0-2: The Meatgrinder
THE MEATGRINDER
| 0-2: THE MEATGRINDER | |||
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| General | |||
| Layer & Part | PRELUDE /// SECOND | ||
| Challenge | Beat the secret encounter. | ||
| Music | Unstoppable Force | ||
| Tip of the Day | |||
The Revolver deals locational damage.
A headshot deals 2x damage and a limbshot deals 1.5x damage. | |||
| Collectables | |||
 4 Soul Orbs 1 Blood Orb Core Eject Shotgun
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| Enemies | |||
 31 Filth 22 Strays 1 Swordsmachine
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| Rank Requirements | |||
| Rank | Time | Kills | Style |
| S | 02:00 | 53 | 6,000 |
| A | 03:00 | 50 | 4,250 |
| B | 04:00 | 40 | 3,000 |
| C | 05:00 | 20 | 1,750 |
| Levels | |||
| Previous | Next | ||
| 0-1 | 0-3 | ||
 0-S
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0-1, 0-2, 0-3, 0-4, 0-5 0-S,  0-E
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0-2: THE MEATGRINDER is the second level of Prelude.
Overview
0-2 is set in a section of the Prelude facility flooded with vast quantities of gore, with rivers of blood and viscera being pumped and flown through the facility. Crushers and fans are strewn throughout the level, posing as deadly obstacles to be avoided.
The level itself sticks to a fairly linear structure with its arenas, but spreads out more with various branching pathways, leading to mainly secrets or serving as visual set pieces, prominently with various instances of Swordsmachine intercepting the player on its parallel path through the level.
0-2 introduces the Elevator Entrance, Terminals, deadly environmental hazards and Blood Orbs. 0-2 also includes the first instance of 
Skull Keys as part of a secret, and the Swordsmachine as a setpiece and secret boss. The Core Eject Shotgun can be obtained early by fighting the secret Swordsmachine encounter, before it is properly introduced in 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN.
0-2 houses the entrance to 0-S: SOMETHING WICKED.
Elevator Entrance
0-2 introduces the Elevator Entrance, a small red and yellow hub that serves as the start to each level. Each Elevator Entrance houses a Shop Terminal, where the player can spend points to buy and select weapons, check weapon and enemy entries, and access the Cyber Grind and Sandbox.
First entering the Elevator Entrance starts a tutorial sequence to get the player to use the Terminal, locking the entrance door with a barrier until the player approaches it.
for new equipment.
The tutorial then instructs the player to purchase a 
Revolver variant with the points they have emassed.
The tutorial and barrier will not appear again on subsequent replays or on new save files.
Areas
FIRST ROOM
A tall room with a 
Cerberus statue prominently featured in front of the entrance elevator.
VISCERA HALL
A hallway with a window view of flowing meat.
WAVES:
- 2 Strays
GRINDER WALKWAY
A long glass walkway situated over a pit of grinders. A pipe along the ceiling streams meat down into the grinders below.
WAVES:
- 8 Filth
SWORDSMACHINE GLIMPSE
An arena featuring rivers of gore flowing across the arena into a pit of grinders. Initially dark until the player enters into the arena, where a Swordsmachine can be spotted running across the hallway on the opposite end of the room until the door closes in front of the player.
WAVES:
BREAK ROOM
A hidden room accessed through the right fan pipe in the Glimpse Arena, with the main door being locked prior to backtracking from a later point in the level. Composed of a long hallway featuring four tables and a large nondescript appliance. The room itself is normally inaccessible, with it being mainly observed behind a narrow passageway that connects to the second Soul Orb. Entering through the passageway triggers the Swordsmachine to enter the room and start to tear through multiple hordes of enemies which spawn into the arena.
INTERSECTING PATH
A long track of hallways and minor rooms which intersect with the main arena path of the level. The path first starts with a room inbetween the Swordsmachine Glimpse arena and the first Crusher Arena. The path then connects through the closed off Break Room, a hallway down to the Pedestal Room, through Crossroads into the Blocked Off Hallway, the inaccessible portion of Parallel Arenas, and eventually ending at the secret Boss Arena. The Swordsmachine present in various minor encounters takes this path through the level, and areas that it is currently in are blocked off to the player.
The first room after the Swordsmachine Glimpse arena houses a secret Blue Skull Key above a hole in the ceiling, marked by a dislodged tile on the floor. This is used in the Pedestal Room in order to activate the secret entrance to 0-S: SOMETHING WICKED.
Named "Swordsmachine Hallway" in checkpoints.
CRUSHER ARENAS
Two small arenas which introduce Crushers, acting as the first deadly environmental hazard that can instantly kill the player. In the crusher introduction, 2 Filth spawn underneath a crusher to be immediately killed afterwards. In the main arena, a second crusher sits over a flowing river of blood.
WAVES (SECOND ROOM):
CRUSHER HALLWAY
A hallway intersected by two Crushers leading to the Crossroads. A river of blood flows down the hallway emanating behind a deadly fan.
WAVES:
- 2 Strays
CROSSROADS
A small area nearby the Crusher Hallway that connects to three rooms: the main path forward into the Parallel Arenas, the Pedestal Room to the left, and a blocked off hall to the right.
Approaching the crossroads spawns in 3 Strays, before the Swordsmachine found earlier in the level suddenly appears to kill the group of Strays before running off.
PEDESTAL ROOM
A large room found to the left of the crossroads featuring a blue Skull Pedestal in its center. The Skull Key found in the first room of the Intersecting Pathway is used in the Pedestal Room in order to activate the secret entrance to 0-S: SOMETHING WICKED. The entrance is hidden behind a wall to the right of the pedestal.
A breakable vent found next to the activatable wall leads to a small passageway that connects to a Soul Orb, the final arena, and the secret boss arena.
BLOCKED OFF HALL
A section found to the right of the crossroads with the door blocked off by a room lock. A small vent above the door leads behind to the other side. The hall connects to two rooms: a room with a precarious jump of grinders and crushers leading to a Blood Orb, and the inaccessible side of the Parallel Arena. Said room is blocked off if the player has not yet finished its encounter.
PARALLEL ARENAS
Two arenas split with a dividing wall that allows the other side to be visible. Only the left arena is fought in by the player, with the other arena featuring the Swordsmachine fighting its own horde of enemies as the player fights theirs. Enemies spawning into the arena triggers a lockdown sequence inside with the lights dimming and an alarm blaring until all enemies are killed.
WAVES:
BOSS ARENA
A hidden boss arena for the secret Swordsmachine encounter, located behind the blocked off right room of the Parallel Arenas. encounter. Accessed by heading into a vent on the right wall of the Pedestal Room, leading to a tunnel housing a Soul Orb and a short passageway that can be slid through. The passageway connects to both a shortcut to the final arena and to the boss arena's entrance. At the end of the passageway, a set of breakable grates sit above leading to the arena's entrance.
The boss arena itself is a tall, cramped room with 4 central pillars supporting a platform above the center of the room. The pillars can be broken by Swordsmachine's attacks or with strong enough weapons, with the platform above being able to fall if all pillars are broken or if the player stands on top of the panel. The platform deals 50 DP to the player when falling and can take out roughly an entire phase of Swordsmachine's healthbar if hit.
The player can obtain the Core Eject Shotgun after taking out Swordmachine's first phase, letting the player use it before its formal introduction in 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN.
Named "Swordsmachine Arena Hallway" in checkpoints.
WAVES:
FINAL ARENA
A large room with a line of crushers in the middle of the arena, set over a stream of blood flowing into a pit of more crushers. The exit elevator is located here.
WAVES:
Challenge
The level's challenge requires the player to find and kill the Swordsmachine spotted throughout the level, encountered in the secret boss arena nearby the Parallel Arenas. The entrance into the arena is accessed by heading through a vent to the right wall of the Pedestal Room and sliding through a passageway until reaching a set of breakable grates, where the entrance to the boss arena lies above.
When fighting Swordsmachine, taking advantage of the arena's space is key, as the arena itself is tall in height but cramped in size, making it difficult to dodge Swordsmachine's sweeping attacks if the player sticks to the ground.
4 central pillars inside the arena hold up a dislodgable platform, which can be knocked down by either breaking the pillars with Swordsmachine's own attacks or by jumping onto the platform. The falling platform can take out roughly an entire phase of Swordsmachine's healthbar if hit.
Secrets
| #1 |  Soul Orb - In the first room in a high nook to the left, accessed by jumping up a set of pipes at the far wall, or wall jumping.
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| #2 | Soul Orb - In Swordsmachine Glimpse. Found by jumping through the right tunnel on the left wall leading into a narrow hallway. Collecting the orb will trigger the Swordsmachine in the adjacent room to appear and tear through multiple hordes of enemies before proceeding through a door.
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| #3 | Blood Orb - Accessed through the Blocked Off Hall near Crossroads. Located behind a deadly gauntlet of crushers and grinders, requiring the player to time their jump in order to walljump off of the crushers before they activate.
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| #4 | Soul Orb - In the Pedestal Room. Accessed through a breakable grate to the right of the room, leading to a a small tunnel with the orb.
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| #5 | Soul Orb - In the final arena, behind the waterfall within the pit of crushers near the exit elevator.
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Secret Level Entrance
Found in the Pedestal Room lies a secret entrance to 0-S: Something Wicked, accessed by taking a hidden Blue Skull Key and placing it onto the central pedestal in the room. The Skull Key is located in the room between the Swordsmachine Glimpse Arena and the Crushers Arena, found above through a hole in the ceiling.
Gallery
The start of the level
Viscera Hallway
Grinder Walkway
Swordsmachine Glimpse Arena
Break Room
The hallway connecting to Break Room and Pedestal Room
The path up to the hidden Blue Skull in Intersecting Hallway
Inside the room housing the Blue Skull
Introduction to Crushers
Crusher Arena
Crusher Hallway
Crossroads
Pedestal Room
The entrance to 0-S unlocked in the Pedestal Room.
The entrance leading into the Blocked Off Hall
The other side of the vent passageway in Blocked Off Hall
Inside the Parallel Arenas
Inside the Boss Arena
The final arena
Trivia
- The Swordsmachine follows a consistent route through the level, with a course of locked arenas and combat encounters parallel to the player's own.[1] The beginning and end of Swordsmachine's personal level are each related to the mission's biggest secrets.
- The parallel level encounters, and particularly the side-by-side combat arenas towards the end of the level, are inspired by the Cameo System in Devil May Cry 5.[2]
- Though vulnerable to damage in all its physical appearances in this level, the Swordsmachine in cutscenes has an inflated health bar to make it difficult to kill in unintended situations. However, the exact health it has and the thresholds at which it will transition into its second phase vary based on the cutscene it is spawned for.
- For the initial doorway cameo, Swordsmachine has 175 health total, 160 health in its first phase and 15 health in its second phase. Swordsmachine in this scene also spawns directly under the ceiling vent before walking past the door, reinforcing the implication that it enters the level through here.
- For Swordsmachine's first visible combat arena in Break Room, it has 250 health total, 235 health in its first phase and 15 health in its second phase. This instance of Swordsmachine immediately despawns upon exiting the room, and so it cannot be observed again until the Crusher Hallway.
- In the Crusher Hallway cutscene, Swordsmachine has 250 health total, 175 health in its first phase and 75 health in its second phase. Before this Swordsmachine despawns, it trails off toward the room with the Red Soul Orb rather than turning to enter the next arena.
- In the Parallel Arenas, Swordsmachine has 250 health total, 150 health in its first phase and 100 health in its second phase.
- The blood and gore of enemies killed by Swordsmachine can be found in the rooms where it fights off-screen even if blood and gore has been disabled in settings.
- The corpses of
Schisms can be found in the rooms where Swordsmachine fights off-screen, a full level before their proper first appearance in 0-3: DOUBLE DOWN. - If you move fast enough, it is possible to reach the door the Swordsmachine goes through in the crusher hallway while it is still open. Unfortunately, even though the door is open, an invisible wall blocks V1 from following the Swordsmachine through.
- When Swordsmachine is seen at the end of the Crusher Hallway, it will often miss one or more of the Strays. This usually happens almost exclusively in the Prelude Demo version of the game.
- The Blind Enemies cheat breaks some elements of this mission, making it unbeatable; for instance, the door at the end of the Grinder Arena becomes impassable, even when it opens.
- In the Viscera Hallway, it is possible to climb on top of the doorframe the player entered through by jumping while holding the slide button. From there, the player can clip on top of the hallway. Doing this causes the message "WHAT'S UPDOOR?"to display. This clip is one of several that have been manually preserved for the speedrunning community when the bugs that enabled them were eventually patched out during Early Access.
T. HAKITA - If a Stray's body is completely destroyed in combat, their torso will appear at the entrance of the start elevator; this is exclusive to 0-2 and 5-S: I ONLY SAY MORNING (with cheats).
- This applies to 4-2: GOD DAMN THE SUN as well, though it applies to a Schism instead of a Stray.
- The Swordsmachine can be parried while it's attacking other enemies. It will become enraged, but it will ignore the player and keep killing enemies.
