gabriel AGAIN, with little changes to their fight. After which, Gabriel then kills the angels with little build up. Ok? Maybe I'm being harsh but while the story is interesting, it feels way too late to actually be building up to anything cool. Unless every boss in Act 3 has cool story, I can't be that excited. This feels like the second Act in a 4 act game, not the 2/3 point of the game. It sucks too because I am incredibly biased for biblical/religious shit in games. This game felt like it nailed that perfectly in Act 1 but then it just didn't do anything with it in Act 2.
At this point, I'm unsure what to think of Ultrakill. I'll always appericiate the first time experience it gave me. The 4 hour thrill ride this game gave me is unforgettable. However, I feel nothing towards the game now but disappointment. Is it even worth checking out Act 3 at this point? I'm unsure at this point. I don't want to deliver my final say on this game until it's actually completed, but for now I am left with a hollow feeling.