willn46
This review contains spoilers
I’ve made no secret in the past about my disdain for Undertale. I’ve mentioned it in various reviews, and even written two full-length essays detailing my problems with the game. But just like George Lucas before me, I realize I may have gone too far in some places.
Back in 2019 or so, I became aware of the JRPG genre at large. I’d played a couple Mario RPGs before and I knew about Pokémon, but this was an entirely new world for me. There were so many brilliant stories, beautiful worlds, and complex systems to explore, and I loved every bit of them. Since I also had an interest in game design, I decided I wanted to make a JRPG of my own one day, a goal that I still hope to eventually achieve.
However, I was stuck on how to make my game stand out, so I turned to JRPG forums for some helpful advice. This, of course, was a major mistake on my part, as I soon encountered all forms of libel against my favorite games, as well as other ones I thought looked cool. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it, or what information I should and shouldn’t believe, and became insecure about my tastes as a result.
Around the same time, I finally got around to playing the beloved indie darling Undertale. It was fine, but I didn’t care for it as much as most people did. There was one line that stuck with me from the end of the genocide run, though: “HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV. Every time a number increases, that feeling... That's me.” The more I thought about that line, the more the thought occurred to me: this was a game made to deliberately mock the genre I loved, for the people who mocked that genre. It made too much sense. Why else would the gameplay be seemingly made for people who hated turn-based RPGs? Surely that line couldn’t be an accident, right?
Apparently, I was the only one who thought so, because everywhere I looked there was nothing but unending praise for Undertale. It was profound, it was original, it was a work of art and if you disagreed then clearly you were the problem. And as someone who disagreed, I took the only natural course of action and decided to be a problem. I insulted people who enjoyed the game, dismissed anything it might have done well, and blamed any problems with the JRPG genre on the fact that “clearly, indie developers aren’t making anything better because they’re too busy trying to copy Undertale”. Yes, it made no sense, but I didn’t care. I thought I was in the right. I thought I was justified.
But now that I’ve had the chance to talk to some people, I realize how dumb and selfish I’ve sounded. Even if Undertale didn’t work for me, there are tons of people out there it clearly did work for, and that’s great. Plus, a lot of those people still love other JRPGs, so maybe Undertale wasn’t made specifically for people who hate the genre. Maybe that line was just an accident; After all, game development is a tough process, and everyone’s bound to make mistakes. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I used my own insecurities as an excuse to hurt other people, and that’s never okay. So to anyone out there reading this that I hurt with what I did or said: I’m sorry. I don’t need any kind of forgiveness for my actions. The only person who has to forgive me is myself, because there’s nothing wrong with me enjoying the games I love.
I still want to finish my game one day, but I can’t do it out of spite. I have to do it out of passion, like I’m sure Toby Fox did when he made Undertale. So, thanks, Toby. You helped me find a better route through life. Here’s hoping you live yours in the best way possible, and good luck with Deltarune.
Back in 2019 or so, I became aware of the JRPG genre at large. I’d played a couple Mario RPGs before and I knew about Pokémon, but this was an entirely new world for me. There were so many brilliant stories, beautiful worlds, and complex systems to explore, and I loved every bit of them. Since I also had an interest in game design, I decided I wanted to make a JRPG of my own one day, a goal that I still hope to eventually achieve.
However, I was stuck on how to make my game stand out, so I turned to JRPG forums for some helpful advice. This, of course, was a major mistake on my part, as I soon encountered all forms of libel against my favorite games, as well as other ones I thought looked cool. I wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it, or what information I should and shouldn’t believe, and became insecure about my tastes as a result.
Around the same time, I finally got around to playing the beloved indie darling Undertale. It was fine, but I didn’t care for it as much as most people did. There was one line that stuck with me from the end of the genocide run, though: “HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV. Every time a number increases, that feeling... That's me.” The more I thought about that line, the more the thought occurred to me: this was a game made to deliberately mock the genre I loved, for the people who mocked that genre. It made too much sense. Why else would the gameplay be seemingly made for people who hated turn-based RPGs? Surely that line couldn’t be an accident, right?
Apparently, I was the only one who thought so, because everywhere I looked there was nothing but unending praise for Undertale. It was profound, it was original, it was a work of art and if you disagreed then clearly you were the problem. And as someone who disagreed, I took the only natural course of action and decided to be a problem. I insulted people who enjoyed the game, dismissed anything it might have done well, and blamed any problems with the JRPG genre on the fact that “clearly, indie developers aren’t making anything better because they’re too busy trying to copy Undertale”. Yes, it made no sense, but I didn’t care. I thought I was in the right. I thought I was justified.
But now that I’ve had the chance to talk to some people, I realize how dumb and selfish I’ve sounded. Even if Undertale didn’t work for me, there are tons of people out there it clearly did work for, and that’s great. Plus, a lot of those people still love other JRPGs, so maybe Undertale wasn’t made specifically for people who hate the genre. Maybe that line was just an accident; After all, game development is a tough process, and everyone’s bound to make mistakes. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I used my own insecurities as an excuse to hurt other people, and that’s never okay. So to anyone out there reading this that I hurt with what I did or said: I’m sorry. I don’t need any kind of forgiveness for my actions. The only person who has to forgive me is myself, because there’s nothing wrong with me enjoying the games I love.
I still want to finish my game one day, but I can’t do it out of spite. I have to do it out of passion, like I’m sure Toby Fox did when he made Undertale. So, thanks, Toby. You helped me find a better route through life. Here’s hoping you live yours in the best way possible, and good luck with Deltarune.
Happy belated Festivus, everyone. Sorry my airing of grievances couldn't come sooner; I had work to do. I've meant to get this off my chest for a while, but I couldn't quite find the words until now. Hopefully it'll help to just get something out.
I first reviewed Undertale about a year ago, when I was far less experienced and hadn't fully sorted out my feelings on it. I was rather harsh towards it, perhaps unjustly so. Although I should preface this by saying my opinion on the game hasn't improved since I wrote that review. If anything, I like it less now. So for those of you hoping for a fluffy, happy ending where all sins are forgiven and everyone gets to be friends, you won't get it here.
My main issues with the game still stand: the combat is incredibly simplistic, relying heavily on trial and error to spare enemies rather than anything mechanically deep. Furthermore, I find its deconstruction of JRPG tropes and gaming tropes as a whole incredibly shallow. The themes presented range from outright wrong (I know I'm not the first one to say this, but is it really the player's fault for not instantly knowing how to spare Toriel?) to having been repeated before or since in other, better games that don't get half as much attention as the beloved indie darling.
Ultimately, that's the main reason why Undertale bothers me as much as it does: It's derivative at best and frustrating at worst, yet people hail it like the second coming of Christ. I know we should judge games regardless of their reception, but the internet's bias towards Undertale is hard to ignore. Countless games are criticized for shallow morality systems and cheap theory-baiting, but when Undertale does the same things it's the gold standard for storytelling and player choice. The general public rolls its collective eyeballs at every JRPG announcement, but will gladly make an exception for another quirky, Earthbound-inspired indie game. And in the process, countless innovative games suffocate beneath the pile, left to be despised, discarded, or bankrupted.
For the longest time, I worried about what all this could mean for the future of the games industry. If genuine works of art could never have their voices heard over the obnoxious screaming of a pretentious, self-indulgent game critic, would people really keep making them? Would the creativity die out in favor of baiting out reactions from Youtubers and insulting everyone who disagrees? I just couldn't accept that, so I lashed out at Undertale. I blamed it for everything I hated in the industry, and I didn't care how I sounded. I just wanted to take it down a notch, to hopefully give one of the games I loved one of the infinite chances the internet affords it.
But eventually, I realized something: they already have those chances. For as much shit as a lot of my favorite games get, they still have tons of people on the internet who absolutely love them. They have fanbases and communities more caring and dedicated than Undertale's could ever dream of. They have me, and I have people I can talk to about my interests to try to support them. With all that considered, maybe things aren't so bad after all.
So yes, Undertale isn't a great game, and I can and will criticize it, but it's not the future. It's just another indie game, as popular as it may be, in a galaxy's worth of fantastic experiences. And people are living and creating those experiences every day, and they won't stop any time soon. And neither will I, because why should I let a game like that decide how my story ends?
I first reviewed Undertale about a year ago, when I was far less experienced and hadn't fully sorted out my feelings on it. I was rather harsh towards it, perhaps unjustly so. Although I should preface this by saying my opinion on the game hasn't improved since I wrote that review. If anything, I like it less now. So for those of you hoping for a fluffy, happy ending where all sins are forgiven and everyone gets to be friends, you won't get it here.
My main issues with the game still stand: the combat is incredibly simplistic, relying heavily on trial and error to spare enemies rather than anything mechanically deep. Furthermore, I find its deconstruction of JRPG tropes and gaming tropes as a whole incredibly shallow. The themes presented range from outright wrong (I know I'm not the first one to say this, but is it really the player's fault for not instantly knowing how to spare Toriel?) to having been repeated before or since in other, better games that don't get half as much attention as the beloved indie darling.
Ultimately, that's the main reason why Undertale bothers me as much as it does: It's derivative at best and frustrating at worst, yet people hail it like the second coming of Christ. I know we should judge games regardless of their reception, but the internet's bias towards Undertale is hard to ignore. Countless games are criticized for shallow morality systems and cheap theory-baiting, but when Undertale does the same things it's the gold standard for storytelling and player choice. The general public rolls its collective eyeballs at every JRPG announcement, but will gladly make an exception for another quirky, Earthbound-inspired indie game. And in the process, countless innovative games suffocate beneath the pile, left to be despised, discarded, or bankrupted.
For the longest time, I worried about what all this could mean for the future of the games industry. If genuine works of art could never have their voices heard over the obnoxious screaming of a pretentious, self-indulgent game critic, would people really keep making them? Would the creativity die out in favor of baiting out reactions from Youtubers and insulting everyone who disagrees? I just couldn't accept that, so I lashed out at Undertale. I blamed it for everything I hated in the industry, and I didn't care how I sounded. I just wanted to take it down a notch, to hopefully give one of the games I loved one of the infinite chances the internet affords it.
But eventually, I realized something: they already have those chances. For as much shit as a lot of my favorite games get, they still have tons of people on the internet who absolutely love them. They have fanbases and communities more caring and dedicated than Undertale's could ever dream of. They have me, and I have people I can talk to about my interests to try to support them. With all that considered, maybe things aren't so bad after all.
So yes, Undertale isn't a great game, and I can and will criticize it, but it's not the future. It's just another indie game, as popular as it may be, in a galaxy's worth of fantastic experiences. And people are living and creating those experiences every day, and they won't stop any time soon. And neither will I, because why should I let a game like that decide how my story ends?
This review contains spoilers
"If this game is in your top 10 you don't deserve human rights"
Is what my original review of this game read. While I stand by that assertion, I thought it wise to further elaborate rather than leaving people to interpret some dumb joke. After all, it would be wise to soothe any potential future employers who both love Undertale and spend an unhealthy amount of time reading video game reviews by strangers on the internet.
In my opinion, Undertale is the Frozen (2013) of video games. It's not bad by any stretch of the word: it's pretty, the music is great, it's pretty funny and the characters are mostly likeable. It did not, however, deserve to become a worldwide phenomenon, especially when Tangled (2011) is a much better movie.
Undertale attempts to deconstruct a tried-and-true formula: the turn-based JRPG. Everyone and their [Hochi Mama] knows how the game works, so I'll simply turn my attention to the game's infamous genocide route. This part of the game, more than any other, emphasizes what I consider to be Undertale's key metatextual themes: grinding and completionism. The genocide route requires hours of tedious grinding to reach an unsatisfying completion reward, indicating the game's dislike of such design choices. This is a good idea on paper, and the themes' relevance only increases as more AAA games incorporate needless RPG elements and experience bars for the sake of padding out a runtime. What should games be, after all, if not fun?
The problem, in my eyes, is that Undertale fails to spread its core message, largely because it is not fun. The concept of dodging the enemies' bullets is less an innovation and more a gimmick that far overstays its welcome. Wow, you can dodge in a turn-based game. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga did that 12 years prior, but Fawful has yet to earn his well-deserved status of "sexiest man alive". In a similar vein, the puzzles fail to maintain any semblance of intrigue because the ones that aren't already solved are little more than simple annoyances.
I'll fully admit that I can never take an unbiased look at Undertale; Its fanatics killed too much of my sanity for me to truly spare it. But on that note, I want to end my review by asking, was Undertale's message really a necessary one? In concept, turn-based combat sounds boring and the concept of levels seems a poor surrogate for player skill. But I've played many turn-based JRPG's with combat and customization far more intriguing than a red heart dodging white dots. I've learned far more about game design and player psychology from Persona 5's by-the-book story and standard gameplay experience than I have from Undertale's metatextual subversions. Undertale has a lot of potentially novel things to say about how and why we play video games, but it rings hollow for me when so many other games say so much more just by existing.
Is what my original review of this game read. While I stand by that assertion, I thought it wise to further elaborate rather than leaving people to interpret some dumb joke. After all, it would be wise to soothe any potential future employers who both love Undertale and spend an unhealthy amount of time reading video game reviews by strangers on the internet.
In my opinion, Undertale is the Frozen (2013) of video games. It's not bad by any stretch of the word: it's pretty, the music is great, it's pretty funny and the characters are mostly likeable. It did not, however, deserve to become a worldwide phenomenon, especially when Tangled (2011) is a much better movie.
Undertale attempts to deconstruct a tried-and-true formula: the turn-based JRPG. Everyone and their [Hochi Mama] knows how the game works, so I'll simply turn my attention to the game's infamous genocide route. This part of the game, more than any other, emphasizes what I consider to be Undertale's key metatextual themes: grinding and completionism. The genocide route requires hours of tedious grinding to reach an unsatisfying completion reward, indicating the game's dislike of such design choices. This is a good idea on paper, and the themes' relevance only increases as more AAA games incorporate needless RPG elements and experience bars for the sake of padding out a runtime. What should games be, after all, if not fun?
The problem, in my eyes, is that Undertale fails to spread its core message, largely because it is not fun. The concept of dodging the enemies' bullets is less an innovation and more a gimmick that far overstays its welcome. Wow, you can dodge in a turn-based game. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga did that 12 years prior, but Fawful has yet to earn his well-deserved status of "sexiest man alive". In a similar vein, the puzzles fail to maintain any semblance of intrigue because the ones that aren't already solved are little more than simple annoyances.
I'll fully admit that I can never take an unbiased look at Undertale; Its fanatics killed too much of my sanity for me to truly spare it. But on that note, I want to end my review by asking, was Undertale's message really a necessary one? In concept, turn-based combat sounds boring and the concept of levels seems a poor surrogate for player skill. But I've played many turn-based JRPG's with combat and customization far more intriguing than a red heart dodging white dots. I've learned far more about game design and player psychology from Persona 5's by-the-book story and standard gameplay experience than I have from Undertale's metatextual subversions. Undertale has a lot of potentially novel things to say about how and why we play video games, but it rings hollow for me when so many other games say so much more just by existing.