Sisyphus Prime is the second boss of P-2: WAIT OF THE WORLD and is the Prime Soul of King Sisyphus, being liberated after destroying the Flesh Panopticon from which he was imprisoned.

Sisyphus Prime is a hulking, muscular, bright yellow translucent humanoid figure with a visible circulatory system and heart. His head is replaced with a luminescent, golden ball of light, with veins forming a vague red outline of his facial features. His hands and feet are also stained with blood, similar to the Sisyphean Insurrectionists. There is golden glistening on his body, most noticeable on his bloodstained limbs. During his second phase, his legs and arms are stained further with blood, and he gains a beard and dreadlocks made of his veins. He also emits a perpetual bright yellow glow.

Behaviour

Sisyphus Prime is one of the most aggressive enemies in ULTRAKILL, teleporting to the player to attack them with punches, kicks, and the radiant power of the sun. Prime Souls have a stamina system, which dictates how many attacks they are able to use, as is the case with Sisyphus Prime's predecessor, Minos Prime.

Sisyphus Prime has 6 stamina in his first phase, 10 in his second, and recovers 5 when parried.

When damaged to below 100 health, Sisyphus Prime will enter his second phase, signified by him gaining a beard, dreadlocks, deeper bloodstains around his arms and legs, a pulsating red aura, orange flames around his body, and stating "YES! That's it!" In the second phase, the intervals between his attacks become considerably shorter.

Attacks

Taunt
Sisyphus Prime yells “Nice try!” while taunting the player, standing still and waving his hands in a beckoning motion.
The taunt requires 2 stamina to be performed.

Uppercut Combo
Sisyphus Prime yells “DESTROY!” and attempts to uppercut the player, dealing 30 damage if the hit connects. Afterwards, he will throw out a blinking glint that attempts to predict the player's position, which then explodes and deals 23 damage.
The uppercut cannot be parried. The explosion's cast can be parried, however, the explosion itself will not be canceled.
This attack requires 3 stamina to be performed.

Sumo Combo
Sisyphus Prime yells “You can't escape!” and strikes a pose before initiating a four-hit combo attack. This involves him performing a punch and knee strike, a flying kick, and finally, a stomp with his left foot, creating a grounded shockwave. Each hit deals 30 damage and the shockwave deals 25 damage.
The final stomp can be parried, cancelling the shockwave during his first phase but not during his second phase.
This attack requires 3 stamina to be performed.

Overhead
Sisyphus Prime will teleport in front of the player and perform an overhead punch.
The punch deals 30 damage and it cannot be parried.
This attack requires 1 stamina to be performed.

Clap
Sisyphus Prime will teleport in front of the player, tell them to “BE GONE!”, and then clap his hands together, creating a vertical shockwave. The clap deals 30 damage and the resulting shockwave deals 25 damage.
The clap can be parried, cancelling the shockwave during his first phase but not during his second phase.
This attack requires 1 stamina to be performed.

Explosion
Sisyphus Prime will teleport near the player while hovering in the air, curl into himself while charging, and bellow “This will hurt.”, creating two explosions shortly after, a smaller one that deals 50 damage, and a bigger one that deals 33 damage.
The attack can be canceled by parrying Sisyphus Prime directly before the explosions are summoned.
This attack requires 1 stamina to be performed.

Ground Slam
Sisyphus Prime will teleport above the player before slamming onto the ground, creating a shockwave that deals 25 damage.
The slam deals 30 damage and cannot be parried.
This attack requires 1 stamina to be performed.

Roundhouse Kick
Sisyphus Prime will teleport near the player and perform a roundhouse kick.
The kick deals 30 damage and it can be parried.
This attack requires 1 stamina to be performed.

Strategy

Sisyphus Prime is arguably the hardest boss in all of ULTRAKILL currently, serving as the final test of all the skills the player has acquired up to this point.

Before the fight begins, players have a number of traps and tricks they can use to get a head start due to his monologue. A Sawblade or Nail trap, ricoshotting the Alternate Piercer's alternate fire and Railcoining all deal massive damage to Sisyphus Prime before he starts attacking.

As with Minos Prime, once the fight begins, the player should prioritize staying grounded. Being airborne while fighting Sisyphus Prime is extremely dangerous, as one small mistake can lead to him chaining attacks, quickly killing the player. However, several aerial attacks can be parried, leaving opportunities to deal large amounts of damage, especially with the Rocket Launcher.

If the player is sent airborne by Sisyphus Prime, ground slamming allows them to return to the ground quickly if care is taken to avoid shockwaves.

Parrying with the Feedbacker is another key part in defeating Sisyphus. Parrying his attacks on Standard and below will cancel any shockwaves afterwards while providing a reliable source of health, stamina, and damage.

More experienced players can attempt to parry his attacks with a point-blank Shotgun blast at the cost of lower range and tighter timings.

The Knuckleblaster can be a great source of damage when combined with Shotgun Swapping.

The Whiplash tends to find little use in this fight due to Sisyphus Prime's close-range combat strategies. However, it may be used to parry Sisyphus Prime before he explodes if you are too far away.

The Revolvers are amazing tools for damage. The Marksman Revolver's Coins can be used for Ricoshots, dealing damage with minimal aiming. Throwing coins in the air and hitting them with the Alternate Piercer's alternate fire while Sisyphus Prime is not attacking is a fantastic way to deal massive damage. Similarly, more experienced players can attempt to line up a Railcoin for big amounts of damage.

The Shotguns are a solid tool for taking care of Sisyphus Prime, with projectile boosts being a very effective technique to deal damage, especially when combined with the Rocket Launcher's rockets. Experienced players can attempt Shotgun Parrying his attacks to deal more damage.

Shotgun Swapping and punching him with the Knuckleblaster while he is down is a quick way to erase large amounts of his health and get plentiful amounts of blood if needed.

The Nailguns are viable tools against Sisyphus Prime, as sticking a Magnet on him and unloading both Nailguns is a solid way to deal quick damage and recover health. Overheat Storage allows for infinite amounts of Overheat Nailgun burst nails, dealing massive amounts of damage at the cost of losing style to Weapon Freshness.

Traps with the Sawblade Launchers are also extremely effective for trapping due to their large hitbox.

Stamina conservation is incredibly important; dashes should be always saved up for his unparriable attacks, and players should take the time to learn his parriable attacks for reliable health and stamina regeneration. Sliding instead of dashing is highly recommended when possible. Dash Jumping is risky due to the large stamina consumption.

Difficulty Changes

Harmless

The Explosion attack will only summon the smaller explosion.
None of Sisyphus Prime's attacks will create shockwaves.
Sisyphus has 6 stamina in both phases.
His cooldown after running out of stamina is twice as long.

Lenient

None of Sisyphus Prime's attacks will create shockwaves.
Sisyphus has 6 stamina in both phases.
His cooldown after running out of stamina is 50% longer.

Violent

The Clap and Sumo Combo will always create shockwaves, even when parried.
Sisyphus has 8 stamina in phase 1, and gains 16 stamina in phase 2.

Brutal

The Clap and Sumo Combo will cause delayed explosions upon completion of said attacks in phase 2.
Sisyphus has 10 stamina in phase 1, and gains infinite stamina in phase 2.
He will no longer taunt his opponent.

Terminal Entry

Sisyphus Prime

TYPE: Prime Soul

DATA:
Though Minos was intelligent and persuasive, he was also a gentle and noble man. Such values mattered little to Sisyphus, who would gladly lie, cheat or kill if that's what is needed to protect his comrades.

In a hubristic show of power, Heaven decided that the only correct punishment for his sins would be breaking his will by subjecting him to an unending and impossible task, unaware of just how tenacious the spite of man can be.

For thousands of years, Sisyphus bided his time, suffering his punishment day after day without any sign of regret or remorse, waiting for the perfect chance to strike and subvert Heaven's tyrannical rule.

With the Disappearance of God and chaos in Heaven, Sisyphus' time had finally come, and once the angels returned, they were met with a force and fury that had boiled in the hearts of men for millennia, a warcry so fierce it shook the very foundations of Hell.

It was all for naught, however, as Sisyphus' charisma and drive had made his warriors dependent on his radiance and guidance. Although he did not know why yet, Gabriel recognised[sic] this flaw, having experienced it first hand, and ordered a focused assault to take down the king.

He unsheathed his swords for the first time since time immemorial and beheaded Sisyphus, displaying his head for all to see. The morale of Sisyphus' army was broken and the rest of the war was little more than a formality without their shining beacon.

The failure of the insurrection was no surprise however, and few knew that better than Sisyphus himself. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, that even if they miraculously survived this encounter, they had no chance of winning a full scale war against all of Heaven. Yet he thrust his full heart and soul into battle with a wide smile on his face.

To him, fighting an impossible battle with full knowledge of its futility and taking joy in just the act of resistance itself is the ultimate rebellion against the oppressor. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.

STRATEGY:
- Sisyphus' relentless attacks leave little room to recover stamina, but many of them are parryable, allowing for an instant refill.

- The radiant power of the sun makes Sisyphus' explosive attacks very difficult to avoid, but since a dash gives temporary invincibility, good timing allows one to avoid the damage of an explosion without actually needing to escape its radius.

Media

Icon
Concept Art by BigRockBMP - First Phase^[1]
Concept Art - Second Phase^[1]

Audio

SISYPHUS PRIME
	First PhaseSecond Phase
General
Class	Prime Soul
Health	100 (Phase 1); 100 (Phase 2); 200 (Total)
Weight	Heavy (Grounded)
Rank	-1
Locational Damage
Head (200%)
Limbs (150%)
Conditional Modifiers
Flammable
Airshot
Splatters
Magnet Pull
Damage Type Modifiers
	Standard Revolvers (Head): 200%; Shotgun Parries: 150%; Standard Revolvers (Limbs): 150%;
Radiance Multipliers
Health	1.5x
Damage	1.5x
Speed	1.25x
Appearances
	P-2

Transcript

Breakout

This prison...

To hold

ME?

Intro

A visitor?

Hmm... Indeed, I have slept long enough.

The kingdom of heaven has long since forgotten my name

And I am EAGER to make them remember

However

The blood of Minos stains your hands, and I must admit...

I'm curious about your skills, Weapon.

And so, before I tear down the cities and CRUSH the armies of heaven...

You shall do as an appetizer.

Come forth, Child of Man...

And DIE.

Outro

Ahh...

So concludes the life and times of King Sisyphus

A fitting end to an existence defined by futile struggle,

Doomed from the very start...

And I don't regret a SECOND of it!

Trivia

Hakita has stated the reason behind Sisyphus Prime lacking a "Boulder Attack" is because his character is based off his depiction in The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus rather than his portrayal in Greek myth, evident by his terminal entry including the essay's closing line; "One must imagine Sisyphus happy".
Sisyphus Prime's blood-splattered arms and legs and crimson attack trails may be a reference to his failed insurrection, given how the Sisyphean Insurrectionists would drench their limbs in the blood of their enemies to protect themselves from the heat of Greed's dunes. And given Sisyphus' stance that he takes up even while moving, this may imply that he is a trained fighter himself.
- However, unlike the insurrectionists, he still takes damage while standing on the sand.
Considering how he was able to effortlessly break out of the Flesh Panopticon after being awakened, one could suggest that if Minos Prime had fully formed prior to imprisonment that he could've just as easily broken out of the Flesh Prison.
Prior to a hotfix shortly after the release of P-2, Sisyphus Prime's attacks couldn't be parried in phase 2 on Violent difficulty, and made the fight against him drastically harder. This was an oversight by Hakita as he and the play testers were playing P-2 on Standard.
- And prior to that same hotfix, it was also very easy for Sisyphus Prime to hit the player out of the arena. While the player themself would respawn in the middle of the arena, Sisyphus would run out of stamina and fall to his death.
He, just like Minos Prime before him, is one of the few characters who acknowledge restarts. Him saying "Keep them coming!" as a means of expecting the player to fight him again, but also to push them to succeed against him.
- And like Minos Prime, his attacks leave behind trails of disturbed rubble. Implying that he moves faster than the naked eye could see without actually teleporting.