Undertale

[loa]

So undertale [http://undertale.com/] has been out for almost a week now.
Remember that demo from 2 years ago, an oldschool pixel rpg where you murder the goatmom because the flower told you everyone is out for you and then feel all bad about yourself, restart the game and try to do things differently but the game keeps track about your saving habits and points out that it didn't forget what you did?
Yeah it's that.

I was fully expecting it to be crap since the demo layed all the cards of the game out already so I thought you couldn't really follow up on it without disappointing and that whole concept of "every monster is an individual" combined with random encounters seemed like a weird choice that is bound to collapse in itself since there's only so much you can do to keep that barebones bullet hell minigame interesting.
That whole concept of "you can choose to be jesus or hitler" is kind of tired too so I expected nothing interesting to come out of that either.

So I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of writing in this game which is very funny and keeps it engaging for its entire duration.
The fighting minigame also gets enough twists thrown at it to never become stale.
Also neither mass effect nor skyrim or any other game where "choices matter" made me truly feel as a horrible human being for going for a "kill everything" run as undertale.
It becomes quite gutwrenching because of how likeable the characters are and that is an accomplishment for a game so simplistic that has already layed out all its plot twists in the demo.

Spoiler

And then the game tops it off with the whole "saving, resetting and reloading is canon" shtick because the very fact that your murder run that you did just to see what happens is just being that, one playthrough of many, is actually part of the story.
The meta storytelling gets really interesting and I don't think any other game ever tried something like that.

So have played it yet?
How do you like it?

 

[DoPo]

Hmm, what a coincidence - I actually first noticed the game today. I hadn't heard from about it before and when it came across it I checked what it was about and I almost immediately thought it's going to be interesting. I've not yet got it, but I was seriously considering it, so it went to my wishlist.

 

[loa]

Such little care for one of the best rpgs jim sterling has ever played [http://www.thejimquisition.com/2015/09/undertale-review-a-determined-effort/].
I guess that's on me doing a bad job presenting it so I'll be brief and just say that this game is fantastic and if you like rpgs you should play it now.
It's easily worth the 10$.

 

[Arkliem]

Beat the game over the weekend. I think it's going to end up in my top 3 of all time at the least. This coming from someone who's been playing games since '91.

Anyone that gets the full pacifist ending, make sure you backtrack to where it all began before you hit up the ending sequence(If you play the ending you'll be locked out of this scene, so make sure you do it first!), and start up the game one more time after the ending at least.

 

[loa]

Weird how there's still no article or any official sign of this games existence on this site.
Please don't let this fall into obscurity.

It's an important step forward in how to use game mechanics as a metaphor and how acknowledging player actions with a huge attention for detail can make a world seem that much more vibrant and alive.

 

[Dizchu]

It's a great game. It actually reminds me of Cave Story, quite a lot in fact. There's a nice sense of cohesion and playfulness that's present in both games, and seeing as I love Cave Story I couldn't help but love Undertale too. Tonally, it is a masterpiece. The music is great too.

 

[Skatologist]

Yes I played it and I absolutely adore it. I'm not entirely sure if it's my favorite single player campaign (since I like to think people can have favorite games rather than simply a favorite game), but I'm worried that the effect this game will have on how I view other games. They'll feel much more...inadequate and underwhelming I'm guessing.

Haven't played Cave Story yet, but I still have to say, the game takes everything unique and great about Earthbound/Mother series and turns it up to 11 out of a possible 5.

Weird how there's still no article or any official sign of this games existence on this site.

Most of the buzz was around the game being promoted closr around its kickstarter, see here and here

Please don't let this fall into obscurity.

I don't know. Maybe it won't necessarily be "obscurity" but have a cult fanbase like Mother/Earthbound does, progressively becoming more mainstream over the years. Although that would mean that these characters would need to do some crossover work in order for more people to check them out.

It's an important step forward in how to use game mechanics as a metaphor and how acknowledging player actions with a huge attention for detail can make a world seem that much more vibrant and alive.

Heck yeah it can. And that's not even scratching the surface I don't think. The game is chalk full of potential for fan theories, social commentary, narrative, and so much more. I couldn't imagine how many think pieces how many think pieces you could make out of this game.

 

[Skatologist]

It's a great game. It actually reminds me of Cave Story, quite a lot in fact.

Look at the name "Cave Story" and "UnderTale". Don't they seem a wee bit similar? And do you think that was just some sort of accident?

 

[Dizchu]

Look at the name "Cave Story" and "UnderTale". Don't they seem a wee bit similar? And do you think that was just some sort of accident?

*takes off sunglasses*

Oh my god.

To be honest though, I miss things like that. Now that you mention it, there are a lot of similarities.

 

[Silence]

I began playing the demo, and honestly, I could not stand a second of it. The sound does hurt my ears, the graphic style is extremely ugly... but the first NPC, Tauriel, she has an attitude ... I can not stand if someone is completely overprotective, and prevents you from learning things, instead of learning things by doing.

The sound of her "voice", together with her personality ... I wonder if there is something more to it, or if it is basically pretentious torture.

So, honest question: Does the sound change, and does the game get better later, after I could not stand the first minutes of it? Because I could deal with the graphics, and I am curious if there is actually something more to it.

 

[loa]

I began playing the demo, and honestly, I could not stand a second of it. The sound does hurt my ears, the graphic style is extremely ugly... but the first NPC, Tauriel, she has an attitude ... I can not stand if someone is completely overprotective, and prevents you from learning things, instead of learning things by doing.

The sound of her "voice", together with her personality ... I wonder if there is something more to it, or if it is basically pretentious torture.

So, honest question: Does the sound change, and does the game get better later, after I could not stand the first minutes of it? Because I could deal with the graphics, and I am curious if there is actually something more to it.

I guess you didn't finish the demo?

 

[Silence]

I began playing the demo, and honestly, I could not stand a second of it. The sound does hurt my ears, the graphic style is extremely ugly... but the first NPC, Tauriel, she has an attitude ... I can not stand if someone is completely overprotective, and prevents you from learning things, instead of learning things by doing.

The sound of her "voice", together with her personality ... I wonder if there is something more to it, or if it is basically pretentious torture.

So, honest question: Does the sound change, and does the game get better later, after I could not stand the first minutes of it? Because I could deal with the graphics, and I am curious if there is actually something more to it.

I guess you didn't finish the demo?

No, I said so. I gave up after Tauriel gave me a cellphone to annoy me even more after she had left.

Can you avoid her later, even if you do a pacifist run?

 

[loa]

No, I said so. I gave up after Tauriel gave me a cellphone to annoy me even more after she had left.

Can you avoid her later, even if you do a pacifist run?

I really don't know if I should tell you if you haven't finished the demo.
It's not that much longer and you basically just got through the hand-holdy tutorial and all that's left is gameplay, some light puzzles, some easy fights.

 

[Mikeybb]

Well, I'd heard to the rumours about this and they were sounding good.

Having just watched a vinesauce streamer start a playthrough of it after about an hour I'd decided this looks like a definite purchase.
I'll just go and feed some more cash into unca gabes cavernous maw.

Lovely soundtrack too by the way.

 

[Skatologist]

the silence actually reminded me of one of the criticisms I have of the game. The sound might grate on you during long dialogue with certain characters. Of course, you can skip it with the X key, but I would feel an option menu for sounds/music would be great for the game.

 

[Chessrook44]

A friend of mine told me about this game. All they told me was they could not tell me anything as it would ruin the game.
I watched the trailer, and learned... little.
Nothing I've seen or heard about this game has caught my interest, and the fact that said friend basically said that the only thing they could tell me was that they couldn't tell me anything frustrated me and failed to catch my interest.
Add in the fact that from what I saw of the trailer the graphics didn't do anything positive or negative for me, the music was just eh, and the gameplay was more a turnoff for me than anything else from what I saw, and frankly I had no interest in playing the game.
Said friend has said they are not necessarily interested in staying friends with me now.

So... thanks, Undertale, for ruining a friendship because I don't choose to play a game with the only reason to play being "It's emotional".

Wow I sound harsh there...

 

[Something Amyss]

Read reviews, watched Jim Sterling play it. I honestly can't imagine ever paying for this game.

I...umm...think a couple of the concepts are neat, I guess? That's a plus, right?

 

[loa]

Yeah that jimquisition video doesn't show anything exciting and you'll get more out of the demo which doesn't show much of anything to begin with either but at least it has the flower introduction.
It's a light hearted comedy rpg kinda like shut up and jam gaiden except that it has coherent assets and replay value.

The thing everyone doesn't want to tell you is just that saving is part of the story.
For example if you killed a dude, then reload the game and go back to the dude, your character may tell them that they saw the dude die and that that's kinda creepy or if some boss killed you x times, they'll have different dialogue each time you come back to fight them again.
It adds lots of replay value because you keep finding little tidbits and secrets but "spoiling" it hardly ruins the game, that "twist" has been well known since the release of the demo years ago.

So you see how that is pretty much impossible to show in a 30 minute video or how people think they can't tell you anything about this game without ruining it.
Don't worry though, going into it with that awareness doesn't really ruin the game at all, you just have a vague understanding how it operates.

 

[Thetwistedendgame]

Undertale is the only game that convinced me never to see all the endings it has to bring, and made me feel good about it.

With limited graphics and familiar gameplay, it manages to pull of an experience so incredible, so heart-wrenching and enjoyable that I'd recommend anyone to play this, while making said experience impossible if it was attempted in any other medium.

I don't think this is a perfect game because it has no flaws. I think it is a perfect game because it NEEDED to be a game to have such a profound impact on me.

And I just really like butterscotch-cinnamon pie.