For more information about other missions, see Levels
Some enemies make idle sounds to make them easier to track.
- The Tip of the Day.
HEART OF THE SUNRISE is the first mission of the LIMBO layer, and the first mission of Act I. A far cry from the grungy industrial aesthetic of Prelude, Limbo is a serene "outdoor" environment filled with vegetation. This level introduces the Drone, the first Lesser Machine encountered, as well as the third unlockable, the Nailgun.
Major Areas[]
Fountain[]
The first room of the level, adorned with trees, a half-buried Malicious Face, four pillars, and a Cerberus fountain in the middle. The door on the right leads to the Red Skull and the Blue Pedestal, which blocks access to the Church until the Blue Skull is acquired. The door ahead leads to the Red Pedestal and forward progress through the level. Upon returning to the Fountain after collecting the Blue Skull, three Strays will spawn on the pillars with ten Filth on the ground at each corner of the room. Four more Strays appear in the corner hallway on the way to the Church.
Waterfall Arena[]
Where enemies first begin to appear, and the Drones are introduced. A Checkpoint can be reached just before entering. Initially, two Drones spawn in front of the door. Killing both Drones will summon four more, one in each corner of the arena. When returning to this area with the Blue Skull, two Drones will spawn at the room's entrance.
Beyond this arena is another with a shallow river along its length and a small bridge near the far end. The river terminates at a stony facade with a staircase leading up to another door, seemingly representing the entrance to a castle. Approaching the stone bridge causes three Drones to spawn above it in a diagonal pattern. Reaching the bridge spawns four Schisms at the end of the river and two more Drones at the top of the stairs. Another Checkpoint can be found just before entering the Castle Interior.
Castle Interior[]
The entrance hall emerges into an indoor garden, where the Nailgun is found beside a bed of flowers in the center of the room. When the Nailgun is picked up, a Malicious Face spawns, serving as the new weapon's first target. When approaching the exit, four Strays appear beside the staircase.
Magnet Hallway[]
A hallway within the Castle Interior, containing several illuminated stained glass windows. When the second pair of columns is reached, fourteen Filth will spawn at the end of the hallway, and when the third pair of columns is reached, four Strays and four Drones appear. The next room holds the Blue Skull and a Checkpoint; picking up the skull opens a shortcut back to the Waterfall Arena.
This room serves as an introduction to the Attractor Nailgun's magnets.
Church[]
Placing the Blue Skull at the other Blue Pedestal opens up the remainder of the level, with the final Checkpoint behind the door. The first room spawns eight Strays and two Drones along the sides of the hall.
The final room initially spawns four Strays and two Schisms; once this wave is wiped out, six Drones take their place. Completing this encounter opens the Level Exit.
Ranking Requirements[]
| Rank | Kills | Time | Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | 76 | 4:30 | 8,000 |
| A | 70 | 5:00 | 7,000 |
| B | 60 | 6:00 | 5,000 |
| C | 40 | 8:00 | 2,000 |
Secrets[]
| Secrets | ||
|---|---|---|
| #1 |  |
(Soul Orb) - Next to the Red Pedestal, a collapsed pillar leading to a discolored wall panel hides a Soul Orb. |
| #2 |  |
(Soul Orb) - Through the left door from the Red Pedestal, jumping up the layered tower leads to a Soul Orb. |
| #3 |  |
(Blood Orb) - Go through the holographic waterfall in the Waterfall Arena to find a Blood Orb; collecting the Orb will spawn three Drones around it. |
| #4 |  |
(Soul Orb) - In the Castle hallway, walk through the sole unlit glass window to find a Soul Orb. |
| #5 |  |
(Soul Orb) - Along the doorway to the Church, jumping up to a secret cavity reveals a Soul Orb. |
Secret Exit[]
Toss a coin from the Marksman Revolver into the Fountain at the beginning of the level. It will reveal the Secret Exit that leads to [ 1-S: THE WITLESS ].
Challenge[]
COMPLETE THE LEVEL IN UNDER 10 SECONDS
This level's challenge can be completed easily by using the Marksman Revolver to toss a coin into the Fountain, which will reveal the Secret Exit.
Slab I[]
At the end of the Church where the Level Exit is located, the roof has two glass panes that can be broken with the Core Eject Shotgun grenade or any other weapon that has enough firepower. By performing a Slam Bounce, the roof of the room can be reached, containing the first Slab needed for unlocking the Alternate Revolver.
Trivia[]
- This level's name is a reference to the Yes song Heart of the Sunrise.[1]
- The main path of the level contains 83 enemies, seven more than is required to S-rank kills. Along with making the level easier to earn a P-rank for in general, it particularly allows the level to be P-ranked on weaponless runs, as the Malicious Face that spawns upon collecting the Nailgun can be skipped.
- This is an artifact of early development versions where friendly fire kills did not count towards the player's own kill counter, and leniency needed to be afforded to make S-ranking kills feasible.[2] This has been changed since it had already become near-impossible to personally kill every single enemy in a level by the time the Limbo layer was being developed, and arenas would only grow more even more chaotic as the game goes on.[3]
- After defeating all enemies in the Waterfall Arena, resetting back to the last Checkpoint will unload the next room without closing the door, revealing the black void out of bounds; the door will close as normal upon activating the arena.
- The enemy placement in the Magnet Hallway was altered in the Soul Survivor update to encourage experimentation with the Attractor Nailgun.
- The Prelude Demo version of this level features a third enemy wave in the final room with a single Malicious Face, so that the final playable encounter of the demo was something more climactic than a half dozen Drones. Similarly, a Hideous Mass encounter is teased after the final room in an arena similar to the one at the end of [ 1-3: HALLS OF SACRED REMAINS ]. This Mass is unable to be fought, as the level ends once it fully emerges from the ground, ending the demo on a cliffhanger. Neither encounter was ever intended to appear in the final game, existing specifically for the demo.[4]
- This version of the level is currently the only instance where a level end screen is displayed outside of an Elevator Shaft.
- The inactive Cerberus at the very beginning of the level was added to make the player cautious due to the previous level, [ 0-5: CERBERUS ].[5]
- Along with the introduction of alchemical symbols through the skull keys, the broken lion statue at the first red pedestal is likely a reference the green lion eating the sun symbol in alchemy. A non-broken-down version is seen in [ 8-1: HURTBREAK WONDERLAND ].
References[]
- ↑ In The Keep Podcast - #58 Hakita Returns (ULTRAKILL) (47:46)
- ↑ ULTRACHARITY 2021 (3:29:21)
- ↑ ULTRAKILL Developer Commentary Stream with Hakita and PITR (2:19:45)
- ↑ ULTRAKILL Developer Commentary Stream with Hakita and PITR (2:38:22)
- ↑ ULTRAKILL Developer Commentary Stream with Hakita and PITR (2:29:50)