“Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS.” And in the 2015 hit game “Undertale” developed by American Indie Developer and Composer Toby Fox, the two meet once more years later!
Released Sept. 15, 2015, “Undertale” explores an RPG (role-player game) world full of unique monsters, friends, and enemies. In the Underground, the player controls a child through a journey that takes a lot of determination. “Undertale” has an “emphasis on humor, character dialogue, and player choice,” making it possible to go through the whole game without killing any enemies. With 93 different discovered endings, almost everything you do in this single player game matters.
Most recently, “Undertale” celebrated its 10th anniversary! To celebrate, there was a two-day Twitch charity stream hosted by the creator of the game, Toby Fox, and video game merch company Fangamer.
Alongside the celebration, they had a goal to help raise money for Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also called Doctors Without Borders, which is an independent international medical humanitarian organization that provides aid to people in more than 70 countries whose survival is being threatened. The fundraiser raised $336,438 and featured an alternative version of the song “Undertale” with various new themes, characters, boss fights, and animations during idle time, paired with comments from fans celebrating the game and sharing its impact on their lives.
Despite how popular “Undertale” is, I hadn’t played it until recently. I don’t actually have a reason as to why it took me so long to play the game, and I’m definitely upset I didn’t play it sooner. Taking into account how long the game has been out, this review is going to contain a massive amount of spoilers. For fans, know that most of the information provided here is also based on the completion of a neutral route of the game. Within the average gametime being six hours, I took four and a half hours to complete it. This game is 100% worth going through on your own for the first time, so continue at your own discretion!
Within the actual game, the characters are well-thought-out, intricate, and clearly interactive even outside of the main game. You play as Frisk, though you only learn Frisk’s name in the True Pacifist Route, which, for added context, is the route where you choose to be the most selfless you could be by not killing any characters. Depending on your actions, the other NPCs and characters will either interpret Frisk as merciful and kind or just violent. I blame the adorable character design, but Frisk is definitely a favorite because of their quirks.
While not originally being a favorite for me, the sentient golden flower Flowey became the best character in the whole game after taking on his “Omega” form at the end of the neutral route. While I found his boss fight difficult, it was instantly recognizable as the true final battle, and I really liked it. It involves multiple different phases that require the player to request assistance from each of the six SOULs.
Alphys, the royal scientist, is introverted and loud all at the same time. She is so well fleshed-out that it actually surprised me upon hearing details of her story in the neutral route. She is super lovable because she has the mind of a genius, and yet she also has the personality of a literal teenage girl. Her crush on Undyne and bisexuality is written into the game superbly, and it adds refreshing comic relief without taking away from the main plot line.
The same can be said about the ton of other characters in the game: Sans and Papyrus, the notably more popular characters of the cast, have impressive lore and backstories despite only being on your screen for around 25 minutes altogether, depending on the route you choose, ignoring battle time. I think this, and the fact that players can go through the game without being violent at all, go perfectly together and help make “Undertale” such a good game.
Moving on to the actual gameplay, it’s simple but fun; the fights are fair, skill-based, and adjusted depending on who you’re fighting with. The graphics themselves are really good, especially for a 2D RPG. Locations like Snowdin and Waterfall are really nice and bright in color, and each area is unique and adds to the fact that you’re underground (in the Underground, to be exact).
I like how basic the battle screens are to the point that they aren’t overwhelming, and you can actually take a second to think about the consequences of your actions. You can either fight the opponent, act, use an item, or give them (or yourself) mercy. I will say, depending on the character, using the “act” option tends to result in really funny dialogue or more lore details. The attack system is based on a damage bar that moves back and forth over an eye-like image; hitting the direct center deals more damage, which wasn’t hard at all to figure out when playing for the first time.
The soundtrack of the game also deserves a shoutout. With over 100 different tracks, each one carries a ton of emotion and is worth listening to outside of the game. After “Undertale,” Toby Fox was asked to compose music for numerous other games, including “Hiveswap,” “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” and “Pokémon Sword and Shield.” Looking at his work since the web comic “Homestuck,” it’s no surprise that the music of “Undertale” is absolutely remarkable. The tracks connect to each other through a number of different leitmotifs and help tell the game’s story. Hearing each song as you fight different adversaries helps give the game an immersive atmosphere and connect with the scenes and characters.
Many fans, myself included, enjoy the fact that “Undertale” is jam-packed with Easter eggs and secrets. This wouldn’t be my personal game review if I didn’t take the time to explain my favorite Easter egg: if you enter a character’s name instead of your own on the naming screen at the start of the game, you’ll prompt a different reaction text from the corresponding character. For example, if you enter “Metta,” short for Mettaton, he’ll respond “OOOOH!! ARE YOU PROMOTING MY BRAND?” while others like Flowey will say “I already CHOSE that name” and won’t let you continue. Finding these secrets only adds to the enjoyment of playing “Undertale.”
Playing the game for the first time is an unforgettable experience, thanks to its content and how effectively it tells its story. The game is constantly reminding you about determination and shows the importance of looking beyond power: a hero also has compassion, restraint, and kindness. There’s a whole world where you aren’t looking, so you can find “Undertale” on Nintendo, PC Services (ex. Steam), PlayStation, and Xbox for around $15 or less.
