This is actually my second playthrough of Undertale, my first being on PC many years ago. This time I wanted to get the Platinum trophy on PlayStation. I remembered this game very, very fondly. But my gosh... what a letdown!!!!
The things I like most about it, I still find to be incredibly strong. The unique way in which combat is conducted is a joy with so much variety and it makes random encounters something I look forward to versus dreading. I also like the overall vision of deconstructing the typical RPG story and its many tropes, and the music is quite good (though nowhere near the level of praise that I feel many give it).
What really frustrated me this time around, however, was the writing. This simply is not my style. I could handle the quirkiness of the first act with Sans and Papyrus and their joking, but as the game progresses it literally felt like growing nails on a chalkboard to me. By the time we meet Dr. Alphys and the game starts literally stopping you from moving every two seconds to show you a freaking fake social media post or read a text or receive a phone call, I legitimately wanted to throw my controller through the television. The silliness of this all I may not have enjoyed, but the game has egregious pacing issues in its final act. It's tough to care and have the emotional reaction that the story intends when there's so much silliness and stupidity in characters on display and so much blocking of your forward momentum by just bombarding you with endless ridiculous dialogue.
I am quite literally shocked that outlets would even dare list this as a top 20 game of all-time. It's ambitious, and it deserves a ton of credit for that. But there are so many flaws (like the ugly artwork, too) that people must just be overlooking because it's "different". Well, not me. Not this time.
The things I like most about it, I still find to be incredibly strong. The unique way in which combat is conducted is a joy with so much variety and it makes random encounters something I look forward to versus dreading. I also like the overall vision of deconstructing the typical RPG story and its many tropes, and the music is quite good (though nowhere near the level of praise that I feel many give it).
What really frustrated me this time around, however, was the writing. This simply is not my style. I could handle the quirkiness of the first act with Sans and Papyrus and their joking, but as the game progresses it literally felt like growing nails on a chalkboard to me. By the time we meet Dr. Alphys and the game starts literally stopping you from moving every two seconds to show you a freaking fake social media post or read a text or receive a phone call, I legitimately wanted to throw my controller through the television. The silliness of this all I may not have enjoyed, but the game has egregious pacing issues in its final act. It's tough to care and have the emotional reaction that the story intends when there's so much silliness and stupidity in characters on display and so much blocking of your forward momentum by just bombarding you with endless ridiculous dialogue.
I am quite literally shocked that outlets would even dare list this as a top 20 game of all-time. It's ambitious, and it deserves a ton of credit for that. But there are so many flaws (like the ugly artwork, too) that people must just be overlooking because it's "different". Well, not me. Not this time.