Not all of the best mechanics in gaming were planned.
Some were found by accident during some casual play, and developers soon realized they were too good to get rid of.
The bullet-parrying glitch in Ultrakill is a perfect example of the game's happy accidents.
The idea of punching your own shotgun pellets doesn't sound like something a developer would plan. And in fact, they didn't.
For those unfamiliar, the ability to parry your own bullets in Ultrakill wasn't always meant to be a feature. Early on, players figured out that punching right as the shotgun blast hit would count as a parry in the game.
I was confused the first time I discovered it myself—was it meant to happen, or was it a bug? The timing was so tight that I didn't even realize it was possible.
Fans were torn between calling it a glitch or an advanced technique, yet it didn't take long for the word to get out.
Parrying in video games is already one of the most satisfying mechanics that rewards precise timing with flashy counters. But what helped this mechanic stand out was how it felt. This parry lets you set up and amplify your own shot, unlike typical parries that react to an enemy's attack.
It turns the parry from a reaction into something you actively do. You turn your attack into a bigger explosion instead of waiting for the enemy to strike.
Like any good developer, Arsi "Hakita" Patala initially thought about removing the glitch. But seeing the overwhelmingly positive reception from the community, he decided against it. It blended perfectly with Ultrakill's philosophy of rewarding creativity and skilled gameplay. The idea is simple but satisfying.
It takes precise timing, with punch and shoot nearly needing to be hit at the same time, but I found joy in mastering it. I played around with keybindings, placing punches and shooting near each other to make the combo faster. It's particularly satisfying with enemies like Malicious Faces, who enjoy getting close and lining up their laser shots.
Not only did Hakita keep it, but he refined it into what's now known as projectile boosting. It's linked to the shotgun parry, but it's actually a broader mechanic. When you boost a projectile, you enhance it by timing a melee hit just right, usually with the Feedbacker arm.
The shotgun parry is a specific type of projectile boosting, but this technique can work with other weapons and setups as well. For instance, rockets or nails are also boostable, though the mechanics can vary.
Some terminals and in-game descriptions even hint at it, though many players miss these details during their first playthrough. In a game where style rules, it is only logical to let players use their weapons in unconventional ways.
Not every glitch is worth keeping.
But sometimes, a glitch lines up so perfectly with a game's tone and mechanics that it feels like it was meant to be there all along.