Loved by PC gamers since its launch in 2015, now the unique and eccentric Undertale has arrived on the PlayStation 4 and Vita, bringing a whole new world to console adventurers everywhere.
Packed with charmingly weird and wonderful characters who interact with you in constantly unexpected and interesting ways, every encounter – yes, even those with humble random battle fodder monsters – can be tackled in different ways. With a host of potential endings to the journey, the game invites you to experiment with how you face the challenges presented.
First, a quick note: while Undertale is a memorable, fun, and emotional journey to take, it isn’t a graphical looker at all, sporting retro style 8-bit friendly sprites. The thing is, once you get into the story – you play a young child who falls into a mystical underground place known as the, er, Underground – you’ll likely be so hooked in and enchanted by the whole tale that the graphics will be the last thing on your mind.
As mentioned, the action takes place in a massive subterranean netherworld, home to monsters who once lived in peace with us humans on the surface but who were banished after losing going to war against mankind.
When you first arrive, a sentient flower called Flowey runs you through the basic game mechanics. Alas, Flowey is not to be trusted and attempts to kill you and take your soul, but you're saved by a good-natured goat-like monster who introduces you to the puzzle elements of the game and offers advice on getting through battles without having to kill.
From then on you’re free to enjoy the fourth-wall breaking, emotional journey where every choice you make holds consequences and will affect the ending you get. As you learn more, you’ll come to realise that your mission is try and defeat big baddie Asgore Dreemurr, the King of the Underground.
The combat system is superb and unlike any we've come across before, marrying turn based choice-making with minigame bullet hell reaction tests. It takes a little while to get used to and the creativity employed in mixing up the different attack modes of the various monsters will keep you on your toes, but there's surprising depth to be found and huge satisfaction to be had when you pull off a tough victory.
The puzzles that populate areas of the Underground are rarely too difficult to work out, and with the usual character levelling up dynamics as well as equipment trading and upgrading to be done, there's plenty to keep you going. And, of course, whether you try for a Neutral, Pacifist, or Genocide ending depends on how many monsters you kill on your journey, so each encounter must be considered in order to fit in with your end goal.
The humour and attention to detail of the writing and dialogue are what really help set Undertale apart from the host of other indie RPGs out there. When you realise that LOVE here is being used an acronym for 'Level of ViolencE’ and your EXP is actually ‘EXecution Points’, it gives you a flavor of the genius thinking behind the game. As you find fun items such a racing snail named Thunder or learn to call the friendly goat monster Toriel "Mom", you’ll find yourself laughing and possibly shedding a tear or two as well.
Conclusion
Undertale is landmark RPG for those who appreciate something a little different – a game that wrong foots you and delights with the way it mixes up the tried and tested formula which so many adventure games stick so tightly to. A rare pleasure.
Comments 28
Finished this last night, it was good (in fact great in places) but I need to replay it a couple of times though..!
I have the physical copy on pre-order through Fangamer, because I'm a sucker for physical copies.
Since I lack patience, I'm tempted to buy the game digitally just to play it now.
@kyleforrester87 how many hours to smash it out
Brilliant game. I've only done one play through so far but it was very memorable. It doesn't tell a complicated story, but the writing is great and all the characters are well rounded. Really good stuff
Will buy it on psvita, just not for that price. I know it's popular but it's still too expensive.
What is the best way to play it for the first time out of those three choices?
@AG_Awesome absolutely pacifist. 100%. Genocide causes you to miss almost all of the important interactions that will make you enjoy the game the first time and it also has an extreme difficulty curve. Ranging from simple to break your controller impossible. You won't be ready for that difficulty if you haven't played pacifist. And pacifist is just a better ending version of neutral.
@Bad-MuthaAdebisi 320 minutes, so 5-6 hours.
Oh also. Since it wasn't specifically mentioned in the review but the fact that there are different ways to play was - pacifist = 0 kills. Do not use the fight button except in 2 cases near the very end.
@ztpayne7 Dunno if saying that stuff counts as spoilers. I think its better just going in blind and doing what you feels right. Kind of thought that was the point of the game tbh.
This I'll be my next vita pick up. If only I'll ever finish God Eater 2...
If anyone is at all interested in playing Undertale, by all means read reviews etc. but do your best to go in with as few outside influences as possible. Much of what makes Undertale special can easily be spoiled. There is no right or wrong way to play the game, just play it and see where it takes you.
@AG_Awesome Just play it how you like, although, if you plan on doing all the routes, not killing anything in your initial playthrough means you can finish two of the three routes in two playthroughs.
1) Neutral --> Pacifist (after neutral ending)
2) Genocide
I am away and playing this on Vita. Only an hour or so in and have found the combat a little off-putting but getting used to the mechanics. Great music and looking forward to getting to the end.
Already preordered and download it on ps4 and vita, I'm going full pacifist
@Ralizah Yep, that's the way I'd recommend. For anyone wondering, definitely do a normal playthrough first, and find your own footing and play it how you like, and then do a complete pacifist to get what is arguably the "true" ending, and then do a genocide run. I'd say only after all three can you say you've played Undertale
@BranJ0 Agreed. The genocide route has a huge amount of content and most clearly reflects the savagely satirical nature of the game. All of the routes come together into one greater thematic whole and form a complete experience.
@naruball Seconded. Will get for my vita in a sale. In part because it feels too expensive but also because there have been far too many other games this month
Can't wait for my Physical Copy of this to come from Fangamer. Already played it several times on PC, so the wait isn't too bad, but I still really wanna play again!
@Ralizah There's no cross save between PS4 and Vita. I'm assuming i don't need to continue my neautral save to do a passive/genocide run? I can just start completely fresh on my Vita and not miss anything? As in it doesn't remember choices from the previous run through?
@kyleforrester87 Well, the pacifist route is basically neutral route + post-game stuff afterward as long as you fulfill the requirements. The genocide route can be done any time on a fresh playthrough, but it'll make more sense if you try to get it after going for the pacifist route first.
(this is all assuming the PS versions are basically identical to the PC version, but I can't imagine why they wouldn't be)
@Ralizah it's an exact port. The only difference to gameplay is the use of the ps4 text entry system as opposed to the keyboard on the pc. That's only in one instance (if you've played it you'll know what bit I mean).
There's a parody of a certain theatre scene from Final fantasy whicheverthehellitwas that had me literally in tears from laughing. God I love this game.
@THRILLHOU Hahaha I remember that scene from when I played Undertale a couple of years back when it first came out. It's a parody of Final Fantasy VI's opera scene and it is so absurd that it's genius.
Toxic community regarding this game unless you are playing the way people perceive you should play it.
@Ralizah I love games such as these, that twist the conventions of what you're expecting - they make for some of the most memorable gaming experiences in my eyes, and Undertale is one of those stand-out experiences I've had with a game
Ok review. A handful of grammatical errors. Also, I would tag this review with spoilers since we don't even know those acronyms are actually acronyms until we near the end of the game.
@BranJ0 Yep. Video games are unique as a medium because they allow us to interact with them, which introduces the element of choice. The best games fully exploit this interactivity to provide experiences that challenge us in ways that only video games can.
In this case, Undertale's savage deconstruction of JRPG mechanics and how these relate to an on-going dialogue about violence and personal choice.
Just finished this game. I... wept. And I haven't cried for at least a decade. Unbelievable how much this game struck home. A masterpiece.
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