A new trailer for this psychedelic metroidvania confirms that cosmic womb gardening is very good videogame subject matter

A new trailer for psychedelic action-platformer Ultros has me freshly excited to see what's going on in its bizarre world of plants and space demons when it releases on February 13, 2024. The game attracted our attention last year not just because of its colorful visuals, but because of its interesting looking dash, slash, and dodge combat.

Ultros is made by duo Hadoque—half of which is El Huervo, aka Niklas Åkerblad, an artist you may recognize from those trippy psychedelic melting-people portraits that so defined Hotline Miami.

For my part I am always immediately interested when you talk about a cosmic uterus containing a cyclical world-ending demon. However, when you then top that off with a trailer showing me the things which dwell in the uterus, which are terrible monsters, and also the wonders it holds which involve gardening space plants you have my attention.

"The new Himsa Ahimsa Excalation Trailer highlights the duality of ULTROS’ varied gameplay: challenging, fast-paced combat against monstrous alien creatures and enigmatic foes, alongside peaceful plant life cultivation and harmonious co-existence within the giant, cosmic uterus that is The Sarcophagus. Alongside glimpses at new creatures, players can also see new Extractor mechanics that will help birth new life into the alien world around them and unlock more options to help them play," said the publisher in a press release.

Ultros will release next month, on Feburary 13, 2024. It'll be like a little taste of  my life for other people, because supposedly plants will be your only friends. How nice. Enjoy the cosmic womb in which I, too, am enwrapped.

You can find Ultros on its website, on Epic, and on Steam.

Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.

Read more
Personal pick for Ultros
Ultros took the feature I hate most about games and made me love it through the power of farming
Moroi trailer still
Romanian folklore, David Lynch, and heavy metal come together in a dark fantasy hack-and-slash action game 'with an even darker sense of humor'
In-development screenshot of game Psycho Patrol R. It is a low-poly, low-fidelity graphical style with deliberately clashing colors and interface elements.
The next game from Cruelty Squad's creator, a 'policing and punishment simulator', has dropped a new trailer showing off its gruesome mech combat
New RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's team of protagonists, including Gustave, Lune, and Maelle
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the surreal debut RPG from Sandfall Interactive, is out this April and I can't wait to hang out with my inscrutable balloon comrade
A young witch watering a smiling mushroom in a magic garden
Here's a roguelite dungeon crawler Steam reviewers call 'a botanical Diablo' and 'like Cult of the Lamb' except you manage a mystical garden
Hell Is Us release date trailer still - close up of some dude with like 13 chins
The sci-fi adventure game from Deus Ex's art director now has Adam Jensen's voice actor, a September release date, and more techno-freak horror vibes than you can shake an augment at
Latest in Games
quake champions classic gordon freeman mod
Gordon Freeman joins a retro pandimensional deathmatch in crossover mod Quake Champions Classic
Image of Yasuke striking an enemy in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has convinced me that Ubisoft will never make a good RPG
Natarkveld, a horrific amalgamation of Nata and Arkveld, screeches like a creature in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds player spits in the face of creation, fuses Nata with Arkveld like they're doing a Full Metal Alchemist villain speedrun
Marvel Rivals characters - Invisible Woman preparing to cast a shield.
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
Assassin's Creed Shadows Twitch Drops - An upper-body shot of Yasuke standing in a battlefield at night, lit by a fire.
All Assassin's Creed Shadows Twitch Drops and how to get them
A Helldiver charges through the fire and flames in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
Latest in News
quake champions classic gordon freeman mod
Gordon Freeman joins a retro pandimensional deathmatch in crossover mod Quake Champions Classic
Natarkveld, a horrific amalgamation of Nata and Arkveld, screeches like a creature in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds player spits in the face of creation, fuses Nata with Arkveld like they're doing a Full Metal Alchemist villain speedrun
An astronaut with helmet doffed looks up at a giant Sugar 1 gaming handheld, floating in space. The rotatable controllers are extended upward, and look like arms.
Sugar 1 is a shape-shifting handheld with two screens and rotatable controllers that make it look like a legally distinct transformable robot
Marvel Rivals characters - Invisible Woman preparing to cast a shield.
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
A Helldiver charges through the fire and flames in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
Marvel Rivals codes - Venom and other heroes
'A developer who actually listens': Marvel Rivals' devs fix accidental Peni Parker nerf just 9 short hours after saying they would