Undertale | a Review
originally published on 27/08/2020;
Hello there, everyone, it's running on empty game review! I'm your host, the enigmatic wreck known as G.E.M.Simov. Today, I'll be telling you about Undertale.
But, first things first, I need to clarify how the rating system will work. The review, itself, is going to be split in three parts. Part one covering Gameplay, which is how the game plays, I know, a shocker, much like your taste in pornography, but it is what it is. Then I cover the presentation - the graphical quality, or the graphics themselves, the audio of the game, as in sound effects, voice acting, music and so on. I do not count my own voice, because that would make the game an instant ten, hoho. Last, but not least, I talk about the story - plot, characters, themes - all that good stuff. Or not. These three categories can net the game three points, each. The last, tenth point, can be obtained if I deem the game worthy, or it tickled me well enough, and so - it's the legendary point.
Also, I am a gameplay designer and a writer so I got the credentials to talk shit.
Alright, so, before we begin, kiss your mother goodbye because you'll be convinced to play Undertale, for the first time or again, and she won't be seeing you for a while.
Gameplay
Undertale is a topdown adventure game featuring a multitude of RPG elements. The game world is segregated into small areas which have an entrance at least one exit (which might coincide with the entrance). The player navigates through those areas with the WASD keys, on occasion using a key to interact with objects or characters.
Interactions with characters can be one of three types - either a simple conversation where the character being interacted with says something to the player character, a shop screen where the character picks whether or not they want to talk, buy, sell or leave, and a combat encounter.
Combat encounters in Undertale do not utilize the same area as the exploration segments do, instead opting for a black box with a white outline, above which is presented the sprite of the enemy, or enemies for this combat encounter, and beneath which are presented courses of action for the player.
The player can either fight, talk, use their items or show mercy. Depending on what the player chooses to do, different things will happen. If they choose to fight, they will first have to dodge a number of "attacks", after which they need to time their attack properly to deal damage to the enemy. After a number of successful player attacks, the enemy will run out of health and die. The same goes for the player - if they fail to dodge a number of enemy attacks, they run out of health and die.
If the player chooses to talk, they get a few options when it comes to conversation. First, the enemy will respond, and then they will go on to attack the player. The player can die if they get hit a certain number of times. After a certain number of conversation attempts, the option to show mercy becomes highlighted in yellow. At that point, the player can end the fight by showing mercy.
To show mercy, the button must be highlighted in yellow, otherwise the player will be unable to spare the enemy. Another thing that the player can do is try to run away, which grants them a chance to escape the fight. After a failed attempt, the enemy launches a set of attacks against the player that need to be dodged, much like normal attacks.
Lastly, the player can use items, which could restore health, evoke a reaction out of the enemy or do nothing. After using an item, the enemy attacks the player.
That is most, if not all, of Undertale's gameplay. Relatively simple, but with the potential to be quite challenging. When the player starts off, the game is easy, as there is a tutorial, and, even after the tutorial, the enemies are not too challenging as they are still introducing mechanics.
However, the difficulty of the game ramps up, and, by the time the player reaches the final boss, they will, probably, die a lot. Fighting the final boss will result in even more deaths, as that fellow is one of the most challenging.
The RPG elements in Undertale, as mentioned, are many, and the game can be called an RPG, but I say it is more of an adventure game. RPG elements would be the combat itself, the fact that after combat the player earns a resource, the fact that the player has a choice during combat on whether or not to kill or spare the enemy, which impacts the resource they get as a result of the battle, the presence of shops is an RPG element.
The fact that there are three very different endings is an RPG element, but, even then, I think Undertale is more of an adventure game than an RPG, even though, at that point, I am just spewing stuff out of my ass. Why do I think Undertale is more of an Adventure game and less of a RolePlaying game?
Because of a certain number of things, but, most of all is the fact that the game's system for character stat growth is very simple. The player character gets EXP if they kill enemies, and, after getting enough experience, they level up. They only gain some extra health when they level up, nothing more. Remember that the player gets specific resources if they kill and if they don't kill? Yes, the player gets no EXP if they spare the enemies.
A big part of this game is making the decision of whether or not the player wants to kill enemies. A bigger still part of RPGs is the growth of a character, when it comes to power. A bigger still part of an RPG is the customization of the character. Undertale offers the player the chance to grow their character's power, in the sense that the character can take more of a beating. It neither offers customization, nor any other type of growth.
In fact, the things that do give the player power do not require any special requirements to be met by the player. The player just needs to find them, as they would in an adventure game while looking for ways to progress, and then they would use them to progress.
Undertale is very focused on the trip the player has through its world, and that focus on the adventure is what makes me consider Undertale more of an Adventure game. Another reason is the fact that most conversations the player can have, and does end up having, are very simple and bare-bones. And that doesn't even equate to an RPG element, as adventure games, be it the dreadful Deponia or 1954 Alcatraz, have incredibly large amounts of dialogue options for the player to pick from, and they are not RPGs.
All in all, Undertale presents the player with smooth movement, interesting gameplay that is varied enough to never get old, a difficulty curve that is sensible, if a bit steep, and some choices to make. 3/3
Presentation
Undertale is a 2D, heavily pixelated and heavily stylzed, as previously mentioned, topdown game. The pixel art is neither incredible, nor is it horrible, but, compared to LISA, which is, similarly to Undertale, a one man endeavour, it seems as if Undertale's sprite work is not that good.
The environments shown to the player in Undertale look a certain way - they appear cozy, nice, even. Even though the sprite work is not as good as I would have wanted it to be, the environments, the backdrops, backgrounds - the sets and areas - are all quite great.
The music in Undertale is its crowning achievement. It's really, really good, although there are some tracks I would bravely call stinkers. Can't all be dinksters, can we?
The sound effects in Undertale are, at best, acceptable. There are many things that don't seem to have any sounds associated with them, and others which do have sound effects and are made so much better because of it.
All in all, Undertale is well presented, if not as well as it could have been. 2/3
Story
And here it is, ladies and gentlemen, the reason we are all here. Undertale's story. Imagine, if you will, a world in which monsters and humans exist. Imagine then that the humans decide they are not Gucci with the monsters. Would you believe it if I informed you that the humans then went to war with the monsters and shoved them in a dank dungeon to live there for the rest of eternity?
But what if those monsters were, actually, sentient, and had personalities and were, generally, nice people? What if they were just some kind of fellows trying to live? Why did the humans decide to perform a very lacking in cash money move by going to war and curb-stomping the monsters into segregation based on race?
Oh dear, is this an allegory on racism? Perhaps.
Then, if you will, imagine the great pain of these monsters, who are doomed to eternally dwell in the darkness, in this prison devised for them by the humans. They had known the sun, and the beauty of the world, only to have it ripped from them. Their very freedom - gone.
These monsters are, doubtless, slowly dying. Not due to an illness or anything like that, but due to a state of mind. A loss of hope. A loss of their will to live. The king of the monsters wants to save his people, and he does everything he can. First, he tries to do it by himself, but fails. He then asks for help, and, even with this, he fails. Him and his companions attempt to harness the power that has allowed the humans to be as strong as they are, but monsters simply cannot handle it, and they fail.
At last, the only thing that they can reach as a course of action, is a very horrible thing. The king swears to himself that he will save his people and opts to bear the burden for his evil deeds by himself.
Is it right for the king to seek to save his people if it will lead to the death of others? If the only instrument of salvation is so horrible, is it worth pursuing? Do the ends justify the means?
Let's not dawdle, there is more.
A man is aware. Aware of the world to such an extent that this man can tell when something in the near future has changed, or something in the past has become the present. A man who remembers events that have transpired in the past, that was the future, and knows what kinds of events will transpire in the present, which was the past.
That man is trapped by his own awareness, and he has seen great horrors. He has felt great joy, but his knowledge tells him that everything is temporary, and soon the present that is the future will become the past.
This man has seen his closest people die at the hands of an unstoppable evil, and he has tried, time and time again, to stand before it, and has failed. He has experienced Hell thousands, millions of times, and he cannot save himself from it. What, then, does he do? How does a person, stuck in another's groundhog day, but aware of it, deal with this?
The story of Undertale is based around a vast cast of characters, each as unique as the next, and its strength comes from the exploration of these characters. The adventure through the jail of the monsters is fraught with friendly encounters and threatening challenges, but rarely does the player truly face a foe that has disdain for them.
Every character is grounded in reality, for they have motivations that are sensible, they have reasons that are realistic, and they act in ways one could expect from people in an eternal prison. In fact, they are much nicer.
The tale told down there, under the mountain, is one that tries to teach the player compassion, understanding, to think twice, or even thrice, before judging somebody. It asks a magnitude of questions and does not provide an answer, instead leaving the player to ponder. 3/3
Legendary Point
Does this silly children's game get the big medal of approval I can give? No, not really. While I wholeheartedly appreciate and agree with the lessons Undertale tries to teach its players, the vast majority of them have not truly taken them to heart. In fact, they have done the exact opposite, and have become a rabid, vicious mob of individuals cruel towards those who they cannot understand, or lack the will to commit to understanding them.
I associate this game with people such as this - who think they know the best solution and as soon as someone presents a differing viewpoint that fellow is belittled and crushed under a wrathful wave of misunderstanding and judgement. Alas, it is what it is. 0/1
Conclusion
8/10. Undertale is a great game, one that I would like to recommend to just about anyone, as it is accessible and fun, cheerful and generally kind to the player. The lessons it tries to teach I consider good, and would want to see more people attempt to learn them!
Under my belt I tuck another shining gem, an achievement to be made by one whole fellow. It could have been more polished, and it's vibrancy greater, but I'll settle for something near perfection.