Ultrakill

Ultrakill
Completed on 2022-03-18
Type	Official
Creator	Hakita
Discovered	2022-03-16
Completed	2022-03-18

Main Page > List of Investigations > Ultrakill

The ULTRAKILL ARG was an ARG about the videogame ULTRAKILL. The initial trailhead was found within the game after the March 16th update, where after the Sisyphus boss the terminal had its text cut off by an error code which was the link to an unlisted YouTube video.

Unlisted Youtube Video

The video found on YouTube featured scrolling encrypted text set to the sound of a guitar playing notes. Toward the end of the video, viewers were presented with a message that read THERE ARE FOUR WORDS __/__/__/__, indicating that there were four keywords to uncover within the video.

First Word

In the video's description, there was a link to a google drive file titled there was another noise.wav. After opening the file as a zip file, an image named who are we.png was revealed. By comparing the image to its in-game texture counterpart, a multicolored block of pixels was found in the difference. These pixels could be interpreted as a base-64 sequence that decoded to a bitmap image containing the word ATAVISTIC, which was the first word of the four keywords to find.

• 

  Who are we.png
• 

  The difference between both images

Second Word

Graffiti mural (St. Louis, Missouri)

Similar to the previous WAV file, the who are we.png file could be unzipped to reveal a password-protected WAV file called -.wav. The image contained hidden coordinates in its EXIF metadata, which led players to a graffiti mural in St. Louis, Missouri with the words gods with amnesia written prominently on it. This phrase was discovered to be the password to access the -.wav file. By comparing the audio in this new file to the audio in the unlisted YouTube video, players were able to discover the second keyword: PRIMORDIAL.

Third Word

Transcription of the YouTube audio

The unlisted YouTube video featured a repeating sequence of guitar chords playing in the background. When transcribed into musical notes, these chords revealed the third keyword: CAGED.

Fourth Word

Finally, as players analyzed the unlisted YouTube video, they discovered a bassline playing in the background. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the bassline was a Morse code sequence that decoded to the string VeGcbhrU. Following this clue, players were led to a Pastebin link with the same string as its URL. This link contained another Google Drive file, there was a noise.wav. Using the same techniques as before, players compared this audio file to the audio in the YouTube video and found a short text-to-speech audio clip saying TYRANT, the fourth and final word.

Putting it all together

The unlisted YouTube video contained a scrolling transcript encoded in AES 128 bit format. When deciphered using the four combined keywords, ATAVISTIC/PRIMORDIAL/CAGED/TYRANT, the following message was revealed:

CONGRATULATIONS

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

During the previous stage of the ARG, players stumbled upon an unused clue that read WALL 4, SHELF 5, VOLUME 5, FINAL PAGE. Speculation arose that this was a reference to the Library of Babel, a website that simulates a vast library of books containing every possible combination of letters and numbers. In the Library of Babel, pages can be accessed using a hexagon coordinate system based on the wall, shelf, volume, and page numbers. However, the first part of the coordinate was missing, leaving players unsure of which hexagon to start with.

With the unlisted YouTube video solved, players searched the now decrypted message in the Library of Babel and used that hexagon as a starting point to navigate the library using the remaining instructions. Eventually, this led them to a page in the Library of Babel containing the final message, which is as follows:

ive figured it out. i know why the creatures are suddenly  and undetectably appe
aring inside our facilities. i know why spare parts and pieces of machines keep 
disappearing. i know why the doors seem to malfunction and suddenly lock themsel
ves. its not a glitch in the system. its...                                     
                                                                                
                                                                                
    hell is alive. it breathes. it thinks. the entire area is a massive intellig
ent superorganism and it is harsh and it is cruel. just by watching us it has le
arned how our systems and machines work. it has not only begun to deconstruct ou
r technology but also reassemble it in perverse ways, attaching parts to the cre
atures it tortures, making them into an aimless army of death and destruction. i
t warps them across itself to get them past our security. it locks our doors to 
trap us with them.                                                              
                                                                                
                                                                                
    this is not an attack. this is not a defence. this is entertainment. this is
 an exhibition of death and cruelty and suffering for its own sake. it had grown
 tired of what it had and we unwillingly just offered ourselves up as new playth
ings.                                                                           
                                                                                
                                                                                
    tom please for the love of god cancel this project immediately, we have to a
bandon everything and seal this place away. leave the machines and tools behind.
 evacuate as many as we can, before it is too late.                             
                                                                                
                                                                                
    i can only hope this encrypted message is received before the organism learn
s to read it and intercept it. whatever happens, we can not let this being find 
a way out and spread to the surface. we ha                                      
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
                                                                                
a n o t h e r   d i e s .   b r i n g   m e   m o r e .   i   h u n g e r .