Undertale, the acclaimed indie masterpiece known for its subversion of tropes and excellent story-telling, has finally arrived on Nintendo Switch. I suppose now would be the perfect time for me to give my thoughts on the game. This review may feature minor spoilers involving gameplay and story details, so be warned that your enjoyment may be slightly barred by reading if you plan on going in blind. Let’s begin.
Undertale presents itself as a simple, NES-era RPG upon opening the game, with a simple narrative at the beginning explaining an ancient war between the human race and monster kind. The monsters lost the war and were sealed inside a mountain with the power of a mystic barrier. Fast forward to the year 201X, and it seems a child has fallen down a cavern on the mountain in which the monsters were sealed. The child is now trapped in the Underground, where all the monsters live. Now you, as the child, must brave the unknown and leave the mountain.
I’d rather not go into very specific story details, but subversion is heavily emphasized throughout all of Undertale’s story. No matter what decisions you make in how you influence the story of the Underground there will always be something interesting, funny, or sinister to find. How exactly do you influence the Underground and its fate? Well, it’s all a matter of mercy or murder. Indeed, Undertale is designed in a way that the decisions you make in battle directly affect the outcome of the events that unfold, whether it be to show kindness to those you encounter or killing the monsters where they stand.
The marketing doesn’t lie. You can go through all of Undertale without harming a single monster. No one has to die at all throughout the journey. However, being pacifistic can sometimes be a true test of patience, as you can’t gain any LV and increase your HP and DEF without killing monsters. Battles will be inherently more difficult the less you kill, like in any RPG, but it’s still more than doable if you gain a handle on the game’s base mechanics.
Of course, you could always go the easy route and simply kill with the FIGHT command, but doing that creates a bit of a distance between you and other NPCs, at least when killing at an excessive rate. Not only does it negatively impact those around you when you kill, but it’s also very boring, especially on a first playthrough, if all you do is kill. I honestly only recommend killing monsters if you are either really having trouble with the game’s battle system and need some stat boosts or just want to see the consequences of such behavior. The choice is yours and yours alone.
Then there’s the more difficult but more rewarding alternative. You can show monsters you don’t want to fight through the ACT command. ACTing a certain way can convince monsters to stop fighting, then through MERCY you can SPARE them. This suddenly transforms the turn-based RPG system into a sort of puzzle game. Every monster has commands and actions you can perform that are completely unique to them. There are 30+ monster types as well, so the variety is staggering, especially since every monster type has unique and interesting dialogue based on how the player interacts with them. I guarantee you will get a good chuckle out of at least half of the monsters you encounter if you seek out a peaceful solution.
Just know that the choices you will make matter more than you may expect, and certain tools and progression may be locked by killing monsters. Don’t let that stop you though, as the game is relatively short and you can always just RESET. No harm, no foul.
However, you aren’t the only one taking turns in these battles. Enemies you encounter, as you may expect, will attempt to attack and kill you. However, the design of enemy attacks is unique, interesting, and completely turns the Bullet-Hell genre on its head. You are taught in the beginning of the game that you move around in a box with your SOUL for the express purpose of dodging attacks that appear on enemy turns. Enemy attacks range from your standard bullet attacks that you expect from a “Bullet”-Hell, to crazy microgame-like challenges you may find in a WarioWare title. It’ll turn itself on its head and become a platformer, shooter, game of blocking bullets with a shield, and what have you. It’s just as cool and engaging as it sounds, and it keeps things fresh and exciting at all times, especially in Boss fights.
Every enemy has a unique attack, and you need to learn and master the techniques and technicalities of dodging said attacks. Enemies that are grouped together may also have unique team attacks exclusive to a group of two or three monsters. Getting a handle on dodging attacks can be a bit daunting at first, but all it takes is a little Determination to push forward and do what you need to do.
Overall, Undertale is a charming, unique, one-of-a-kind experience only captured by a few games that have the passion, love, and willingness to go the extra mile to succeed. It takes inspiration heavily from several places, but to call it a rip-off of any of those in which inspired it is an illogical, blind assertion and a disservice to Toby Fox and Tuyo Chang’s hard work to create something truly special. While I glossed over story in this review, let me assure you that it is a wild emotional rollercoaster that I have had the wonderful pleasure of experiencing. Undertale truly is a wonderful indie masterpiece that, after three years, is still adored by fans today, including myself. I whole-heartedly recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of unique gameplay, quirky dialogue, fantastic music, and touching and deep story-telling.
If you haven’t already, pick it up today. You won’t be disappointed.
The Starlight Tribune 