Undertale - A haunting, emotional game that spins RPGs on their head

How can you cram so much humor and emotional impact into pixels?

Most beloved games of all times

Undertale is the now-legendary game produced by solo developer Toby Fox. The game, which came out in 2015, has become one of the most beloved of all time, replete with countless YouTube videos, online conversations, and different theories about its origins.

A hero's journey...or a villain's revenge.....

In Undertale, you play as a human child who falls into the Underground and must find his way out. However, the game is so much more than that. It begins with a legendary opening scene in which the player is nearly killed by Flowy, a homicidal flower. The player is saved by Toriel, a goat-like character who serves as a tutorial. Toriel introduces you to the combat system and alternative methods of resolving conflict and combat.

As the game progresses, you find more and more of the characters. You have the skeleton brothers Sans and Papyrus (both are hilarious) and the great warrior Undyne, and scientist Alphys.

The game offers multiple ways to play, relationships to develop, and scenes to explore plus three different endings based on your style of combat, followed by additional play-through's that will reveal even more of the plot.

Characters, pixels and an astonishing soundtrack

Like many indie games, Undertale takes the pixel approach. However, this shouldn't be confused with laziness or cheapness. Toby Fox crams more life and creativity into every pixel than most AAA games are able to get using the most immersive graphics ever designed. Furthermore, the game knows when it breaks out of its style, like in its shocking final boss fight when the final boss threatens to explode from the screen in a vivid blast of colors and light.

What makes Undertale even more legendary is its soundtrack, also recorded by Toby Fox. The music does an exceptional job of enhancing the action, sadness, and humor that you feel. Each zone has its own music that sets the atmosphere. Each character has a soundtrack that perfectly encapsulates their personality. Solo games are not usually known for their fantastic score, but it is clear that Toby Fox contains more talent in his pinky than most of us will be ever blessed to have.

RPG and Bullet Hell

The combat style here is one of the most creative of any RPGs ever created. Players have two options: They can attack by engaging in a series of bullet-hell like a battle that varies depending on the bad guy they are fighting. Alternatively, they can try to use a series of dialogue options to talk or act their way out of combat. Furthermore, actions have permanence. Your combat decisions will impact the final plot resolution.

...> The game's over-world is rich, detailed, and filled with secrets.

...> Players will never want to stop exploring.

The more you play the more you notice

Undertale is available on virtually all major platforms. It usually costs around $15. In 2019, Toby Fox released the first Chapter for an Undertale sequel, Deltarune.

The story is caulk full with so much lore, subtext, and plot that it is virtually impossible to conclude after one, two, three, or more play-through's. Furthermore, the more you play, the more you notice, and the more your sense of the Underground's world and character backstory evolves. "This game has more complexity than most conspiracy theories, and by the time you finish your first play-through, you will want to learn even more."

TL/DR

Between its combat, plot, and soundtrack, Undertale is one of the finest video games of the past decade.