Who's up for an essay-length post about a game everybody finished two months ago?
Undertale had been released for about two months before I gave it a try, but of course I had already noticed the game’s immense popularity. A small, cynical part of me gets annoyed when a game or show becomes so popular that everyone goes out of their way to praise it and related images fill up the galleries. Still, the reviews were uniformly positive and Earthbound is one of my favorite games, plus I found the bits and pieces of gameplay videos I watched funny, so I went in expecting something good. Any hostility I had towards Undertale melted away almost immediately after I started. By the time I played the quiz show battle, I decided it was one of the funniest games I had ever played. By the time I got the Neutral ending, I decided it was one of the most cleverly executed games I had ever played. And by the time I got the Pacifist ending, I decided it was one of the most moving pieces of media I had ever experienced. Anybody who wants to be involved in game design or just wants to have a greater appreciation for games should take a close look at Undertale. So, yeah, I’m willing to give the fanbase a pass on their enthusiastic clogging of the gallery.
The first thing to impress me was Undertale’s ability to evoke emotion. Most of the time, this comes in the form of humor. Throughout the game, humorous dialogue and descriptions made the experience a treat. I’d liken the comedy to Earthbound, though the jokes tend to go further over the top and are much closer to center stage most of the time. In particular, the humor in the dialogue helped make already believable character more endearing. Something I did not see coming, however, was that Undertale just as successfully evokes other emotions. At times, it can be heartwarming, heartbreaking, disturbing, and triumphant. It’s impressive that something as ridiculous as the snail race and something as horrifying as the True Lab can be present in the same game and neither feel out of place. In part, this comes down to atmosphere, which again I’d compare to Earthbound. Remember how Earthbound used humor and childlike innocence to hide a sinister threat, only to hit you with the hard stuff at the very end? Undertale pulls it off multiple times. As for the retro visuals, they work well for a game that is both an example and examination of RPGs. The game tries to represent the whole genre, especially Earthbound-era JRPGs, so taking the visuals back to the 16-bit era was appropriate and contrasted strikingly with the more sophisticated music. Speaking of music, the soundtrack sets the atmosphere perfectly and conveys great emotion, particularly boss fights and recurring musical themes like Flowey’s theme and the tune you first hear from the statue’s music box.
Something I’m surprised I don’t see a little more discussion of online is Undertale’s subversion of game design, player choice, and the relationship between player and game. On its surface, Undertale has all the ingredients of a conventional RPG: a young protagonist, a world of monsters, turn-based battle mechanics, level-based progression, seven powerful artifacts, etc. But the game is constantly messing with our expectations of the genre. All the monsters are in some way sympathetic. Giving the player the option to spare opponents raises uncomfortable questions. Is it really okay that most games incentivize killing? If you choose to kill instead of spare, what does that say about you? Nowhere is this more evident than in the Genocide run, which is also the most conventional in terms of RPG fair. You fight your way through monsters and grind for EXP/LV. Same as it ever was, but the game makes you feel like a sociopath for doing so. I don’t take this as a condemnation of violence in video games, so much a means of making the player think about the greater implications of what they do in games and how games are designed. Undertale’s greatest trick is in how it takes apart the flexible morality of players doing multiple runs. When some of the characters remember what you did on previous runs and openly judge you for your actions, it makes you think carefully about how you want to play the game. One Genocide run forever taints your save file. What strikes me is how effective all this is at getting in the player’s head. Here’s a game that openly dissuades you from replaying because you could ruin all the characters’ lives. I can’t do a Genocide run, because I don’t want to hurt these people. Even though I’m curious to see the rest of the game, I’m hesitant to even watch a Genocide run Let’s Play, because I know Flowey is going to call me an asshole. It’s incredible how strong the urge is to just let the characters be.
Lastly, as a fan of Earthbound, I couldn’t help but notice/geek-out over the references to Undertale’s biggest inspirational source. Every time I came across a reused asset or similarly designed room, I had a nice little twinge of nostalgia. But it isn’t just in the name of fan service. Toby Fox has a clear understanding of what made that game special and used it, partially, as a blueprint for some parts of his game. To me, this is most apparent in the Neutral final boss. In both, a child fights a chaotic and seemingly hopeless battle against a grotesque, mad god in a universe of darkness. Ultimately, the enemy is defeated through the positive emotions of the protagonist’s supporters. The same is true of the Pacifist final boss, but with more of a sense of hopefulness befitting a true ending. In short, I’d say it’s fair to consider Undertale the heir to Earthbound’s quirky little throne, though it should also be respected as its own work.
In summary, Undertale is a rare example of an overwhelmingly hyped game which actually lives up to its reputation.