It’s been over a year since Toby Fox released his masterpiece, Undertale on Steam for the PC and Mac, and if you somehow sidestepped the boom that this little indie game created, allow me to explain why Undertale is one of the best games you will ever play.
1. Low Barrier to Entry: Regardless of whether or not you are a gamer or are familiar with either the RPG or bullet-hell genre, you can play and beat this game. Not to say that it doesn’t present any sort of challenge, but playing through either a neutral or pacifist run of the game can be done by anyone who can move a mouse, which makes this game very friendly to non-gamers. I have played this game with gamers and non-gamers alike and both find this game to be an enjoyable experience.
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2. Expansive Story:Undertale looks like a small, 8-bit-looking adventure game, but as you learn very quickly in this game, nothing is quite how it seems. I have played this game exactly nine times and I am still finding pieces of the puzzle. What’s more, you have to play through the three main endings (neutral, pacifist, genocide) to learn the full story. As a result, this game is incredibly replayable and rewards a meticulous player. Even clicking on objects can sometimes drop hints to a much bigger story.
3. Colorful Characters: These characters stay with you. They all are incredibly unique and each have their own stories to tell. Whether it’s a pun-loving, lazy, skeleton named Sans, who speaks entirely in comic sans font, or his younger, hyper, spaghetti-loving skeletal brother Papyrus, who speaks entirely in Papyrus font, or the diva killer robot/megastar Mettaton, these characters will forever be remembered if you play this game. They are so unique and no matter if you chose to become their friend or their foe, they will make an impression on you. They each respond to violence and friendship in their own way, and that makes them feel almost real.
4. Nothing Is as It Seems: Let me explain why this is so much more than a forgettable little indie game. Without spoiling anything, this game will undoubtedly surprise you. Right from the get-go you learn that nothing is as it appears, which is something that comes back to haunt the play over and over again. Many of the main characters have deep secrets that you would never expect them to have. Not only that, but the game itself turns the RPG (role-playing game) genre on its head, and I can’t tell you why without spoiling some major plot points so just play for yourself and see. However, I can tell you that one of the ways it breaks down and rearranges this genre is by breaking the fourth wall repeatedly. But only a couple of the characters are aware of things like “save files.” This makes for some extremely interesting gameplay.
5. Morality Matters: Okay, maybe I can tell you a little more about why this game turns the RPG genre on its head without spoiling anything. The other reason this game subverts the RPG genre is because of its powerful theme of morality. Perhaps the biggest evidence of this is that you can beat Undertalewithout killing anything. This is a major step away from the typical grinding that is found in most RPGs, where you kill monsters to get experience. If you do this to every monster in Undertale you will trigger a genocide ending, where monsters flee from you, they beg you to spare their families, the music gets creepier, and should you have both the skill and the stomach to complete a genocide run, your game data will forever be scarred. In other words, you cannot get a true happy ending ever again. I have played Undertale nine times and I have not and will not complete a genocide run, because this game actually makes you feel like a horrible human being for participating in violence. One of the biggest themes in Undertale is that once you go past a certain point and fall into evil, you can never truly return from it. It’s real heavy stuff. Undertale is by no means for the faint of heart. While it can have its really cute/silly moments (like going on “dates” with your monster friends) it is also game that knows what darkness can do to a human heart. And, oh yeah, it can get hecka creepy. I couldn’t sleep after I finished the neutral and pacifist run and learned about what happens in the genocide ending.
6. The Music: The music, like the game, was created almost exclusively by Toby Fox. It is masterfully composed. Every note fits every character, scene, and environment. It can be bubbly and cute or dark and haunting, but regardless, it’s beautiful. Even if you don’t play the game, go listen to the soundtrack, it’s absolutely beautiful (especially “His Theme” and “Hopes and Dreams”).
7. LGBT-friendly: As an added bonus, this game happens to be super LGBT-friendly, featuring happy lesbian and gay relationships, while also having the Mettaton character portray some transgender themes (especially if you find out about his secret origins). With LGBT characters being almost nonexistent in many videogames, there is something to be said about having same-sex relationships in a game.
8. It’s Cheap: There’s no reason not to buy this game because it’s only $10 on Steam and it can cost even less depending on Steam’s many deals and sales. Besides, the experience is far-worth the ten bucks.
So what are you waiting for?
