Undertale

I've always been bad at picking my favourite out of a group of things, especially my favourite video game. I now know what my favourite video game ever is. It's not Laser Lords, not Deadly Premonition and not even my quests! No, my favourite video game has to be Undertale. I tend to be very wishy-washy when it comes to picking favorites, I care more about good or bad than better and worse. But sometimes something just stands out so much that it's clearly just my favourite, and right now it's clear Undertale is my favourite video game.

Honestly, I'd suggest anyone reading this to get the game right now, the game's extremely good and the less you know about it before playing the better, it's easily worth the 10 dollars. There's even a free demo, if you like that one you're sure to like the full game as it blows the demo completely out of the water.

At its core Undertale is a JRPG, a story about a human child who falls into a mountain and winds up in an underground world inhabited by monsters, who live segregated from humans after a great war. Though the set-up for the story sounds typical, as a video game Undertale is anything but typical. 

The combat system is like no other combat system, you don't need to fight enemies to actually win battles, rather you are given the option to FIGHT, ACT or use MERCY. While it's possible to murder everyone who gets in your way, you can also interact with the enemy, get to know them and figure them out how you can make them stop wanting to fight you, at which point you can use mercy to SPARE them and resolve the conflict peacefully. You never need to kill anyone to beat Undertale!

Ahh, so lovey! <3

Likewise, enemies do not follow traditional RPG mechanics, their attacks take the form of little bullet-dodging minigames where you have to dodge attacks with your SOUL to prevent taking damage. This means that if you play well enough, you can avoid taking any damage at all! Every enemy has different bullet patterns specifically themed to them and often also tied to their mood.

One of the harder patterns in the game.

Rather than being a numbers game, combat becomes a matter of figuring your opponents out, seeing what things they have to say and in what ways you can interact with them and then trying to successfully avoid their bullet patterns. I can't think of any RPG where I'm so happy to see battles occur!

*Slime noises*

But as mechanically solid as the game is, my favourite part of Undertale might be just how it makes me feel, how its extreme polish and care shines through and makes me totally immersed in its world.

The plot may seem simple at first, but things go much deeper than they first seem, and there's multiple layers to the plot, some of which only become clear when you play the game multiple times. The game does a great job at playing with your expectations in a video game and it's clear the developer, Toby Fox, knows exactly what Undertale's audience thinks and feels. You can play the game in several ways, choosing either to take a peaceful or a violent path, and the game will always know what you did and your actions will always come with consequences, consequences which may last even beyond the realms of your save file. I've never felt so strongly about choices and consequences as I have in this game as I did just now when I tried a violent run through the game.

Adding to the plot is the fact that the characters are all extremely lovable and the game encourages you to spend time befriending the characters and interacting with them. By the time I got to the end I felt like I knew them all and cared for them deeply. I wanted to talk to every NPC, backtrack to areas just to read new dialogue, call this person in every room twice just to see what they'd say, just because the writing is so chock-full of good-natured humour and charm, and there's just so much of it! 

I love all these people. All of them.

The graphics are not the most technically impressive, but they do an incredible job at immersing you into the game world. Walking around the world, being in combat, the graphics always just feel right and like they are being used to their fullest extent to add to the game experience. 

One of the more atmospheric moments in the game.

The soundtrack of the game is absolutely gorgeous as well, there's over 100 music tracks and just like the graphics they add immensely to the experience. Keeping the sound on while playing this game is crucial, you do not under any circumstance want to miss out on the music. I don't think I can ever tire of the soundtrack, there's just way too many good pieces on it.

I honestly can't come up with any criticisms for the game. As much as I have gushed about the game here, I've only touched on the peak of the iceberg, and the only way to really know just how GOOD this game really is would be by delving into it and playing it yourself. I've already beaten the game once, my first run lasted about 12 hours, but this is the sort of game which has so much polish, detail and care put into it that you can keep replaying and replaying and always notice something new. 

Undertale is a wonderful experience and I truly do hope that by talking about it here more people can experience it!