(Warning: Mild spoilers ahead)
The debate over whether video games constitute art has been kicked around for a while now. It's nothing new, and I don't plan on making an argument for either side. What I will say is that I do see games as an art form, because I think of art as something created that inspires strong feelings in someone or changes their outlook. Under those criteria, Undertale succeeds. Boy, does it succeed.
Without going into a lot of specific detail, I want to talk about a single word that pops up constantly in Undertale: determination.
The various save points in the game all renew your health, and deliver a light message that fills you with determination. This concept, which starts out simply enough, eventually evolves as the game progresses to a major plot point. It becomes more than just a recurring joke about how a mouse trying to get some cheese fills you with determination..
It becomes a theme, an idea. It begins to affect you as a player. The singular word becomes an idea that is repeated both inside and outside of the game. It becomes... a meme.
Undertale is a game about choice, and living with the consequences of those choices. Players can go through the game entirely without fighting, or they can mercilessly slaughter close to every single character and enemy they encounter. Unlike most games (and media in general), the rest of the game is dramatically influenced by these decisions.
On a peaceful playthrough, the character and player's determination is tested through boss battles where you must spend every turn trying to survive. The player must dodge an onslaught of attacks while still maintaining a pacifistic approach. Eventually, the enemies can be won over. Conflict, while not avoidable, can be resolved without death.
Even the aforementioned whimsical save points are altered to reflect the way you approach the game. If you play without mercy, the save points become a counter for how many things are left alive in the area, followed by a single word: determination. It is a somber reflection of your choice, and the determination that you, as a player, must carry to see it through to the end. It represents a playthrough that is done by a player who simply looks at the game as a challenge, or looks at the ending as one of several to collect to see everything the game has to offer. The word becomes a mantra, a single phrase repeated ad infinitum to reinforce the idea that you, as a player, are committing atrocities for the sake of your own self-satisfaction.
Of course, there's no wrong way to play the game. Every path in the game was created with the intention of having players follow it, and I think that's one of the most interesting points: many games have a 'dark' or 'evil' path, but few force the player to look at why they're taking that path in the way that Undertale does.
Just kidding. A no mercy run is for monsters.
