ULTRAKILL: An Allegory of the Fall of Faith (or so at least that's what I think it is)

[i have a gun and am a schizo]

The following text is an idea that I formed when speaking with my friend regarding Ultrakill's main point. Note: All what I have said may just be shattered completely once Act 3 is finished. Hopefully civil discussion and people's own theories may form in the replies.

"I like to imagine Ultrakill as an allegory for Hakita’s view on religion (specifically Christianity)."

V1 representing the immaculate culmination of science and knowledge, representing the denial of God by being able to substitute His existence with natural causes.
He rips through the demons and angels, annihilating good and evil, just as the naturalistic worldview follows: no good, no evil, just indifference.
All of this is done through the structure of a post-nietzschan Dante’s Inferno to make the gameplay aspect enjoyable.
Gabriel represents… A Christian, Hakita even…? My association is quite loose on this one but I’d like to imagine Gabriel’s devoutness to God representing a Christian.
His encounter and loss with V1 represents when supposed science and knowledge nullify the need for and the validity of God.
But change doesn’t come immediately. Gabriel’s outburst and depression may symbolize the cognitive dissonance a Christian when their faith is shaken.
The stripping of the Holy Light may represent… a Christian's church’s shunning of them for losing faith…? Their family’s reaction…? I don’t possess the significant knowledge to infer precisely.
That aside, the rematch with Gabriel may symbolize a Christian's final desperation to try to cling to the faith.
When V1 finally bests Gabriel and he comments on tasking blood, this may symbolize a moment of which the delusion within a Christian is broken, with them being able to comprehend a reality without the existence of God.
Gabriel’s contemplation at the fire alongside the exact lines clearly reflect a Christian's (perhaps Hakita’s too) moment of contemplation of faith and final decision of atheism.
The killing of the council may represent a Christian cutting ties with the church.
The council members themselves may represent pastors/priests (my reasoning comes from them mentioning the divinity of the Father in attempt to reason with Gabriel).
Gabriel saying “I know” when being told he will die without Holy Light may represent a Christian's embracing of atheism and acceptance of the lack of afterlife and the finality of death.
Gabriel showing the head of the one of the council members to the crowd of heaven probably symbolizes a Christian's (maybe Hakita’s too) desire to deliver their epiphany to others who still believe (in this case, Hakita did this through the medium of a video game).

"Perhaps I'm over-analyzing and this game is really just a game where a funny blue robot kills things."

[i have a gun and am a schizo]

Shiguri eredeti hozzászólása:

I doubt it's Hakita's take on anything serious and/or personal, or that he's self-inserting anywhere as you suspect. It's him utilizing the story of The Divine Comedy, an epic poem written by the Dante Alighieri (an Italian Christian) between 1308 and his death in 1321.

Specifically, the concept of having circles of Hell and all of this is covered in the first part of The Divine Comedy, known as "Dante's Inferno".

If you want a summary of it read the Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inferno_(Dante)

Or if you actually want to sit down and read an English translation of The Divine Comedy: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/1004/pg1004-images.html

Devil May Cry is also largely inspired by The Divine Comedy. The similarities in inspiration between Ultrakill and Devil May Cry are no mistake and it's why Hakita owns the domian http://devilmayquake.com (Quake being another inspiration, and it just points to the store page of Ultrakill).

So it's using an existing story that many other works of art and fiction also pull inspiration from. From interviews he has been in it appears he was originally inspired by Devil May Cry (specifically DMC3) of course that probably naturally set him down the path of having to read into The Divine Comedy. It doesn't necessarily imply that Hakita has any serious personal beliefs tied to it.

But I don't wish to put words in someone else's mouth, only he could properly answer you.

Here's some interviews with Hakita if you'd like to see how he's answered questions:

https://intothebluesky.com/2020/12/19/interview-with-arsi-hakita-patala/
https://intothebluesky.com/2021/10/05/follow-up-interview-with-hakita/
https://www.prankster101.com/articles/interview-with-arsi-hakita-patala-of-ultrakill/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE4MyZlfFb4
By the way, for this reason if Hakita ever makes sequels to ULTRAKILL I think covering the second and third parts of The Divine Comedy, which are about the circles of Purgatory and Heaven respectively, would be the obvious thing to do. It would allow him to continue his "layer-by-layer" story design choice for at least two sequels. Alternatively the third game could take place on Earth and a fourth game in Heaven, all just ideas. It just depends on how far he really wants to go with this I guess (it's a lot of work).

Thanks for the serious reply. I viewed the game as a self-insertion primarily based off the inference of 2-S, with Hakita saying that most of it was based off his personal experiences with existential dread, so I thought perhaps the game may be more symbolic.

[gbz 🌤]

(I know this post is old but oh well)
While i find your interpretation on the game events and story pretty interesting, i dont think the devs had all of this in mind, but it makes sense tho...

[i have a gun and am a schizo]

BR jonas eredeti hozzászólása:

(I know this post is old but oh well)
While i find your interpretation on the game events and story pretty interesting, i dont think the devs had all of this in mind, but it makes sense tho...

Late or not, I appreciate the time you took in viewing my post.
Your statement regarding the devs likely not intending this depth is correct. I tend to overanalyze things, but who knows? Maybe some of what I said may be shown to be true in act 3.

[NoLongerSwiming]

Atheist ♥♥♥♥ posting