History Characters / Ultrakill

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Lesser angels are made out of [[OurSoulsAreDifferent human souls]] and their forms are either animalistic or [[AngelicAbomination surreal]]; greater and supreme angels take on more traditional [[WingedHumanoid humanoid forms]] because they're born from Heaven. Heaven also has a fiercely segregated class system where angels made from human souls are determined to be impure compared to angels that were born that way, and thus given busywork or other unwanted tasks that higher level angels deem unworthy.

* LargeHam: Their monologue of a mundane, if cliched, everyday situation (an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent running late to school with all their might) reflects their penchant for theatrics. This lingustic eloquence later aids them well in their speech to Mirage.
* ToastOfTardiness: They was holding a slice in their mouth on their way LateForSchool. An accidental bump to Mirage ensures the slice won't get digested any time soon.

[[folder:Level 2-S Secret Character]]
!!Mirage
!!!'''Rank:''' Unclassified
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirage_1.jpg]]
An odd robot met in 2-S.

* UnknownRival: V1 seems to have no reaction to Gabriel in their second encounter. Compare that to V2 escaping for the second time, where it is the first explicit time it actually has something to say or think about the situation. It also ties to the AmbiguousSituation previously mentioned, it is unknown if V1 has any emotional stake in any of the fights and enemies he keeps accumulating on its journey. It would certainly be ironic if it thought nothing of Gabriel despite it basically changing his worldview on their second encounter.

* AssholeVictim: Gabriel slaughtered the entire Council at the end of Act 2. Don't pity them, since The Council is [[FantasticRacism xenophobic]], [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]] tyrants that ruled Heaven through fear and made Hell as miserable as possible.

** Drones, the most basic Machines, are curious by nature, despited their limited intelligence.

* MeatSackRobot: [[https://twitter.com/HakitaDev/status/1739247186267816204 According to Hakita]], every robot has organic components installed within their mechanical bodies, hence why they have LudicrousGibs just like the other enemies and bosses.

* GodIsFlawed: In several secret areas, you can find special "TESTAMENT" Terminals that reveal God's own inner thoughts about mankind in His attempts to engineer free will out of them. Every single attempt fails, and it's clear behind the grandiose, all-caps speech pattern is a burnt-out wreck lashing out at others because He can't comprehend not being able to do something, and only realizing the error in this after He creates Hell, and realizes He can't change what results from ''that'' either. WordOfGod has stated this is fully intentional, with God's limits in power, knowledge, and benevolence serving to justify why he would ever create [[FateWorseThanDeath Hell]].

[[quoteright:827:[[labelnote:Click here to see it fully operational]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0866.png[[labelnote]]]]

** [[spoiler:The Gutterman's book from 7-2 implicitly confirms the Machines to be sapient beings with their own thoughts and desires. However, aside from the Gutterman who wrote that book, it is unknown if the Machines as a whole feel remorse for using blood as their main energy source.]]

* PIleBunker: Their Jackhammer arm that V1 can take, if the flag

[[folder:Humanity]]
The previous dominant race on Earth, now gone extinct thanks to the rise of the machines.

* ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve: Husks are empowered by the willpower of their original soul and the number of living souls that still remember them. Low-willpower individuals who weren't notable become Filth, [[ArmlessBiped too weak to form a complete body]]; on the other end of the scale, the massive and powerful Corpse of King Minos was born from a soul with strong will and legions of devoted followers. Souls that are even more powerful than that don't even need a Husk to manifest physically, as seen with [[spoiler:the secret boss, Minos Prime]].

** [[spoiler:The Gutterman's book from 7-2 implicitly confirm the Machines to be sapient beings with their own thoughts and desires. However, aside from the Gutterman who wrote that book, it is unknown if the Machines as a whole feel remorse for using blood as their main energy source.]]

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: They're an entire race of {{Killer Robot}}s that slaughter every living being they come across to satiate their need for blood, including their fellow machines. According to the Rocket Launcher's lore entry, the robots [[VirtueIsWeakness view cooperation and sharing as a waste of resources]]. [[spoiler:However, at least one robot shows a capacity for gratitude, love, and [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone remorse]], as shown by a Gutterman's diary found in 7-2 where it sees its [[HumanResources human battery]] as its mother, and while it is thankful to its host for giving it life, the Gutterman feels deep sorrow and self-hatred for making them suffer before delivering a MercyKill.]]

* ItCanThink: [[spoiler:If the Gutterman's book from 7-2 is anything to go by, the Machines are indeed sapient beings with their own thoughts and desires. Aside from the Gutterman who wrote that book, it is unknown if the Machines as a whole feel remorse for using blood as their main energy source.]]

* TheVoiceless: All the Machines don't talk or make a sound with their voices at all in order to reduce unnecessary usage of energy. The few who avert this are the Swordsmachine, the Streetcleaner, and the Drones.

!Enemies
[[index]]
* [[Characters/UltrakillRegularEnemies Regular Enemies]]

!Bosses
* [[Characters/UltrakillBosses Bosses]]
[[/index]]

!Secret characters '''(Unmarked Spoilers)'''

[[folder:Level 0-S Secret Character]]
!!Something Wicked
!!!'''Rank:''' Unclassified
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/qicked.png]]
->''[[Theatre/{{Macbeth}} Something wicked this way comes]].''
A creature that refuses qualification; a spindly horror stalking [[SecretLevel 0-S]]'s darkened hallways.

* DarkIsEvil: It's not called [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Something]] ''[[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Wicked]]'' for nothing. It's a black, sinister, skeletal creature that lurks in the darkness of 0-S, and it hunts anything that crosses its domain.
* DroneOfDread: Its presence is indicated by a buzzing sound that gets louder as it approaches V1.
* HumanoidAbomination: It's a thin, skeletal, featureless, humanoid creature that's seemingly immortal and makes a [[HellIsThatNoise horrific screech]] whenever it spots V1.
* InvincibleBoogeymen: Something Wicked is borderline unstoppable. While attacking it can stop it temporarily, it will teleport across the map to continue the chase until V1 beats the level.
* KnightOfCerebus: It proves that the secret level it's in will be darker and more serious than the run-and-gun gameplay.
* LeanAndMean: It's essentially a stick figure, and it hunts down V1 during 0-S.
* OneHitKill: Its mere touch causes a whopping 1000 points of damage. The most HP you'll have is 200. This also works against the creature, as a single shot from the revolver can take it out temporarily.
* TheSpook: Nothing is known about it other than that it's incredibly dangerous and doesn't leave its domain.
* VillainTeleportation: Every time it gets shot, the creature teleports to the furthest spot from V1's direction.
* WalkingSpoiler: Since Something Wicked only appears in 0-S, it's this by default.

[[folder:Level 2-S Secret Character]]
!!Mirage
!!!'''Rank:''' Unclassified
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mirage_1.jpg]]
An odd robot met in 2-S.

* TheAntiNihilist: Not at the beginning, but the player helps her come to this mindset by the end of their argument.
* CrossPoppingVeins: When Mirage gets frustrated, veins are shown on her portrait.
* DistaffCounterpart: She has a slimmer build and a different head mold, but she acts as one to V1, who is genderless but is often referred to with masculine pronouns by both the fans and Hakita (in casual conversation).
* {{Expy}}: A parody of dating sim love interests who quickly reveals a deeply nihilistic side and a drastic change in personality in not only her words but the world as a whole. Not too far off from [[VideoGame/DokiDokiLiteratureClub Monika]].
* {{Fembot}}: In a schoolgirl uniform, no less.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Mirage is snarky and nihilistic, but the player gives her a new look on life and she (begrudgingly) treats them to food.
* MeaningfulName: She's called Mirage because [[https://steamcommunity.com/app/1229490/discussions/0/3110274289482864562/#c3110274289482866526 she isn't real]].
* SurprisinglyCreepyMoment: What starts off as a parody of dating sims rapidly nosedives into a harrowing debate on existentialism.
* StrawNihilist: Mirage's speech goes into paralyzing fear of action in light of her and everyone's overall meaning - or lack of it - in the face of the universe. The player character helps her get over it, stating that this lack of definite meaning allows one to live as they wish to reach their own meaning that they define themselves, and that the end is not something to be feared, but to be embraced.
* ToastOfTardiness: Her monologue in the level's intro has her mention biting into her rations held only by the skin of her teeth. This is despite the fact that she's a machine with no mouth and, assuming she's like the other machines, uses blood as fuel.
* {{Tsundere}}: She's a massive jerk (although she says it's how she copes with her nihilistic outlook on life), but she treats the player to some food after they wrap up their debate.
* WalkingSpoiler: Given she's in a secret level of the game.

[[folder:Level [=5-2=] First Secret Character]]
!!Florp
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/florp_5_2.png]]
A hamster found inside one of the Ferry's funnels in 5-2.

* AscendedMeme: The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqlWcFdNYwI Hampter meme]] (going by the nickname of "Florp") is popular with the game's fandom. The hamster is finally in the game.
* EasterEgg: The hamster is hidden in one of the Ferry's funnels.
* HumanSacrifice: A ''[[Administrivia/TropesAreFlexible hamster]]'' sacrifice rather than a human one, but Florp is used as a sacrifice to free [[SealedEvilInACan Jakito]].
* WhaleEgg: Despite being a hamster, Florp is guarding its nest, which is full of eggs.

[[folder:Level [=5-2=] Second Secret Character]]
!!Jakito
A bastardized parody of Hakita's AuthorAvatar. He's found on top of a titanic tower at the start of 5-2. He's trapped in a cage, but for good reason.

* AuthorAvatar: He's a bastardized parody of the avatar Hakita uses on social media.
* EasterEgg: Jakito is found on top of a vast tower, which can only be accessed by mastering the game's vertical movement. You ''could'' try using cheats to noclip up there, but then he'll [[NoFairCheating immediately disappear.]]
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Should Jakito destroy the world, ''the game closes itself.''
* HumanoidAbomination: Jakito looks like a human (albeit a crudely drawn one), but he's a powerful and malevolent being who destroys the world once he's freed.
* HumanSacrifice: Or rather, ''hamster sacrifice'', but sacrificing Florp is enough to free Jakito from his prison.
* OmnicidalManiac: He wants to destroy the world because he can, and if he's freed, he has the power to do so.
* SealedEvilInACan: Jakito is trapped in a cage, and he needs a sacrifice to be freed. Once he's freed, Jakito destroys the entire world for no reason other than [[ForTheEvulz for the sake of it]].
* ShoutOut: Wrath is probably the last place to expect a caricature of [[Literature/MyYouthRomanticComedyIsWrongAsIExpected Saika Totsuka]].

!Other characters '''(Unmarked Spoilers)'''

[[folder:The Terminals]]
!!The Terminals
[[quoteright:399:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_0168.png]]
The various screens you see between levels and encounters, allowing you to buy weapons, read documents on the different enemies and events of the world, and access the Sandbox and Cyber Grind game modes.

* AllergicToRoutine: The main reason they use "points" as a currency is because of their completely sedentary existence, a lack of surface world stimuli, and the otherwise drone-like nature of most Machines has made them yearn for some kind of entertainment. So, they reward machines that show off their skills with a chance to earn better weaponry.
* DeadpanSnarker: The Terminal just before the Flesh Panopticon has one unchanging tip for you going into the fight;
--> "TIP OF THE DAY: [[ComeToGawk Have fun]]"
* DungeonShop: Just before heading out into the levels of Hell, V1 can buy weapon variations and weapon customization options from them. Some will even appear just before boss battles, with P-2 having a terminal after the many enemies found in Dis and before fighting the Flesh Panopticon.
* ItCanThink:
** Until you beat a Prime Sanctum, you might be led to believe that the terminals are just non-thinking machines that provide basic utilities. The terminal at the end of P-1 hints at the sentience of the terminals, referring to the machines' usage of them as "a symbiotic relationship", and the terminal at the end of P-2 outright describes their behavior and desire for entertainment.
** A blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment at the end of 5-3 also shows they are able to react to outside stimuli, and either feel pain or have a sense of humor, when you find one that was tipped over when the ship capsized:
-->'''TIP OF THE DAY:''' Ow.
* MoneySink: In addition to regular weapon variations, their merchandise includes weapon customization options that require 5 million points in total to acquire.
* MonsterCompendium: They hold a record of every enemy and boss V1 has fought, as well as observations on their behaviors and how to best handle them.

[[folder:Humanity]]
The previous dominant race on Earth, now gone extinct thanks to the rise of the machines.

* AlternateHistory: What people call the Final War has its roots in what used to be recognizable as UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, a version of it that simply kept going through the entire 21st century.
* CrapsackWorld: The Guttertank's terminal entry notes that things were going pretty poorly for mankind even off the battlefield, as most of humanity's resources were being used for the war and little was going into civilian life, with most struggling to survive. It's to the point that the sun being blotted out by the soot and ashen ruins of the war is considered a ''good'' thing, as it shut down the Earthmovers and ended the war.
* GreatOffscreenWar: In 1914, the Final War started among humankind. Little is seen of it, though it is known that the conflict dragged on for approximately 200 years and culminated in human soldiers being supplanted by increasingly sophisticated machine armies.
* HumanitysWake: The entire game takes place after all humans have been wiped off the face of the earth.
* HumansAreFlawed: Hell is full after all, and there are a great number of humans who have committed sins against one another. This eventually culminated in the Final War... but war still ended after all, and humanity got past their differences for peace. Ironically enough, humanity was seemingly instead ended by a being of pure evil that was incensed at humanity moving on past a life of violence into peace, provoking it into ending humanity itself directly.
* HumansAreSpecial: Unlike the other races, humans are the only race to not only have souls, but form Prime Souls, beings so powerful they can manifest a physical form without the need for a Husk, and they're dreaded even by ''Angels''.
* LensmanArmsRace: The Final War ended up becoming one as humanity invented the Gutterman, which was countered by the Guttertank. Continue on until you reach the Earthmovers and possibly V1.
* TooDumbToLive: Creating machines that derive their fuel source from blood probably wasn't the brightest idea, given that the machines are also sentient and don't intend on dying, not to mention that humanity still made such robots even after the Final War ended. However, the ARG puts ''this'' idiocy into question with the reveal [[TheManBehindTheMan that an entity had a hand instigating]] the extinction of humanity with the intent of stealing away the souls of mankind to torment for its own amusement for all eternity, and nowhere is it actually stated that it was machines that caused the great calamity. [[DoubleSubversion On the other hand]], sending at least two research expeditions into Hell is what gave the entity access to human technology, including blood-powered machines, in the first place...
* WarIsHell: The Final War was such a desperate and pointless struggle, [[CrapsackWorld it even burned holes in civilian life and rendered home as just another battlefield for the soldiers discharged after the arms race began]].
* WowingCthulhu: The GreaterScopeVillain of the story that caused humanity's extinction for its own purposes is nonetheless awed by the sheer destructive potential the species had when putting their work towards creating the war machines. The Earthmover is practically idolized as the perfected state of this, poetics waxed at length in a book it left to narrate its thoughts to V1 on the matter, and the Guttermen [[HumanResources designed to carry their fuel sources]] ''inspired'' said entity to take notes for its own unholy creations. Humanity was so royally fucked up that it earned VillainRespect for it.

[[folder:Terminal Author]]
An unknown person who wrote the lore entries on the terminals found at the end of Prime Sanctums.

* ContentLeak: InUniverse, the lore from the end of P-2 mentions that a previously-written draft got leaked, and they had to deal with the repercussions.
* DeadpanSnarker: Marked comment text has them cynically snipe at whoever they're frustrated with, such as the "suits" who didn't bother reading their previous giant text block, or complaining about a project lead's music choice at the terminals.
-->[note: fuck you tom im so fucking tired of this stupid song and having to listen to it every morning over your garbage intercom]
* KilledMidSentence: The lore from the ARG that appears to be written by them has them stop typing suddenly, followed by multiple lines of blank text, and then an evil force interjecting and ordering another person to die.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Their typing style is defined by occasional frustrated comment text in grey. The ARG lore entry, addressed to the same Tom from an in-game lore entry, has none of that, as [[OhCrap they've realized the gravity of the situation and the importance of getting a message sent immediately]].

[[folder:The Father]]
!!The Father
The creator.

* AdaptationalWimp: The God of Literature/TheBible was an all-powerful being with no limit to His might. But the Testaments found in the secret levels imply that, no matter how hard how He tried, this version of Him could never create a human being [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill that lacked free will]]. Furthermore, though He was able to create Hell, He has admitted that He no longer has the power to unmake it.
* DespairEventHorizon: Every Testament so far has shown that he's clearly hit it since before he started writing them. It's hard to figure out what exactly started it, but it was either the creation of mankind or the creation of Hell.
* DisproportionateRetribution: For asking if eternal torment for sinners was justified, He cast Lucifer into Hell. He was frightened by the possibility of admitting He was wrong, [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone but afterward realized just what He did.]]
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: The secret level Testaments document God's attempt to create humans without free will, His failure at doing so, and the subsequent creation of Hell to punish sinners who don't follow His rule.
* GodIsDead: In the Act 2 end credits, Gabriel confirmed that God has been dead for a while.
* GodIsFlawed: In several secret areas, you can find special "TESTAMENT" Terminals that reveal God's own inner thoughts about mankind in His attempts to engineer free will out of them. Every single attempt fails, and it's clear behind the grandiose, all-caps speech pattern is a burnt-out wreck lashing out at others because He can't comprehend not being able to do something, and only realizing the error in this after He creates Hell, and realizes He can't change what results from ''that'' either. WordOfGod has stated this is fully intentional, with God's limits in power, knowledge, and benevolence serving to justify why he would ever create [[FateWorseThanDeath Hell]].
* HaveYouSeenMyGod: The father hasn't been seen for a while. It is implied that He may be dead.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: God horrifies himself when he casts Lucifer into Hell when [[ArmorPiercingQuestion he asks what could possibly justify the eternal torment of humanity]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: If the Testaments are any indication, He speaks in [[CapsLock all capital letters]] and [[RhymesOnADime rhymes the last word of every second sentence]]... right up until the last line of Testament III, where He realizes to His horror that after having failed to change mankind's free will and creating Hell out of frustration, He isn't able to undo it.
-->I HAVE CREATED HELL...\\
...And now I can no longer unmake it
* TheMaker: He's the creator of both Heaven and Hell.

[[folder:The Council]]
!!The Council
A corrupt council of Angels that rule over Heaven after God died.

* AssholeVictim: Gabriel slaughtered the entire Council at the end of Act 2. Don't pity them, since The Council is [[FantasticRacism xenophobic]], [[HolierThanThou self-righteous]] tyrants that ruled Heaven through fear and made Hell as miserable as possible.
* BadBoss: They consider Gabriel's defeat at the hands of a machine tantamount to treason and heresy, and punish Gabriel for it. [[TheDogBitesBack This comes back to bite them in the ass later]].
* CouncilOfAngels: The angelic council took over once the Father left.
* GreaterScopeVillain: They ruled Heaven with an iron fist, their teachings made Gabriel just as dogmatic as they are, and they're responsible for some of the horrific punishments and events in Hell, like the fall of Minos' Lust Renaissance, the failure of Sisyphus' Greed Insurrection, and the deaths of both kings. However, there's an even ''greater force of evil'' that's pulling the strings from beyond the veil.
* HateSink: There is nothing entertaining or sympathetic about them, being nothing but self-righteous tyrants that caused horror and misery long before the game's plot took place.
* ItIsDehumanizing: During their judgement of Gabriel at the end of Act 1, the Council deliberately avoids using gendered language, referring to Gabriel as an "it" or "this one." Surrounding context makes it clear that they see Gabriel as unworthy of respect.
* KarmicDeath: The entire Council are corrupt Angels who ruled Heaven through fear, created the horrible punishments in Hell, instilled their dogma onto Gabriel, and then severed him from God's light for losing to V1. Gabriel comes back to Heaven at the end of Act 2 to butcher the entire Council, and they all deserve it.
* LightIsNotGood: They're Angels of holy light, yet they punish Hell's sinners with immense suffering and rule Heaven through fear and desperation out of their [[KnightTemplar self-righteous dogmatism]].
* TheUnfought: Despite being major villains, the Council was never fought by V1. Instead, they were slain by Gabriel in the ending cutscenes of Act 2.

[[folder:Lucifer]]
!!Lucifer
->''"FATHER, [[ArmorPiercingQuestion WHY ETERNAL TORMENT]]? IS IT NOT CRUEL?\\
IS TORTURE UNENDING TRULY A FATE FIT FOR A FOOL?"''

The First Fallen Angel. As revealed in Testament IV, he was cast into Hell after he asked God why He was sentencing humans to eternal torture.

* AdaptationalHeroism: In [[Literature/TheDivineComedy the poem]], Lucifer betrayed God out of his own arrogance, despite knowing that this crime will bring evil and suffering to the world. In this game, sin already existed in the world [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill as a necessary consequence of free will]], and Lucifer merely questions the creation of Hell out of genuine concern for humanity, despite seeing sinners as fools.
* AngelicBeauty: Even by the standards of other Angels, Lucifer was noted by God to be "bright and beautiful".
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Asked God what could possibly justify [[AndIMustScream Hell and the eternal torment of humanity]] for [[DisproportionateRetribution meager sins]]. In that moment, God became stricken with terror, and cast Lucifer into Hell as well.
* FallenAngel: Lucifer is the first and only known Angel to be casted into Hell, though this is a result of him simply questioning God about the creation of Hell rather than any act of malice.
* HeKnowsTooMuch: Lucifer was the first, and the only known, Angel to question God whether Hell was justified. Frightened from the possibility of revealing his personal failing, God had Lucifer banished to Hell as well.
* LightIsGood: [[SatanIsGood Lucifer]] is described as "[[AngelicBeauty bright and beautiful]]'' by God, and he is the first and only known Angel to sympathize with humanity by questioning God if the creation of Hell was justified.
* MeaningfulName: Described by God as "bright and beautiful". Lucifer translates to "bringer of light" in Latin.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Lucifer was casted into Hell by God for questioning the creation of Hell out of sympathy for the human sinners.
* PetTheDog: While he considers sinners to be foolish, he still showed them more sympathy than God did.
* {{Satan}}: The First Fallen Angel himself, [[AdaptationalHeroism though he's far more sympathetic and noble than his poem counterpart]].
* SatanIsGood: Lucifer was cast into Hell for questioning God's eternal punishment for sinners, which God Himself immediately regrets. He's also not the real villain, but ''something'' else is.
* SympathyForTheDevil: In a fit of {{irony}}, it's ''[[SatanIsGood The Devil]]'' who's pulling this trope off. While he sees sinners as fools, Lucifer still feels sympathy for them and questions God if the creation of Hell was justified.
* WhamLine: The mere mentioning of his name reveals that he's the Angel who was questioning God in Testament IV, along with confirming his existence in the ''Ultrakill'' universe.
--> ''AND I CAST '''LUCIFER''', TOO, INTO THE INFERNAL DEN''

[[folder:ARG SPOILER CHARACTER]]
!!Hell
->''"a n o t h e r d i e s . b r i n g m e m o r e . i h u n g e r .''"

Yes, {{Hell}} itself. The realm of eternal torment created by God to punish sinners, Hell is revealed [[GeniusLoci to be alive]] by the second part of the AlternateRealityGame that started since the release of "Tenebre Rosso Sangue".

* AbusiveParent: Hell is the creator of the Demons, yet it has no love towards what are essentially ''its own children''. Hell displays this callousness by sending its Demons to be slaughtered by V1, so it can watch the bloodshed out of sadistic glee. Hell also left [[TragicMonster The Minotaur]] to rot in the Garden of Forking Paths for a millennium before luring it to the exit room... only to [[YankTheDogsChain take away that hope of freedom]] and forcing it to battle V1 in a losing duel, resulting in the Minotaur dying with regret for failing its [[TragicDream dream of seeing the sky one last time]].
* AdaptationalVillainy: In ''Literature/TheBible'' and [[Literature/TheDivineComedy the poem]], Hell is a place of punishment, but it never extends beyond that. Here in this game, Hell is not only alive, but evil, being a sadistic realm that's implied to wipe out the entire human race so it can claim their souls and torture them for eternity as an act of twisted entertainment.
* AlienGeometries: The layers of Hell are weird, which becomes more obvious at the end of Act I onwards. Many levels seem to exist in utterly massive locations, with unobstructed skies and a horizon that goes on for miles, even though you came in by dropping down a shaft from what may have been another massive location with an unobstructed sky and miles-long horizon. You can sometimes see the shaft the level entrance connects to reaching upwards seemingly infinitely, other times it's inside of a structure you can climb to the top of without ending up back in the previous level. Also, the entrance to Gluttony is somehow inside the mouth of The Corpse of King Minos, despite the layer not actually being within the corpse itself.
* TheAntiGod: A unique example in that it was created by God himself. Hell is an immeasurably powerful being that not even God could unmake, creates the common Demons to torture its prisoners, idolizes the soulless machines humanity created to wage war, something essentially every heavenly character despises, and is motivated entirely and exclusively by a desire to [[{{Sadist}} torture]] and [[OmnicidalManiac destroy]] seemingly ''everything''. This is even reflected in its presentation in the story, where it speaks in massive, all-capitalized red text that's similarly scornful and cruel to God prior to creating Hell when describing its ideal fate for humanity: entirely exterminated by the machines in a show of total meaninglessness. Disturbingly, while there are signs it may be guiding V1, [[DevilButNoGod God himself has vanished entirely, if not having outright died]].
* AppearanceIsInTheEyeOfTheBeholder: Hell's makeup changes to some degree for those who come in through the "Prelude" area, with transition zones appearing such that one can progress further through no matter what path they take.
* BigBad: The Part 2 AlternateRealityGame seems to be building up Hell as the game's main villain, and it's responsible for modifying Husks like the Soldiers and the Stalkers, locking down arena doors, and spawning enemies. It's also implied that Hell is the sole cause for [[HumanitysWake humanity's extinction]].
* CirclesOfHell: Like its [[Literature/TheDivineComedy poem counterpart]], Hell in this game is divided into nine layers, with Fraud and Treachery currently under development.
** Limbo: A [[GreenHillZone lush and green Greco-Roman paradise]] that is [[CrapsaccharineWorld anything but]], as its fake serenity in the form of flat screens posing as skies, fake plants, hologram waterfalls, and sounds of wind and bird songs coming from hidden speakers, drives its sinners to insanity.
** Lust: A [[MetropolisLevel black and purple Victorian city]] with sprinkles of {{Cyberpunk}} elements. Unlike Limbo, [[AHellOfATime Lust was a genuine paradise]] thanks to the efforts of King Minos and his beloved subjects, until Gabriel slays the king for freeing Lust's sinners from their torment. Now under the control of [[PuppeteerParasite the parasitic serpents]] he once commanded, [[UndeadAbomination King Minos' reanimated and colossal corpse]] searches the once prosperous kingdom for sinners to punish.
** Gluttony: Unlike its poem counterpart, which is described as a realm of icy mud, this game's version of Gluttony is depicted as [[EvilIsVisceral a visceral]] [[WombLevel red realm]] filled to the brim with flesh, teeth, acid, giant stone hands, and [[TheWallsHaveEyes numerous eyes covering the surfaces]], with gaping mouths serving as the layer's doors. This is the first layer that's [[YouDontLookLikeYou depicted completely differently]] from its poem counterpart, [[BloodyBowelsOfHell being a visceral Hellscape]] rather than a slimy snowscape of scum and mud [[note]]It is closer to appearance to the Circle of Gluttony as depicted in VideoGame/DantesInferno[[/note]]. King Minos' Prime Soul is imprisoned in this layer.
** Greed: A [[ShiftingSandLand yellow desert layer]] with [[BuildLikeAnEgyptian Egyptian elements]] such as pyramids and mural art. Sinners are punished by rolling boulders across large pyramids in the scorching heat of the blazing bright sun, and the "sand" is actually burning hot flakes of gold that burn almost everything it touches. The layer was once ruled by King Sisyphus, who, unlike King Minos, led a violent rebellion against Heaven and its army until he was decapitated by Gabriel, who then swiftly finished off Sisyphus' remaining forces with his fellow Angels.
** Wrath: A [[UnderTheSea blue ocean layer]] with nautical aesthetics, unlike its poem counterpart which is a swamp. The Styx was once a river until it turned into a vast ocean, thanks to ''millions'' of sinners populating this realm. The sinners are forced to struggle against each other for air, and the ones that don't sink to the ocean's abyss out of despair, where Hell energy and their collective agony merge them together to form [[KrakenAndLeviathan The Leviathan]], a titanic, serpentine Demon that [[TheAssimilator absorbs]] the despair-ridden sinners into its body to grow bigger and stronger despite being bounded to the Styx by Gabriel.
** Heresy: A [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver sinister red and black]] [[PlanetHeck Hellscape]] resembling a [[CreepyCathedral cathedral]] decorated with [[GruesomeGoat goat skulls]], chains, and {{lava pit}}s. This layer is the closest thing the game has to [[FireAndBrimstoneHell a typical depiction of Hell]]. King Sisyphus' Prime Soul is imprisoned in this layer, in the city of Dis, a dark, hellish cityscape where every window is blazing red by the burning souls of the heretics and it constantly rains blood.
** Violence: An [[BleakLevel almost completely barren, white field]] that's shrouded in fog. The outermost part of the layer is made up of a large, pristine megastructure that serves as a labyrinth to prevent escape, its architecture like a mausoleum or art museum populated by sentient mannequins. The layer is divided into three rings: violence against others, violence against oneself, and violence against God. The first ring takes WarIsHell literally by being a near pitch-black ForeverWar accompanied by searchlights, blazing gatling guns, and a trio of colossal machines. The second ring is a garden of trees with humanoid shapes in their branches in perpetual agony. The third ring is a barren wasteland under an endless rain of fire, where [[HumongousMecha The Earthmovers]], colossal war machines that are the pinnacle of the LensmanArmsRace, stride around and prey on each other.
* ColorCodedSpeech: Hell's dialogue is generally identifiable by all-red text.
* DarkIsEvil: Five of its layers, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Heresy, and Violence (after [[LightIsNotGood 7-1]]) are shrouded in darkness, and with the exception of Lust (until Gabriel killed King Minos), they all exist to torture its sinners.
** Lust is a black and purple realm that punishes sinners by blowing them away with strong winds. However, it temporarily becomes DarkIsNotEvil when King Minos and his people [[AHellOfATime reformed the layer into a thriving paradise for themselves]] until he was slain by Gabriel for freeing the layer's sinners from their punishment. Now his corpse becomes a colossal zombie controlled by serpentine parasites, Hell-bent on finding sinners to punish.
** Gluttony combines this trope with EvilIsVisceral, being [[BloodyBowelsOfHell a dimly-lit realm of flesh]] where sinners are punished by being merged into its surfaces. The layer is decorated with giant stone hands and teeth, disembodied mouths serve as doors, pools of acid fill the bottom of its rooms, and [[TheWallsHaveEyes eyes cover its surfaces]]. Open spaces are surrounded by pitch-black darkness, which is best shown in 3-1's stairway arena, 3-2's boss arena, and P-1's spinal stairway.
** Wrath is a dark, raining, watery realm shrouded in lightning storms where sinners suffer by drowning in the river (now ocean) Styx while [[WeAreStrugglingTogether struggling against each other]] for a chance to breathe. Those who sank to the Styx's abyss [[DespairEventHorizon out of despair]] are merged together by Hell energy and their hopelessness to form the Leviathan, a towering, serpentine demon born from the still-living souls of despair-induced sinners that are doomed to [[FateWorseThanDeath a horrible fate]] where all they can do is [[AndIMustScream scream in their collective agony]].
** Heresy is [[ObviouslyEvil explicitly]] [[FireAndBrimstoneHell the most sinister layer]] in appearance, resembling a [[CreepyCathedral gothic black cathedral]] decorated with goat skulls, blood-red windows, and vermillion doors made from the souls of heretics. Its hallways are shrouded in darkness and red fogs, [[RedSkyTakeWarning a blazing red sky looms over the horizon]], and the City of Dis [[RainOfBlood is raining blood]]. Overall, The Heresy Layer wears RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver as a badge of pride, welcoming you with a DroneOfDread as soon as you enter 6-1.
** The Violence Layer starts off as LightIsNotGood, since it invokes WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver by V1 staining the white layer red with their enemies' blood. However, it pairs this trope starting in 7-2 where the 1st ring is a near pitch-black ForeverWar with [[RiversOfBlood the blood river Phlegethon]] sitting below the warzone while searchlights and hails of bullets are piercing the darkness with bright white explosions illuminating the background to show the [[SinisterSilhouettes ominous outlines]] of three titanic machines whose white eyes glow in the all-consuming darkness. 7-3 continues this trope by being a near pitch-black garden illuminated by red agonized trees, before it brings back the [[LightIsNotGood eerily bright white room of 7-1]] for the final arena. Finally, 7-4 settles on this trope by being a dark gray desert with a blood-red night sky that [[EvilIsBurningHot rains Hellfire]].
* TheDogWasTheMastermind: Who knew that the place you were invading is pulling the strings all along?
* EarlyBirdCameo: While Hell is only introduced in the ARG following P-2, material in ''ULTRAKILL'' hints at its existence prior. The Soldier and Stalker's modifications are said by the Terminals to be created by an unknown, sentient force, while Terminals in P-2 and the door panel right before Flesh Panopticon borrow Hell's signature text style of red text and/or incorporating a space between each letter of all words.
* EldritchAbomination: Also overlaps with EldritchLocation. Hell is a ''[[GeniusLoci living]]'' realm of eternal suffering, and its locations are separated into [[CirclesOfHell nine layers]], each with their own biome and AlienGeometry. It can also steal and modify technology for its own goals, lock down doors, and teleport beings to its targeted locations.
** [[WordOfGod Hakita has explained]] (albeit while also stating it's hard to describe) that the layers of Hell are not physical places in the normal sense, being very abstract and, despite V1 progressing by descending through the layers, do not exist in parallel, hence each layer acting as if the above layers do not exist, nor accounting for how one gets in them (such as Lust, Greed, and Wrath having visible skies and Gluttony not actually being inside of Minos' corpse despite the entrance being found inside his mouth.) It apparently appears different for everybody, with the level entrances and exits simply not existing for those resident to the layer, and if one wants to progress through Hell, there apparently is no "wrong path" and you will keep going further. In short, Hell's makeup is an abstract that varies from one's perception.
* EvilIsHammy: Its monologue in 7-4 is the most dramatic piece of lore in the game, full of flowery prose that would make the Testaments blush, and going by how the book is blank, it's all but stated it's Hell [[EvilGloating monologuing to V1]] through their scanning interface. Likewise, when V1 finds themself blocked later in 7-2, what seems to be Hell, going by the red text, says "[[LaughablyEvil WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOOM]]", which compared to past interface messages such as "INSUFFICIENT FIREPOWER" and the like is very... grandiose in its own way. Also, a secret terminal in 7-3 that opens the "[[GangUpOnTheHuman Marked For Death]]" crystal displays an ''even more grandiose'' message, possibly from Hell itself due to the red text, that says "YOU'RE THE STAR OF THE SHOW NOW, BABY!", like a campy TV game show host... ''[[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor In the ring of sinners that killed themselves]].''
* EvilIsPetty: At the end of 7-1, V1 is approaching one of the level exits, which are under the control of Hell, only for the Minotaur to burst through, clearly desperate for its own chance to escape the labyrinth and see the sky one last time. Hell responds by ''closing the exit door even after it was already open'', something it doesn't do anywhere else in the game, forcing both of them into a fight to the death - one which might have been avoided had Hell not closed the doors [[PragmaticVillainy given the Machines' extreme reluctance to waste resources]].
* FatalFlaw: For all of its power and intelligence, Hell's {{sadist}}ic craving for death and suffering [[StupidEvil at the cost of its own self-preservation]] will be its downfall, as Gabriel implies that Hell will be completely empty by the time the machines have their fill. A large part of this could be attributed to the fact that Hell outright teleports Husks and Demons before V1 so they can kill them. However, given its glowing praise of the Machines and their own inevitable demise whenever they run out of fuel, it's questionable whether it even ''cares.''
* ForTheEvulz: Hell is a sapient realm of eternal torment, but even billions of sinners aren't enough to satisfy it; thus, it uses its influence to set up combat encounters, turning its victims into yet more weapons to fight, all for the sake of a violent show.
* GeniusLoci: As revealed by the Part 2 AlternateRealityGame, it reveals that Hell is not just a location, but also a creature that's described as a massive, intelligent superorganism. It is also a malevolent being that seeks to claim as many souls as possible while entertaining itself with the suffering of its victims.
* HaHaHaNo: After the grueling gauntlet in P-2 to arrive at the Flesh Panopticon, there's a prompt to open the final gate. If V1 selects that they're ''not'' ready, they recieve a response [[PaintingTheMedium in a similar format]] to the other times Hell is implied to communicate, which effectively boils down to this.
-->[[EvilLaugh HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]]\\
'''[[red:a s i f y o u h a d a c h o i c e]]'''\\
''[[ButThouMust (The gate opens)]]''
* {{Hell}}: Obviously. But not only is it [[CirclesOfHell layered in the style of Dante's Divine Comedy]], it's a living, thinking, and wicked realm.
* {{Hellevator}}: The Hell Expedition team installed numerous elevator systems throughout Hell, allowing V1 to descend one layer at a time.
* ItCanThink: What was once thought to be a mere EldritchLocation is anything but, being revealed to be [[GeniusLoci a living entity with a twisted mind]]. While the human Hell expedition team was exploring it, they hardly were aware that Hell was learning how their machines worked, and that it was behind the creation of its own technologically augmented Husks.
* KillAllHumans: The Part 2 [=ARG=] implies that Hell is the sole perpetrator of [[HumanitysWake humanity's extinction]], since its influence has spread to the surface world to wreak havoc with its army of modified Husks and Machines.
* KillEnemiesToOpen: Provides the {{justif|iedTrope}}ication: Hell is capable of causing doors to shut closed as it teleports enemies in. This was initially assumed to be just doors malfunctioning by the Hell expedition team, and then the terminal author learned otherwise.
* LightIsNotGood: Three of Hell's layers have bright color schemes, yet they all serve the same purpose as any other layer: Torturing its sinners.
** Limbo seems to be a Greco-Roman paradise with bright blues and greens, yet [[CrapsaccharineWorld it's a false paradise]] that drives its sinners to insanity with its fake serenity in the form of fake trees, fake water, fake bird songs, and fake skies.
** Greed is a bright yellow Egyptian desert that tortures its sinners with scorching heat from its own sun and the "sand", which are actually burning hot flakes of gold.
** Violence is an eerie white graveyard-like wasteland with a vast maze-like mausoleum filled with Mannequins. It also invokes WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver, thanks to V1 staining the white layer red with the blood of their foes. {{ZigZagged|Trope}} in 7-2 and onwards where while the first room of 7-2 has an eerily white color, DarkIsEvil and RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver are added to the mix, thanks to the 1st ring being a dark ForeverWar surrounded by [[RiversOfBlood the blood river Phlegethon]] and being guarded by the giant war machines that are shrouded in darkness until an explosion illuminates the background to show their SinisterSilhouettes. The second ring, 7-3, starts off in a pitch-black forest of darkness until its final arena becomes blindingly white like 7-1. Finally, the third and final ring, 7-4, settles onto DarkIsEvil by being a dark gray desert with a crimson night sky that is [[FireAndBrimstoneHell raining Hellfire]].
* OmnicidalManiac: A secret book found during 7-4, which raves about the beauty of the apocalyptic Earthmover machines, implies that it believes life on Earth should've ended with said Earthmovers - the culmination of all that is warfare for its own sake - should've killed every human alive, and then died off themselves, leaving the land empty. "No final words. No concluding statement. No point. Perfect closure". The same book also implies that Hell ''is pissed'' that humanity actually survived this and moved past this perpetual warfare, thus Hell took action against them.
* PaintingTheMedium: When Hell first speaks at the end of the Part 2 [=ARG=], its text is distinctly written with all letters and punctuation separated by singular spaces, as can be seen in the quote above. This style of text also appears at several points in the game (such as with several lines of text before the P-2 boss and at the end of the secret book in 7-4), strongly implying that Hell is the one speaking/writing in those cases. Additionally, regardless of whether its text is spaced or not at the time, [[RainbowSpeak its dialogue is always written in blood red]].
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Heresy Layer ''([[FireAndBrimstoneHell especially Heresy]])'', and the Violence Layer (aside from [[WhiteAndRedandEerieAllOver the eerily white 7-1]] and the [[GreyscaleOfEvil ash grey 7-4]]) both have a sinister red and black color scheme, and Hell is a {{sadist}}ic GeniusLoci that wiped out all surface life on Earth to claim their souls and torture them for all eternity for sick kicks. Even its texts reflect this trope by being [[PaintingTheMedium bloody-red, all-caps text with pitch-black backgrounds]].
* RedIsViolent: Hell is associated with the color red, and it's a {{sadist}}ic realm of torment that entertains itself by creating violent gladiator games. It also wants to [[OmnicidalManiac wipe out all life on Earth]] with [[WeaponOfMassDestruction the Earthmovers]], and when they failed, it's implied that Hell took matters in its own hands by slaughtering every living being on the surface to claim their souls.
* {{Sadist}}: If torturing human souls ''for an eternity'' out of sick kicks wasn't enough, the AlternateRealityGame states that Hell invaded the researchers' facilities not to protect itself, but to entertain itself by trapping the researchers before slaughtering them with the modified Husks and Machines it has created. All of the in-game mechanics, like the arena encounters and enemy spawns, are all for its own twisted entertainment.
-->''this is not an attack. this is not a defence. this is entertainment. this is an exhibition of death and cruelty and suffering [[ForTheEvulz for its own sake]].''
* SatanicArchetype: Since Lucifer is implied to be [[SatanIsGood more kind-hearted than the norm]], it is Hell itself that takes on some of the stereotypes associated with Old Scratch by being an infernal, all-powerful overseer that tortures both its own residents and innocent lives on the surface for its sadistic amusement.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Excuse the pun. The few cases we see of Hell's own thoughts and text are usually either some matter of directive, a PreMortemOneLiner or it waxing immense and complex poetry worthy of ''The Divine Comedy'' inspirations. Then you hit 7-2 and, if the red text is still Hell, it proceeds to casually state "WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOOM" so that V1 gets the hint to find the payload bombs in the area for blowing open a blocked passage, as if taking a break from its ominousness just to cook up an excuse for more bloodletting. Also, a secret terminal that opens the "Marked For Death" crystal in 7-3 shows a text possibly from Hell saying "YOU'RE THE STAR OF THE SHOW NOW, BABY!", like [[EvilIsHammy a hammy TV game show host]]... [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor In the middle]] of a literal ''suicide forest''.
* VillainRespect: With how cruel Hell itself is to its subjects, it says a lot about [[HumansAreBastards mankind]] that it found ''inspiration'' in the way Guttermen employ HumanResources. In fact, a secret book in 7-4 is full of praise bordering on idolization for the apocalyptic destruction of the Earthmovers, and perhaps even V1.
* WalkingSpoiler: The fact that Hell is alive is a ''huge'' bombshell to the game's lore.
* WardensAreEvil: An unusual example where the warden is ''[[GeniusLoci also the prison]]''. Hell itself devotes its existence to torturing its prisoners and forcing them into violent duels out of sadistic pleasure.
* WhamLine: The second paragraph of the Part 2 AlternateRealityGame drops the bombshell that ''Hell'' is alive, intelligent, and '''malevolent'''.
-->''[[GeniusLoci hell is alive]]. it breathes. [[ItCanThink it thinks]]. the entire area is a massive intelligent superorganism and [[{{Sadist}} it is harsh]] and [[ForTheEvulz it is cruel]].''
* WickedCultured: Hell itself may be a sadistic realm of torment, but it can be surprisingly eloquent in its writing, as shown by the secret book in 7-4 where it praises The Earthmovers with such rich poetry that it would make Dante envious.
* WowingCthulhu:
** The cruelty and capability of destruction humanity demonstrated during the Final War was enough to inspire this sapient realm of eternal suffering to actively imitate humankind. The Mannequins were inspired by the Guttermen using otherwise-unwanted HumanResources to create a fighting force, while the Earthmovers were idolized by Hell to the point of them being recreated in the Violence layer.
** There are some hints that Hell is personally invested in V1's journey through its domain. Violence has a couple messages implied to come directly from Hell and addressed only to V1; most notably, sticking around after getting the bomb will have the bomb's associated terminal change to red font reading "[[red:GIVE 'EM H E L L , KID]]".
* YankTheDogsChain: It's implied that Hell allowed both the Lust Renaissance and the Greed Insurrection to exist, [[HopeCrusher just so it can watch both of them fail and relish in the following misery]]. It pulls this trope off again, this time to both V1 and especially the Minotaur in 7-1 where it opens the {{Hellevator}} before suddenly closing it once the Minotaur returns, forcing them into a duel to the death where V1 kills the Minotaur and crushes the beast's TragicDream of freedom to see the sky one last time.
* YourSoulIsMine: Hell's motive to wipe out the human race is to claim their souls so it can entertain itself by torturing them for all of eternity.

** The cruelty and capability of destruction humanity demonstrated during the Final War was enough to inspire this sapient realm of eteranal suffering to actively imitate humankind. The Mannequins were inspired by the Guttermen using otherwise-unwanted HumanResources to create a fighting force, while the Earthmovers were idolized by Hell to the point of them being recreated in the Violence layer.

** The cruelty and capability of destruction humanity demonstrated during the Final War was enough to inspire this sentient realm of suffering to actively try to imitate humankind. The Mannequins were inspired by the Guttermen using otherwise-unwanted HumanResources to create a fighting force, while the Earthmovers were idolized by Hell to the point of them being recreated in the Violence layer.

* PaintingTheMedium: When Hell first speaks at the end of the Part 2 [=ARG=], its text is distinctly written with all letters and punctuation separated by singular spaces, as can be seen in the quote above. This style of text also appears at several points in the game (such as with several lines of text before the P-2 boss and at the end of the secret book in 7-4), strongly implying that Hell is the one speaking/writing in those cases. Additionally, regardless of whether its text is spaced or not at the time, its dialogue is always written in blood red.

* HaHaHaNo: After the grueling gauntlet in P-2 to arrive at the Flesh Panopticon, there's a prompt to open the final gate. If V1 selects that they're ''not'' ready, they recieve a response in a similar format to the other times hell is implied to communicate which effectively boils down to this.
-->[[LaughingMad HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]]\\

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