A 3.5-year-old shooter suddenly has thousands of players on Steam, but how did these high player numbers come about? We will show you what’s behind it.
Which game is it about? Ultrakill is a retro shooter or “boomer shooter” on Steam that launched in Early Access in September 2020 and was developed by solo developer Arsi “Hakita” Patala. As part of the “Festival of First-Person Shooters” on Steam, the game managed to massively increase its player numbers.
In March, Ultrakill had an average of only 2,125 players on Steam, and the shooter reached a peak of just 3,892 concurrent users. On the night of April 16, player numbers then surged to as high as 19,550 players (via SteamCharts).
What is the game about? In Ultrakill, you play as brutal machines powered by blood. However, as humans are dying out on the surface of the Earth, you are running out of blood too. To keep fueling yourself with the red energy, you descend into Hell and hunt demons there – to harvest their blood.
Since Ultrakill is a so-called retro shooter, you shouldn’t expect beautiful graphics and modern effects. The game is openly inspired by titles like Quake and Doom. Additionally, Devil May Cry was a model.
Ultrakill is ultra brutal and ultra fast
What distinguishes Ultrakill? The retro graphics are a special feature of the shooter, but Ultrakill primarily stands out due to its extremely fast and brutal gameplay.
Every time you take down an enemy, you unleash a massive fountain of blood that fills your tank. That’s why you have different weapons and movement abilities at your disposal, allowing you to get as close as possible to your opponents.
It’s not just part of the lore that the machines you control need blood to fill their tanks. You actively have to collect the blood of your slain enemies to regenerate your health bar.
Here you can see the launch trailer of Ultrakill:
Why is Ultrakill suddenly so popular? On the one hand, the Festival of First-Person Shooters is currently running on Steam, during which Ultrakill is reduced by 25% and is priced at only 18.37 euros until April 22. Normally, Ultrakill costs 24.50 euros. There are also various bundles featuring the shooter on offer, for example with Trepang² and Turbo Overkill.
On the other hand, a new update for the bloody shooter was released on April 15, shortly before the player boom, adding new weapons and completing the players’ arsenal.
The previous and still unsurpassed peak of Ultrakill’s player numbers dates back to December 2023. That month saw a major update for the shooter.
Fans of fast shooters love Ultrakill
How is Ultrakill received by players? Extremely well. The shooter has a strong 98% positive rating from a total of 95,435 reviews on Steam (as of April 16, 2024) – however, many reviews may not provide helpful information if you are looking for precise details about the gameplay.
Overall, the gameplay of Ultrakill is praised. It’s simple, the game is not pretty, and there are definitely bugs, yet fans of fast shooters can fully enjoy it:
- Redvilder via Steam: “Ultrakill is one of those magical games that have 0 flaws – every single mechanic and design is crafted to complement each other or subvert traditional/contemporary design philosophies. […] The interweaving of the mechanics creates a beautiful killer ballet and leaves a broad smile on your face […]”
- NotAbsolutlySure via Steam: “This is probably my favorite FPS of all time, and possibly the best FPS on the market. […] Ultimately, Ultrakill is a game that plays unlike anything else I can think of. It’s kind of like a lot of games, but nothing is really like Ultrakill. I recommend this game to anyone interested in engaging FPS mechanics and VERY well-made boss fights […]”
- Fearnugget via Steam: “If you can play this game as intended, I believe there is no better game on the market.”
- Acencial via Steam: “Definitely one of the best FPS out there right now. My personal favorite. Drawing inspiration from legendary games like DMC [Note from editor: Devil May Cry] and Quake is a big deal, and I thought there was absolutely no way a solo developer could deliver that. The game somehow manages to pull it off very skillfully. […] As someone who has played Quake for thousands of hours and DMC 3 and 4 for 13 years, I can only say: Thank you for this great game.”
Overall, Ultrakill is really well-received by fans of fast shooters and could appeal to you if you enjoy games like Quake and Doom.
However, if Ultrakill feels too wild for you and you prefer realistic shooters, there is currently a demo available on Steam that you should definitely check out:
Road to Vostok promises a realistic survival struggle for shooter fans on Steam
