Undertale is an RPG that kills with kindness. It’s often viewed as one of the most famous indie games of all time. The unique utilization of combining an intricate avoidance mechanic along with the idea of showing your enemies mercy was an idea that hasn’t been seen before. What else allows Undertale to live up to the hype?

I played Undertale for the first time through a late 2015 winter night while the rain beat across the windows of my bachelor pad. I played the game through in one sitting in about 8 hours with my recently acquired kitten snuggling nearby. Entirely immersed and enamored with the world of Undertale I could not stop. I laughed, I cried, I stayed determined.

As I now write about the Switch version of this game 3 years have passed, my now fully-grown cat is laying in a sunny spot somewhere. I’m waiting for my partner to get home from work. A lot has changed, but Undertale is still my favourite indie game by immeasurable distance, having played the game for 100+ hours across Steam, PS4, and Switch.

Write Your Own Story

I’m going to keep this review story free and focus on the game design and mechanics. If you want to get the best experience from this game it is widely advised that for your first playthrough you go in blind and play honestly. So I’ll be taking on the challenge of articulating how much I love Undertale while also holding it just out of reach of you, like the delicious cookie that it is.

This is because everything you do even within the first five minutes of gameplay will massively impact not only the ending you get, but also the world around you. This could cause some players to overanalyze, but Undertale encourages repeat runs and there are of course guides for specific endings. There is the Pacifist ending, Genocide ending, and 8 Neutral endings (with variations to several of the Neutral endings that end up totaling to 21 differing dialogue branches depending on how many monsters you kill, which major characters you kill, and who you befriend). There’s also a Hard Mode “ending” for entering the name “Frisk” as your character and reaching the end of the Ruins.

The One Whom My Soul Loves

What can I tell you? Well for starters, my partner had most recently been playing my Switch version. But oh boy, I watched him play and he had made choices; dark choices. Choices I couldn’t comfortably play with even if only to refresh myself of the Switch version. I love these characters and he blindly killed them without thought while I yelled obscenities. So I restarted the game and set out to hit a fresh run when immediately greeted by an early story character who says “It’s rude to act like you don’t know who I am.”

Already within seconds of playing, Undertale is truly your own unique experience. You won’t get the above interaction with Flowey if/ when you play for the first time as the character has never met you before. This game becomes a friend with whom you share all the inside jokes in the world with. Beyond being just charming and unique the game has genuine soul.

Fond, Sparkling Memories

The core gameplay mechanics follow the usual RPG rules. But the rules here have glitter and detail all over them! This leads to an ultimate level of refinement across the board. Don’t be surprised if you are battling weird and provocative characters that throw out internet meme references. Everywhere you go will have you exploring deeply saturated and engaging environments.

You’ll be playing with puzzles and progressing through dungeons. Snowy forests and wilderness areas are present, sprinkled with towns, houses, and vendors. You’ll be traversing distant lands while simultaneously ultimately trying to escape a foreign land. Undertale does its best to disguise itself as the classic RPG and hits every classic RPG itch perfectly. Widely being referenced as similar to Earthbound, and reminiscent even of the top down Zelda styles of the past Undertale uses SNES 16-bit style graphics innovatively to create a memorable experience.

However, there is one huge difference in the gameplay mechanics that has incredible implications and helps to set Undertale aside as a cult classic indie.

When You Make a Friend of an Enemy . . .

Imagine an RPG that you can complete without defeating a single enemy or gaining a single experience point. Actually, I wouldn’t even call a majority of these characters enemies, personally, but that’s up for you to decide. Instead of simply swiping away at monster after monster, you are presented with the option to talk it out. Much like traditional NPC dialogue you can learn more about the characters of Undertale by engaging them in these conversations. Every character can be talked out of battling with you. Also, you are then given the option to “spare” them from their death.

Every time you choose to talk with a monster you will also face a quick but incredibly intense game of avoid the death bullets. This is done by frantically moving your joycon around a small box while the character you’re talking to throws bullets at you. It sounds simple, but of course Undertale takes the idea and blends it seamlessly into the characters’ personalities. Even the patterns and motions reflect the character and their current state. Working through these mini bullet hellfests accentuates complex experiences with characters. And, that often makes sparing them a lot more work. Yet it appeals to the pacifist in me and is a lot more rewarding than simply killing them without thought.

Pacifism, and Bullets

In my first play of Undertale, I found myself wanting to spare characters. But then I became so frustrated by not being able to work out which dialogue options they wanted from me (or the constant hell of raining bullets that really can be a learning curve). I snapped and killed characters that I have since come to love; those I even own plushes of!

Rules are meant to be broken. So the laws of turn-based battles can be bent a bit. Being able to change RPG law and talk it out instead is memorable and unique. You may even potentially go on a date with someone you are battling. This leads you to experiences with the characters from Undertale that are so meaningful. The experience will impact you in ways that even the greatest RPG’s can’t touch.

Music to My Ears

Further pushing the unique Undertale experience is its soundtrack (Created solely by Toby Fox along with the rest of the game). It’s influenced and deeply detailed with nostalgic echoes of the past. Undertale boasts not only one of my favourite video game soundtracks of all time (with 4 tracks reaching my Spotify “Top of 2017/8” playlists respectively), but it is also easily one of my favourite musical compositions of our generation. I would place it up top with the likes of the Breath Of The Wild and Animal Crossing soundtracks.

From smooth, comforting waves of digital delight to crashing explosions of frantic sound. Undertale’s soundtrack absolutely nails the often complex emotions of the game. It will then seamlessly transition back to being delightful, even campy – when it needs to be. The kind of synergy you experience between the game and its soundtrack is incredibly hard to find. It is something that could only come from a creative genius.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMjgHPOJ1ys]

Final Words

Undertale is an unmissable masterpiece RPG experience that you will remember for years to come. Exploding onto the scene 3 years ago, this game has earned every piece of praise thrown its way since. It is a beautiful and satirical love letter from creator, Toby Fox, to RPG fans everywhere.

Can you tell how much I love this game? It was an absolute pleasure to review Undertale for the Switch. The first chapter of the sequel Deltarune by creator Toby Fox is out on Nintendo Switch on the 28th for free! To keep the conversation going go follow us on Twitter and come chat with us on our Discord. Also check out our brand new merch store! Of course, being ad free, we survive on the support of our fans. if you are feeling like supporting the team you can also visit our Patreon.