After 5 years in early access, I didn't think hardcore FPS Ultrakill could surprise me more—but my jaw nearly hit the floor on seeing one of its final levels
In a new trailer at the PC Gaming Show 2025 today, New Blood gave a first look at one of the levels coming in Ultrakill's final layer, Fraud. The sheer imagination and spectacle of the new FPS map honestly blew me away, and it's looking like Ultrakill's long early access will have been well worth the wait.
The first level of Fraud, "Heartbreak Wonderland," starts out looking like some kind of haunted hotel. It calls to mind genre classics like the Overlook, all outdated fixtures and faded glory, but the vibe and wild rendering tricks on display also reminded me a lot of Alan Wake 2's level wizardry, particularly in its bizarro New York.
The trailer begins with protagonist V1 in a desolate, darkened room looking at a CRT readout of a lavish hallway. They then go through the TV into the hall seamlessly and proceed down the hall. It expanded like some kind of mechanical funhouse into a massive, well-appointed foyer, before the trailer cut to different scenes throughout what looks like a real maze of a level.
Then the real curveball. I initially assumed I had to be looking at footage of two different levels, because the action cut to what looked like the inside of an O'Neil cylinder—one of those theoretical space habitats with livable space built on the interior surface of a giant rotating satellite. Mass Effect's Presidium or the end of Interstellar offer some pop culture examples.
But nope, it's all the same level, all Heartbreak Wonderland. The cylinder visual calls to mind some of the great skyboxes Ultrakill's had already, like the city skyline in Layer 2: Lust, but I never would have guessed this combination of classico horror and surreal vistas as the visual style for Ultrakill's final layer.
I probably should have guessed that I never would have guessed: The closest thing to a trad, fire and brimstone hell in Ultrakill so far has been the brief interlude of Layer 6: Heresy. Otherwise it's been stunning cities, ancient Egyptian ruins, or a vast and bottomless sea.
Most recently Ultrakill updated its graphics and art in anticipation of its 1.0 release, leading fans to joke that we got Ultrakill Remastered before we got Ultrakill. I've been saving my juice for a big playthrough once Ultrakill is out of early access, and if our first look at Layer 8: Fraud is any indication, the game will be ending on a high note. You can try out Ultrakill in early access—it certainly already offers a value well beyond its $25 price tag—by grabbing it over on Steam.
Check out every game, trailer, and announcement in the PC Gaming Show 2025