0-1: INTO THE FIRE >

GENERAL COMPLETION

Being the first level in ULTRAKILL, 0-1 is incredibly simple. But by that same logic, it is the level that the community has had by far the most time to optimize. For example, even with the starter pistol, this level is incredibly trivial on all difficulties. Assuming for GENERAL COMPLETION that this level is being done on a fresh save, let's start at the first room. This room, like almost all levels in the PRELUDE, is rife with FILTH. FILTH are armless enemies that will run towards you and launch their gaping maw in your general direction upon getting close. In difficulties BRUTAL or higher, they will launch themselves upwards if you vertically outmatch them. This displaces their hitbox making them tough to hit, and tough to PARRY.

image of the filth mob from ultrakill, standing still.
image of opening room of ULTRAKILL level 0-1, INTO THE FIRE

Regardless, 3 FILTH spawn upon picking up the Piercer Revolver in the middle of the room. They can be quickly dispatched with one charged Piercer shot. Once killed, 8 more FILTH will spawn around you. Jumping as they spawn will draw all of them to your location, making for a very simple GROUND SLAM into the crowd of FILTH. After killing these 8 FILTH, the door at the front of the room will open, allowing for passage into the next section of the level. The first SECRET for this level rests in a room above this door, hidden behind a glass wall easily broken with a charged Piercer shot. Also in this room is another destructible vent in the floor which can be used to skip the FILTH room altogether, also allowing for speedy passage into the next section.

The pipe section can be easily bypassed with one simple method: The PIPE CLIP!. This is generally more viable on repeat playthroughs when you have access the Freeze-Frame Rocket Launcher. However, benefitting from this out-of-bounds method (not a glitch, as this clip has been publicly endorsed by the developers and was intentionally kept in the game when pointed out initially.) can still be done without the use of the rocket launcher. Regardless, the goal is to jump into the checkpoint trigger before the boss room, which can be seen slightly above and to the left of the pipe room once successfuly clipped through the geometry. Once your player model jumps through this checkpoint trigger, a sound will play indicating you have acquired the checkpoint, which means you can safely pause the game and click the button to easily skip ahead to the boss room.

The boss of 0-1 is a soon-to-be familiar face, of the malicious variety. The MALICIOUS FACE, more commonly known to the community as a "Maurice", is an enemy easily felled with the skills learned in 0-1. On any difficulty, PARRYING its red bullets back into its face and hitting it with a charged Piercer shot will almost always be enough to move on. If for whatever reason it begins to charge its explosion death beam, you have two choices. Either: 1. get up close an personal and PARRY the beam by punching the Maurice in the face at the right time, or 2. jump, dash, hop and skip arouond the arena as its target locks in shortly before firing, meaning that if you are moving fast enough you will not be caught in its blast.

image of the malicious face, also known as MAURICE from ULTRAKILL.

Alternatively, if you're looking for some flashy clips, you COULD (considering a repeat playthrough) CHARGEBACK the beam using a Marksman Revolver COIN, for some extra style points (literally and figuratively). Although if you are on a repeat playthrough, this boss can be simply and just as stylishly dispatched by a single point-blank shotgun blast and a bit of punching. Altogether, this level should be a piece of cake and the level all players should strive to master if they have any hope of getting into speedrunning.