Undertale

Other Games
1

Doesn’t seem like anyone made a topic about this (maybe no one played it yet or is too put off by all the hype)

I got around to actually trying this title after being nagged for a couple weeks straight by a couple friends about how amazing it was. It’s been getting rave reviews but it didn’t leave much of an impression on me at first glance. I ended up buying it just because I was curious about what all the craze was over it. By no means was it the best game I ever played, but it was really quite adorable.

Undertale is like a 16 bit jrpg type game, but it’s fairly light on the gameplay. I’m usually not a fan of retro-styled throwback games, but I enjoyed this one. Combat is minimal (and actively discouraged) and enemy attacks initiate a mini bullet-hell type game where you dodge their shots to avoid damage. You can attack, escape, or communicate with a monster to get different outcomes within a battle. It’s actually preferable to avoid killing even a single enemy in the entire game, as it will irreversibly give you the neutral or even the bad ending. The charm of the game, however, comes far more from it’s writing and music. It seems really influenced by Earthbound, but I haven’t played Earthbound enough to draw similarities. There’s a lot of in-jokes and self awareness in the game. The writing is pretty goofy, but can also be really sad and sweet. It reminds me of To the Moon somewhat, but has a lot more humor, meta-jokes, and it really likes to play around with the fourth wall. The music is spectacular and really appropriately executed.

A lot of characters, even the monsters you fight have unique aspects that make them really feel like they matter and are a unique part of the world rather than a disposable obstacle in your way. Antagonists aren’t really bad guys and you can easily befriend them. The game’s world isn’t huge, but there’s a lot of character in it.

It’s strange, but it felt really refreshing to me playing a game that (potentially) has a really happy, sappy ending. The whole game is fairly short and can be beaten in a single sitting, like 4-6 hours or so. It was impossible not to smile, finally reaching the perfect ending after the journey. On that note, there’s actually 3 separate endings, depending on how you play the game (one permanently alters your game even into subsequent playthroughs). The pacifist ending is the true one I believe, and you can only get it if you dont kill a single monster in the entire game. The neutral one is what most people get, and is kind of lukewarm, but has a really cool boss battle. Genocide is if you kill absolutely everyone, but I haven’t tried it (this is the one that carries over permanently to your subsequent games). I’ll probably watch a Let’s Play or something for that route, I don’t have the heart to kill these fictional video game characters I’ve gotten so attached to.

All in all, not a bad game. I had a good time. I’d like to hear anyone else’s thoughts.

2

I’ve been recommended this game by others as well; it’s on my list.

1 Like
3

Played it this month, it’s a great game and the story is really cool. Definitely worth a go and I’m happy I played it! Doing a genocide run currently

4

Hello old friends.

Undertale is awesome and you should play it if you haven’t already.

Recommend NOT killing everything or you’ll have a bad time.

~ Arc

1 Like
5

Topic revival: now that Undertale has been out for several years, who here has had the chance to play through it? In my opinion, Undertale is one of most important RPGs in recent years due to the way it portrays violence as an option rather than a requirement. I’m hoping that more of Undertale’s concepts will filter down into other games, but so far I’ve been disappointed.

The reason I brought this game up again is because it was recently ported to Switch. So there’s another reason to reconsider the game now that it’s playable on the go.

6

I never heard of it but I might check it out.

I remember a few years ago, one of the problems I was trying to solve was this ethical connundrum I had, where I wanted to make games, but not games with violence in it…but then, most of the games that ‘I’ enjoyed ended up all featuring violence…I liked non-violent games too but…I couldn’t deny how violence appealed to me. I tried investigating…what is it in us that seems to prefer violence…and is it actually violence (like shooting something in a FPS)…or is it the sort of neural feedback one gets from it…and is it directly connected to violence or some other unknown variable…is it the “twitch” mechanics…Why do I always have more of a “kick” with violent games than, say, an exploratory adventure game? I’m still trying to figure that one out. I just finished Bioshock Infinite…and I would have played other games on my backlog…but I picked it because I knew the mechanics would provide immediate fun…if it wasn’t a shooter, I might enjoy the ambience and story…but it wouldn’t be as appealing.

To me, the holy grail of gaming, is a non-violent game that manages gameplay that is as fun or more fun than those that feature violence. I have yet to play such a game in all these years.

7

Tetris :anjou_happy:

If I was going to come up with a possible answer to violence appeal in video games off the top of my head with no real evidence, it might appease some innate need of being capable of defeating threats to defend the tribe (despite not being real). Maybe that’s why power fantasies are so popular.

8

I liked the game, but don’t pay attention to its community because it’s pretty bad.

9

Yeah Tetris doesn’t do it for me. Because you can’t wrap around a story and game world around it or characters. But I was watching a JSRF play today and it made me feel…it’s still a power fantasie (the grinding at high speeds) but no one gets harmed. I guess you could say the same about racing games…altough racing games don’t personally give me that kick…And I still get much more of a kick rifling someone in Bioshock than JSRF. But yes, I do think it has to do with with what you mentioned. Our whole culture is heavily predicated upon this idea of power still…I wish there was a way to bridge that reality with a free future for all. I also tried developing a good story without drama…I mean…where people were strictly relating in terms of cooperation and no antogonist«m…It’s a fun exercise. I looove this kind of stuff…the more outside the box the better. I want innovation damnit!!! New paradigm.

10

I was going to bring up Jet Set Radio Future, but you bet me to it. I think we need to seperate the desire for adrenaline and action from a desire for violence. It may still be that, when all is said and done, we prefer games that give us power over something - but that doesn’t necessarily entail power over others. For example, we might become empowered in the pursuit of some goal, such as helping gather resources for their impoverished community. Games have done things like in the past, often just as side quests, but have seldom merged them well with action mechanics.

In Undertale’s case, there is a lot of playing with the clichés of 8 and 16-bit RPGs, which is in itself is interesting enough to keep the player motivated. The action sequences (bullet hell) are mostly about avoidance.

11

Burning Rangers. All you ever fight against are robots gone haywire, and the entire goal of the game is putting out fires and saving people.

As for Undertale, I got reasonably far but never finished it. I’d still have to go back to it but I just didn’t really like the gameplay.