So remember when I started Corner of Horror and talked about Five Nights at Freddy’s, a horror game that I just cannot stand yet it managed to get a whole lot of publicity and popularity? Yeah, I still don’t like it. But if anything created an even bigger fandom, it had to be the indie game, Undertale. But unlike Five Nights at Freddy’s, I actually like Undertale. In fact, I love Undertale. Let’s talk about why I love Undertale so much.
Undertale takes place in a world filled with humans and monsters. After a war broke out, the monsters were forced underground and were separated by humans by a barrier. So now the monsters live out their days underground, hoping to reach the surface again one day. You play as a young genderless child who finds himself in this world, and here, you decide on weather you want to fight every enemy you face, kill everything, or spare everything without hurting them. And so, you make your way across the world with your goal set in mind, to reach the castle, meet the king, and find a way back to the surface. And along the way, hilarity ensues.
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at the self-aware, tongue-in-cheek style of humor of any game before like I have Undertale. There are just so much great jokes and lively characters that make the world seem less try hard with the humor and more genuine. Despite the game being six hours long, you actually grow to like these characters more and more (Assuming you did the Pacifist Route) than some other games I played. You got characters like the loving Toriel, the fight obsessed Undyne, the nerdy weeaboo Alphys, the ever so delightful Mettaton and don’t even get me started on the skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. These two are the perfect kinds of characters for their dialogue and their roles in the story. And that’s just the main group of characters. There are so many other characters that you will meet in the game that are just as fun to talk and listen to, like Temmie and her village of Temmies, the store clerk Burgerpants who despises his job with a passion, the spider lady Muffet who desires money to help her fellow spiders and so much more. This game has a plethora of NPCs that all have fun dialogue and fun interactions with the main character that it is honestly makes exploring the world so much fun. But how is the actual gameplay?
Undertale is a sort of RPG game. I say sorta because it has a twist. While it is turn based, it also acts as a sort of bullet hell game. When the enemy attacks, you have to dodge their stream of attacks for a period of time until you get the chance to attack back. Once you do, you can of course kill them if you so desire. But if you want to go full Pacifist, you need to charm them, talk to them, or make them feel better about themselves or some other way. Only when they feel better can you spare them. Or kill them if you are a truly evil bastard. The music in this game is also a lot of fun. It’s amazing how Toby Fox can take just a few music tracks and make so much great songs with it. I’m sure we’ve all been blasted with covers and remixes of Megalovania, but I think the best song in the game is actually Hopes and Dreams, the theme of the final boss from the Pacifist Run. It is the perfect tune for such a path. But nothing in this game is better than the small little moments. Moments like finding the statue in the rain that plays a little music box. Moments where you are walking through the house at the end of the game and looking into the mirror. Moments where you go into the secret lab and are horrified at what is inside. And moments like finishing everything and exploring the underground to talk to all the characters again. This game is just filled with so many great little moments that I can’t get enough of it. These moments bring a smile to my face in laughter and joy and even sometimes bring me to the verge of crying (Disclaimer: Nik as never cried at a video game before and never will).
But, if you think we can’t talk about Undertale without talking about the seedy underbelly…
Look, fans in general are annoying. They all have their bad seeds in them. Undertale just had a lot more because Undertale was, despite all the themes and dark undertones, was a game aimed at children. And because of that, it was a game that got an audience of people that weren’t mature yet. Can they be bad? Oh yes. But that has no merits on the game itself. And yet despite that, because the game got so popular, this game is hated by so many people. I don’t think there is any other way to approach this game. You either love it and enjoyed every second of it, or you hated it and want nothing more to do with it. But, I think it’s clear what I think of this game.
Undertale is a classic to many people, for good reason. It’s a game that you could just play for a day, and get nostalgic when you hear the music the next. It just has that kind of feeling to it and I love it so much. And I am excited to see what Toby has in store for the sequel, Deltarune. I give this game a solid recommendation to anyone who is even remotely interested in this game.
Next time: We go for a long walk in the woods
Undertale takes place in a world filled with humans and monsters. After a war broke out, the monsters were forced underground and were separated by humans by a barrier. So now the monsters live out their days underground, hoping to reach the surface again one day. You play as a young genderless child who finds himself in this world, and here, you decide on weather you want to fight every enemy you face, kill everything, or spare everything without hurting them. And so, you make your way across the world with your goal set in mind, to reach the castle, meet the king, and find a way back to the surface. And along the way, hilarity ensues.
I don’t think I’ve ever laughed at the self-aware, tongue-in-cheek style of humor of any game before like I have Undertale. There are just so much great jokes and lively characters that make the world seem less try hard with the humor and more genuine. Despite the game being six hours long, you actually grow to like these characters more and more (Assuming you did the Pacifist Route) than some other games I played. You got characters like the loving Toriel, the fight obsessed Undyne, the nerdy weeaboo Alphys, the ever so delightful Mettaton and don’t even get me started on the skeleton brothers, Sans and Papyrus. These two are the perfect kinds of characters for their dialogue and their roles in the story. And that’s just the main group of characters. There are so many other characters that you will meet in the game that are just as fun to talk and listen to, like Temmie and her village of Temmies, the store clerk Burgerpants who despises his job with a passion, the spider lady Muffet who desires money to help her fellow spiders and so much more. This game has a plethora of NPCs that all have fun dialogue and fun interactions with the main character that it is honestly makes exploring the world so much fun. But how is the actual gameplay?
Undertale is a sort of RPG game. I say sorta because it has a twist. While it is turn based, it also acts as a sort of bullet hell game. When the enemy attacks, you have to dodge their stream of attacks for a period of time until you get the chance to attack back. Once you do, you can of course kill them if you so desire. But if you want to go full Pacifist, you need to charm them, talk to them, or make them feel better about themselves or some other way. Only when they feel better can you spare them. Or kill them if you are a truly evil bastard. The music in this game is also a lot of fun. It’s amazing how Toby Fox can take just a few music tracks and make so much great songs with it. I’m sure we’ve all been blasted with covers and remixes of Megalovania, but I think the best song in the game is actually Hopes and Dreams, the theme of the final boss from the Pacifist Run. It is the perfect tune for such a path. But nothing in this game is better than the small little moments. Moments like finding the statue in the rain that plays a little music box. Moments where you are walking through the house at the end of the game and looking into the mirror. Moments where you go into the secret lab and are horrified at what is inside. And moments like finishing everything and exploring the underground to talk to all the characters again. This game is just filled with so many great little moments that I can’t get enough of it. These moments bring a smile to my face in laughter and joy and even sometimes bring me to the verge of crying (Disclaimer: Nik as never cried at a video game before and never will).
But, if you think we can’t talk about Undertale without talking about the seedy underbelly…
Look, fans in general are annoying. They all have their bad seeds in them. Undertale just had a lot more because Undertale was, despite all the themes and dark undertones, was a game aimed at children. And because of that, it was a game that got an audience of people that weren’t mature yet. Can they be bad? Oh yes. But that has no merits on the game itself. And yet despite that, because the game got so popular, this game is hated by so many people. I don’t think there is any other way to approach this game. You either love it and enjoyed every second of it, or you hated it and want nothing more to do with it. But, I think it’s clear what I think of this game.
Undertale is a classic to many people, for good reason. It’s a game that you could just play for a day, and get nostalgic when you hear the music the next. It just has that kind of feeling to it and I love it so much. And I am excited to see what Toby has in store for the sequel, Deltarune. I give this game a solid recommendation to anyone who is even remotely interested in this game.
Next time: We go for a long walk in the woods