I first bought Undertale close to when it was released on the PS4/Vita after hearing about all the praise it had been receiving. I started playing it, but after about an hour I gave up on it as I wasn't enjoying the combat system and I couldn't see what all the hype had been about. Earlier this year I finished a few other backlogged indie games so I figured it would be a good time to give Undertale another shot.
This time around I became completely immersed into the game's bizarre and charming world right from the very start. The art design was pretty simple, but each location still felt unusual and unique, and I never could anticipate what I was going to see next. The world was filled with so many strange places and unpredictable situations which generally kept a smile on my face while I played. The game's soundtrack was incredibly catchy too with tunes that fit the diverse landscapes perfectly.
While the game's world was fantastic, what drew me in the most was the cast of zany characters. Every NPC, especially the ones you interact with regularly, were so charming, and their dialogue was so smartly written too (and generally hilarious), which imbued them each with so much personality. I absolutely adored the elaborate character headshots that were displayed on screen whenever the NPCs talked. These really amplified the characters' personification and infused more emotion into conversations than I would have expected. Lastly, the sound design for the characters was incredible. Each character makes their own unique sounds when they talk (think Banjo Kazooie), and I felt this added a great level of individuality to each character.
Undertale also had a very touching story, too, which I won't spoil here. Thankfully, I had managed to avoid spoilers before my playthrough, so it was full of great twists and surprises, and I found it to be captivating from start to finish. I know a lot of people out there say the pacifist/genocide mechanic is a gimmick, but I enjoyed this element a lot more than I had expected to. I played through the campaign twice, with my first playthrough being a completely blind run that I finished with the Neutral ending. Immediately after finishing this run, I went through the game again for the True Pacifist ending, this time with the help of a guide. Both of these endings were great, especially that of the True Pacifist playthrough. I initially planned one playing through the game a third time for the Genocide ending, but after spending so much time with these characters I don't have the heart to do that.
The only aspect of the game that I didn't truly love was the combat. That's not to say that I didn't like it, as at times I adored it, but a lot of the time I wished it had been anything other than bullet-hell dodging. I did appreciate how varied these battles were and how each enemy and boss fight felt very different from the others in the game.
Undertale was a huge surprise to me. I put off playing it for years because I figured it going to be gimmicky and that it wasn't going to live up to the acclaim it had received. I am so grateful that I decided to play it as it has quickly become one of the best indie games I have ever played, let alone one of the best video games I have ever played. I truly fell in love with the world and characters that Toby Fox has created. Undertale was an absolute gem. What a uniquely wonderful experience.
This time around I became completely immersed into the game's bizarre and charming world right from the very start. The art design was pretty simple, but each location still felt unusual and unique, and I never could anticipate what I was going to see next. The world was filled with so many strange places and unpredictable situations which generally kept a smile on my face while I played. The game's soundtrack was incredibly catchy too with tunes that fit the diverse landscapes perfectly.
While the game's world was fantastic, what drew me in the most was the cast of zany characters. Every NPC, especially the ones you interact with regularly, were so charming, and their dialogue was so smartly written too (and generally hilarious), which imbued them each with so much personality. I absolutely adored the elaborate character headshots that were displayed on screen whenever the NPCs talked. These really amplified the characters' personification and infused more emotion into conversations than I would have expected. Lastly, the sound design for the characters was incredible. Each character makes their own unique sounds when they talk (think Banjo Kazooie), and I felt this added a great level of individuality to each character.
Undertale also had a very touching story, too, which I won't spoil here. Thankfully, I had managed to avoid spoilers before my playthrough, so it was full of great twists and surprises, and I found it to be captivating from start to finish. I know a lot of people out there say the pacifist/genocide mechanic is a gimmick, but I enjoyed this element a lot more than I had expected to. I played through the campaign twice, with my first playthrough being a completely blind run that I finished with the Neutral ending. Immediately after finishing this run, I went through the game again for the True Pacifist ending, this time with the help of a guide. Both of these endings were great, especially that of the True Pacifist playthrough. I initially planned one playing through the game a third time for the Genocide ending, but after spending so much time with these characters I don't have the heart to do that.
The only aspect of the game that I didn't truly love was the combat. That's not to say that I didn't like it, as at times I adored it, but a lot of the time I wished it had been anything other than bullet-hell dodging. I did appreciate how varied these battles were and how each enemy and boss fight felt very different from the others in the game.
Undertale was a huge surprise to me. I put off playing it for years because I figured it going to be gimmicky and that it wasn't going to live up to the acclaim it had received. I am so grateful that I decided to play it as it has quickly become one of the best indie games I have ever played, let alone one of the best video games I have ever played. I truly fell in love with the world and characters that Toby Fox has created. Undertale was an absolute gem. What a uniquely wonderful experience.