0-S: SOMETHING WICKED (2024)

"If only we knew the suffering that would befall us next..."
This page describes special lore or secret content.
Continue at your own risk!

For more information about other missions, see Levels

SOMETHING WICKED is the secret mission for the PRELUDE, and can be accessed through the mission [ 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER ]. Its sole enemy is Something Wicked; a fast, indestructible creature that can destroy V1 instantly.

Map[]

Map and Steam Guide by locked_dream.

Step by Step Guide[]

See the Steam guide for more comprehensive guidance.

From the entrance, walk North to grab the blue skull. Head out East and move North, continue North, then take West in the large room. Move North in the raised intersection and brace for Something Wicked, swiftly continue North, go East at the crossroad, and North again down the wide stairs, until you find the destination blue altar to the East. Place the skull and await the red one, grab it and quickly move all the way West to the blue corner pictured on the northwest of the map. Jump Up onto the raised ledge, then move down South to the red skull altar.

Tips[]

• Performing a melee attack while holding a Skull will briefly increase the light it gives.
• Skulls stick to Whiplash's grapple. This can be used to further increase visibility down hallways.
  • Keep in mind that using the Whiplash to pick up the Blue Skull from within the Red Skull's chamber can softlock you if you let the doors close.
• Something Wicked will despawn if the Blue Skull is returned to its starting podium or if the Red Skull is placed at the final podium. Picking the skull up again will cause it to respawn where it last was.
  • It's quite fun to just sit in the starting chamber and repeatedly retrieve and return the Blue Skull with the Whiplash until Something Wicked finds you, wherein, likewise with a shot from the revolver, will just teleport it away upon hitting it with the Whiplash.
• The difficulty of the level is greatly decreased during the Halloween Event. Something Wicked, just like all the other enemies in the game, gets a glowing pumpkin placed on their head if the date player's computer is set to October 31st, thus making Something Wicked easier to see in the dark.
• Something Wicked's height prevents it from accessing certain areas of the map. If the ceiling is roughly player height, or sliding is the only way to access the area, it is safe. Something Wicked's behavior will change if you remain in one of these areas; if it cannot reach you, it will prepare an ambush by hiding out of the line of sight until you emerge.
• it is advised to have your current arm be the Knuckleblaster, because, if timed right, its explosion can protect you from Something Wicked. just press F and hold once you hear it's "Hunting hiss"

Testament I[]

The Secret Terminal at the end of this level contains Testament I.

Trivia[]

• "Something wicked this way comes" is a phrase spoken by the witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth, heralding the arrival of the titular Macbeth to their presence. It has since been used in many other media in many other forms, typically as a similar portent of evil as its original use.
• The third line of this level's Testament is a reference to the Lingua Ignota album Let the Evil of His Own Lips Cover Him.^[1]
• Using cheats to spawn in most enemies will cause the song "The Fire is Gone (for Music Box)" (the same song that plays when reading Testaments) to begin playing. The song will play at the same volume regardless of the player's proximity to any spawned enemies and will stop playing if all enemies are defeated. The music is set as the level's combat track, but due to the level lacking combat, it usually goes unheard.
  • The Idol is the only enemy to not trigger the level's combat loop.
  • The number of enemies, variety of enemies, and items spawned also do not affect the song.
  • This will only begin to occur when the player first picks up the blue skull and will cease to occur when the player first opens the exit door.
  • When the song begins playing, the ambient drone in the background stops, only returning when the song ends.
  • On older versions of the game, it would've played "Into the Fire" if there was an enemy with a health bar. This would've been the only level with this property.
• Like other secret levels, this does not have a challenge. However, in the game's files, the challenge for the level is listed as "Not sh*tting yourself", a challenge which has not been completed to this day.
• This is the one of the few levels where Cerberi apples can be seen without a glow, most likely due to fear of what lurks in the dark. The only other time this happens is in [ 0-1: INTO THE FIRE ], before V1 picks up the Piercer.
• unlike a different game, beating this mission does not grant you an exotic scout rifle, or a triumph

References[]