Undertale May Be This Year's Best Written Game

Yahtzee Croshaw

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Undertale May Be This Year's Best Written Game

It's been a pretty solid couple of weeks for video game storytelling. Soma and The Beginner's Guide did okay, and of course there's Undertale, which I have been hankering for an opportunity to talk about at length.

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Covarr

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Still here? And still haven't played it? I can't blame you, it's not an enormously good argument to sell the game with. I mean, how would you even know it's the kind of game you'd like? Well, if it helps, it is at time of writing sitting at the top of the Metacritic charts for PC games released in the last 90 days, and at number 11 of the all-time list. So you don't have to take my word for it. Now kindly bog off and play the sodding thing through to the end before the next paragraph starts. Both ends, ideally.
I'll get right on that, as soon as I have a gaming budget again. I have not been able to afford any games since Super Mario Maker, so the next several months have been classified as "Steam Backlog time" until I have my finances in order.

But this game does look pretty dang top. I wish more comedy games would have good writing instead of whatever bullshit lazy cynical 'humor' they usually aim for. I still have bad memories of how stupid [i}Hail to the Chimp[/i] was.

P.S. Thanks
 

Zacharious-khan

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I liked the Genocide run, The two fights you actually have in that run really hit home for me the lengths at which they're going to crush you like the monster you are. The thing is Undertale would have been crap without the Genocide ending. You aren't acting morally good if its literally the only option. Knowing it's there, even if you never take part elevates the other two.
 

Aptspire

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Seeing Yahtzee write an article about Undertale fills you with DETERMINATION.

OT: I had a really good time with this game. Cried like a child in the True Ending. Went in blind on my first run, looked up how to Pacifist on my second. Best 10$ I spent on a game. (Best other 10$ on the soundtrack also)

I'll probably never reset to make a Genocide Run, however. I'm too emotionally attached to the characters to do that.
 

Gul

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I still disagree with the notion that you should not make a Zero Punctuation video out of this game. Partially because your videos tend to be fun as hell to watch, but also because otherwise you would deny this game a chance to reach your list of Top 5 2015 games - a chance it would otherwise seem to have very good odds to go for.

Besides that, I agree with just about every word. Loved the game too, and like Zacharious-khan above says, the very presence of the genocide option, even if I'll never take it, only further drives home the impact of the true ending.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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Hence the reason i refuse to play "the asshole" run of choices, back through a telltale series to see what difference, if any, they make; already too heavily invested in those characters. Cannot play Undertale with no PC, so i read away. Oops. Really must stop doing that.
 

SlumlordThanatos

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A friend of mine tried to get me to buy this game by showing me a let's play. It went over the segment where you met Papyrus and visit him in his home.

I'm not sold. My issue is that I have very little tolerance for outright silliness, and that seemed to be a large chunk of how the game works. I mean, I didn't care for Earthbound when I tried to play it, and everyone seems to be drawing parallels between that game and Undertale. Quirkiness for its own sake isn't something that appeals to me, and that seems to be most of what everyone seems to like about it.

It also doesn't help that people can't seem to talk about the game without spoiling plot points. "It's great, just go play it! I can't tell you why without ruining it!" isn't a great way to get me interested in a game. Yatzee even says it himself.

So there's not a lot of gameplay, and the story isn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure what to think about this game.

I'd still like to hear some thoughts; something this good should be worth playing, but first impressions have left me skeptical.
 

Steve the Pocket

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Does this mean the game is likely to end up on your Best Of list this year, or will you be arbitrarily sticking to your rule that only games you've featured on the show are eligible?
 

Gul

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SlumlordThanatos said:
A friend of mine tried to get me to buy this game by showing me a let's play. It went over the segment where you met Papyrus and visit him in his home.

I'm not sold. My issue is that I have very little tolerance for outright silliness, and that seemed to be a large chunk of how the game works. I mean, I didn't care for Earthbound when I tried to play it, and everyone seems to be drawing parallels between that game and Undertale. Quirkiness for its own sake isn't something that appeals to me, and that seems to be most of what everyone seems to like about it.

It also doesn't help that people can't seem to talk about the game without spoiling plot points. "It's great, just go play it! I can't tell you why without ruining it!" isn't a great way to get me interested in a game. Yatzee even says it himself.

So there's not a lot of gameplay, and the story isn't my cup of tea. I'm not sure what to think about this game.

I'd still like to hear some thoughts; something this good should be worth playing, but first impressions have left me skeptical.
Try the demo. It's free and goes far enough to give you a decent idea on why the game is so good.
 

Aptspire

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Steve the Pocket said:
Does this mean the game is likely to end up on your Best Of list this year, or will you be arbitrarily sticking to your rule that only games you've featured on the show are eligible?
Please don't exclude Undertale. It deserves, at the very least, an honorable mention. You can always put a giant spoiler warning at the very beginning, Yahtzee.
 

Thanatos2k

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I mean it's not just best written game of the year, it's straight up game of the year. Every boss is a pure joy to fight, and the game has some seriously subtle meta humor. It's also absolutely masterful at building expectations and then subverting them.

Oh, and the best game soundtrack since Nier.

Come to think of it, Nier was another game that subverted its genre by integrating elements of bullet hell shooters. Interesting....
 

Thanatos2k

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Covarr said:
I'll get right on that, as soon as I have a gaming budget again.
Yahtzee forgot to mention, the game is $10. Anyone can afford it right now!

Zacharious-khan said:
I liked the Genocide run, The two fights you actually have in that run really hit home for me the lengths at which they're going to crush you like the monster you are. The thing is Undertale would have been crap without the Genocide ending. You aren't acting morally good if its literally the only option. Knowing it's there, even if you never take part elevates the other two.
I like it too. The Genocide run has the two hardest bosses in the game, providing some legitimate challenge if you'd already finished everything else the game had to offer. The final boss in Genocide in particular is so hard it feels amazing when you finally win. It gets almost Dark Soulish - you're killed so quickly you wonder if you're even supposed to be able to win, but then you start learning the patterns and in the end you aren't getting hit at all....

SlumlordThanatos said:
A friend of mine tried to get me to buy this game by showing me a let's play. It went over the segment where you met Papyrus and visit him in his home.

I'm not sold. My issue is that I have very little tolerance for outright silliness, and that seemed to be a large chunk of how the game works.
So go through the game only in Genocide mode. You should get more than enough entertainment. There's absolutely no silliness to be found there.

The game really has something for everyone.
 

Darth_Payn

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Gul said:
I still disagree with the notion that you should not make a Zero Punctuation video out of this game. Partially because your videos tend to be fun as hell to watch, but also because otherwise you would deny this game a chance to reach your list of Top 5 2015 games - a chance it would otherwise seem to have very good odds to go for.

Besides that, I agree with just about every word. Loved the game too, and like Zacharious-khan above says, the very presence of the genocide option, even if I'll never take it, only further drives home the impact of the true ending.
I guess his logic is that if he really likes a game, it's harder to make a funny video out of it. His best ones are where he really lets a bad game have it.
 

Luminous_Umbra

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Thanatos2k said:
I mean it's not just best written game of the year, it's straight up game of the year. Every boss is a pure joy to fight, and the game has some seriously subtle meta humor. It's also absolutely masterful at building expectations and then subverting them.

Oh, and the best game soundtrack since Nier.

Come to think of it, Nier was another game that subverted its genre by integrating elements of bullet hell shooters. Interesting....
Agreed. And honestly, the sheer level of detail with choices and options just blows my mind. It's a "choices matter" game that actually has choices that matter, but also goes up and beyond.

And what I find amusing about the genocide route and Yahtzee's comments on it...
He's entirely right, the game does resent the player for their actions. Sans even points out the "completionist mindset. "Because you can, you will", or something to that effect.
 

Gul

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Darth_Payn said:
I guess his logic is that if he really likes a game, it's harder to make a funny video out of it. His best ones are where he really lets a bad game have it.
This is of course entirely true, but it still feels kind of bad that Undertale will be snubbed in awards.
 

WhiteTigerShiro

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Gul said:
I still disagree with the notion that you should not make a Zero Punctuation video out of this game. Partially because your videos tend to be fun as hell to watch, but also because otherwise you would deny this game a chance to reach your list of Top 5 2015 games - a chance it would otherwise seem to have very good odds to go for.
This right here is a review, or at least enough of one to count as a loophole, I think. That said though, a proper episode would be awesome as he goes a little more into detail on some of his reactions to thing that happen in the game, and maybe more detail on his response to the genocide run.
 

Phrozenflame500

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Luminous_Umbra said:
And what I find amusing about the genocide route and Yahtzee's comments on it...
He's entirely right, the game does resent the player for their actions. Sans even points out the "completionist mindset. "Because you can, you will", or something to that effect.
Honestly his comments are so perfect it makes me wonder exactly how much he knows about the run. Cause it's main highlight is how it deals with that problem of "you have to do it to see all the content."
 

Redryhno

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Thanatos2k said:
I mean it's not just best written game of the year, it's straight up game of the year. Every boss is a pure joy to fight, and the game has some seriously subtle meta humor. It's also absolutely masterful at building expectations and then subverting them.

Oh, and the best game soundtrack since Nier.

Come to think of it, Nier was another game that subverted its genre by integrating elements of bullet hell shooters. Interesting....
Eh...while I would say it's pretty good, it's such a slog to play through if you don't like bullet hells. It falls into the same trap alot of story heavy games do that aren't puzzles or P&Cs, in that it is much better to watch than it is to play. Honestly can't give it GOTY, still Witcher3 for me.

And that's a bit unfair, Nier innovated through it being an alternate universe in a game series, not just something brand new. But I will half-agree that some of the soundtrack is pretty good, especially God of Hyperdeath and the Bone Polka.
 

Covarr

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Thanatos2k said:
Yahtzee forgot to mention, the game is $10. Anyone can afford it right now!
If I skip a few meals, sure. I'm genuinely not exaggerating when I say that budget really is that tight at the moment.

P.S. Thanks
 

EyeReaper

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Seriously, am I the only one who finds this game kinda hypocritical?

Literally everything is trying to kill you, but you're a terrible person for killing in self defense.

In the genocide run
You lock yourself out of the good ending permanently, but yet the game calls everyone who watches it on youtube a bunch of cowards

I dunno, it's a wonderful game and all, but It's definitely on the lower end of my top ten RPGs, not the summit. And I feel that the success of this game is gonna start another flood of "artsy" "retro" indie games trying to latch on to the success like remoras. which I'll totally hold against it.