7-2: LIGHT UP THE NIGHT (2024)

For more information about other missions, see Levels

Mannequins can be hard to hit due to their speed, but they lose air control when launched or shot down from a surface, making them unable to move for a short moment.

- The Tip of the Day.

LIGHT UP THE NIGHT is the second of the four missions of the VIOLENCE layer, and the second level of Act III. It takes place at the first circle of Violence, The air is filled with the sounds of artillery and gunfire, and beneath the infrastructure lies Phlegethon, a river made of fiery blood, where the murderers, war-makers, plunderers, and tyrants are immersed in as their punishment. Closer inspection reveals that the ground of the main area is made of corpses. Spotlights shine out into the sky, and distant explosions/lightning illuminate a group of Earthmovers, found later in the Violence layer.

This level introduces both the Gutterman and the Guttertank, two Greater Machines that will reoccur in the remaining levels of the Violence layer.

Major Areas[]

Starting Room[]

An area with a few small pits, used for introducing yellow Hookpoints. The aforementioned pits do NOT deal damage to V1.

Gutterman Room[]

A room with two pillars adorned with inactive Mannequins. Approaching the exit door on the opposite side will trigger a Gutterman to break through it. This will also cause the orbs the mannequins are holding to glow yellow.

Chessboard[]

An open air chessboard with a pergola over it. Two bombshells drop, spawning a Swordsmachine and a Gutterman. On defeating either enemy a second Gutterman will spawn from another bombshell.

Clocktower[]

Defeating the enemies at the chessboard will trigger the bombing of the clocktower, which causes it to fall over and the roof to break open. The falling clocktower has the ability to kill all enemies beneath it, as well as to deal 50 damage to V1. In the first room of the tower are two Mannequins on the side of the lopsided balcony. Ascending the lopsided staircase holds two more Mannequins, and trying to pass further through will spawn three Soldiers on top of the lopsided balcony behind you. Upon entering the base of the broken clocktower, two bombshells will hit the staircase, spawning a Gutterman and a Sentry.

Train Station[]

A Train Station that contains a tram locked behind a gate. Backtracking to the station after obtaining the bomb there will be a Gutterman and a Guttertank waiting for you, with landmines now scattered about the room.

Stalker Room[]

Entering the room across the train station tracks, a Gutterman and a Stalker will spawn in front of each other, as well as two Mannequins. Killing three of any enemy will activate two more Mannequins, and killing one more enemy will activate the two Cerberi statues. Once all enemies are defeated, a second yellow hookpoint course will be beyond the room. Completing the course will allow you to open the gates blocking the tram. Above the gate controls, there will be the phrase 'EXIT' written in blood with an arrow pointing left. Approaching the rubble in the room will show the text in red: "WE'RE GONNA NEED A BIGGER BOOM"

Courtyard[]

A Courtyard where two Guttermen are fought. However, it is unnecessary to give them the death penalty, as you can open the gate blocking the tram without killing them, because of the challenge set within this level.

Bomb Depot[]

A building with a third yellow hookpoint course locked behind a red skull pedestal. Completing the course will allow you to lower an incendiary bomb onto the tram in order to clear the rubble blocking the Archive.

Red Skull Arena[]

Exiting the bomb depot through the left doorway there will be several landmines in the path, and you'll need to cross the Phlegethon river. Before entering the arena, a Gutterman will attempt to surprise you by rounding the corner. Once you enter the arena, be wary of the many landmines scattered around the floor. Approaching the red skull will drop a bombshell spawning the first Guttertank encountered, and defeating it will spawn two more Guttertanks. Once all are defeated, the grates blocking the red skull will open up, allowing you to return to the pedestal in the bomb depot.

The Archive[]

The Archive is an area full of tall bookshelves, in which you fight three Guttermen and three Guttertanks. Initially blocked by rubble, the main goal of the level is to deliver a payload capable of destroying the blockage.

Three Guttertanks spawn initially. Every time you kill an enemy, a Gutterman will spawn via a bombshell. Every kill will also lower the bookshelves, reducing the amount of cover until all bookshelves are lowered.

The Minefield[]

The Minefield: Similar to 4-2, the game prevents you from leaving the area without using any walls; instead, outside of the level area, the ground is a minefield and will explode each time you step on it. A sign that says "DANGER: LANDMINES" with a skull in the middle marks the edge of the level.

Ranking Requirements[]

Secrets[]

Trivia[]

Gameplay[]

• Skipping the first Gutterman boss, then dying/respawning before hitting the next checkpoint would softlock you, as the arena door would not reopen.^{[citation needed]} This has been fixed as of patch 14b.
• The Earthmovers in the background will disappear if the 'Disable enemy spawns' cheat is active as will the giant Cerberus right outside the Gutterman room.
• If one either kills or dies to the Gutterman boss without the Knuckleblaster equipped the tutorial text will instead change to "The Gutterman Shield can be broken with the Knuckleblaster. You should probably re-equip it."
• The time shown on the clock tower is accurate to the time on the player's computer. Even the gears on the inside of the tower are different depending on the time. Neat!
• Getting an enemy to fall down the pits in hookpoint sections gets you a style bonus with no text. The amount of style points given is the same as any other environmental kill.
• The tracer rounds seen flying across the sky originate from metal or stone structures. These structures appear to be the same model as the searchlights that adorn the level. These have no holes for the bullets to originate from. They do no damage on contact, and seem to serve no purpose other than to create atmosphere.
  • They also produce no sound whilst firing, but this is likely due to the fact that they are so far away that it would be unlikely to hear this sound anyways.
  • These structures are considered enemies, and will not spawn if the disable enemies cheat is enabled.
• It is possible to get stuck under the tram bomb while it is being deployed. This originally softlocked the player, but as of the 14c patch, there is a failsafe that prevents this.
• At the edge of the map, there is a completely flat area that stretches further.
• This is the only level in Violence to not feature a sudden Streetcleaner encounter.
• This (alongside the Intro, if it is counted) is the only non-boss/secret level in the campaign (thus far) to lack any Stray encounters/spawns.
• Ignoring an avoidable enemy encounter (for example, The Courtyard) and then hitting a checkpoint, then reloading that checkpoint, will make the level's combat theme and dark lighting go away. The enemies present before the reloaded checkpoint will still be there.
• The bombs striking the clocktower instantly kill enemies, deal 50 damage to V1, and also grant the [+FOR THEE] style bonus.
• The Earthmovers in the background appear fully modeled, down to even having the wires on the crane.
  • However, they are completely black other then the lights on the "face" and on the neck, and their legs clip through the ground. Fullbright doesn't affect them, and are only illuminated by the flashes of light.
• Despite what it might seem at first, the bomb payload does not hurt the player upon exploding.

References[]

• The two songs used for this level are Do Robots Dream of Eternal Sleep? and Hear! The Siren Song Call of Death, with the title of the former likely being a reference to the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
• The name is in reference to the song Light Up The Night by The Protomen.
  • The name may also be a reference to a montage made by the man, the myth, the legend, HerbMessiah, named "Light Up The Fight".^[1]
• In the tweet showing the 7-2 teaser video^[2], the line "In the grim darkness of Hell, there is only war." is a reference to Warhammer 40K — "In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war."
• The appearance of three Earthmovers in this level likely alludes to the named centaurs in Dante's Inferno: Chiron and Pholus, commanders of the centaurs that patrol the circle, and Nessus, who guided the poets Dante Alighieri and Virgil along the River Phlegethon.
• The existence of the clock tower is a reference to internet sh*tposter Katie Tightpuss* (@Juicysteak117) who drew a clock daily in Microsoft Paint for five months.^[3]
• The clock tower's clock face is a reference to the cover art of one of Hakita's older albums: Garden of Romance.

• Getting an enemy crushed by the falling clock tower gives the [+FOR THEE] Style Bonus. This is a reference to John Donne's poem, "Meditation 17".^[4]

Lore[]

• Due to the machines in the background, the area shown may be a representation of the Final War responsible for many of ULTRAKILL's Machines, including Sentries.
• Gutterman that attacks V1 upon bringing the bomb to its target is without a casket. The missing casket is presumably the one located in a building with the Excavator.
• The Gutterman coffin within the train station (the one featuring the lore book) has had it's occupant's skull crushed. This is a reference to the lore book, in which the Gutterman it belonged to crushed the poor fuel source's head to spare it.

• The title for the second song was originally "Hear! The Siren Song Call Of The Dead" as seen in the WIP of the song posted by Hakita. Hakita explained in the "Act II Developer Commentary Stream" that it was changed because he forgot the original title of the song because the filename was incomplete.
• The in-game level icon contains the old version of the level and the old Earthmover model

Easter eggs[]

• If the player clips inside the tram bomb they will find a small Hakita plushie watching f*cking_finland.webm, a short animation by Twitter/Tumblr artist Finn [Frej].
• If you do not complete the fight on the chessboard or skip it entirely, the clocktower will not fall down. If you explore it, you will find some inactive Mannequins as well as a Filth sleeping peacefully on a bench on the top floor. The "Z" sprite emitting from its head resembles the sprite seen at the end of Undertale's Sans fight and the "pacify" act/spell in Deltarune.
• The yellow construction machine in the area that contains the Alt Shotgun has a flag on it that says "Vegter van die Volk", Afrikaans for "warrior of the people".
• There's a giant letter L made out of stones hidden beneath the ground. It appears under the clock tower after it has fallen.

Gallery[]