Undertale

This is a great game to play for the story. The screenshots make it very obvious there's not much to look at, graphics wise. Personally, I think this kind of simple, kinda goofy pixel art really sets and suits the overall tone of the game. I think that's the main charm of the game, everything is simple but fits in: * The story is short and the hook is simple: monsters and humans used to be friends, but no more. You fell where monsters still live (or so the rumor goes). You want to get back. * Characters don't have huge backstories, just enough that you can easily understand why they're like that, and most of their development happens as you interact and/or fight them. * There's no real "power curve", as the game was designed to be beaten at LV 1. While you can pacify enemies and still earn money without any EXP, running away is just better and faster, especially since there's not much you'll want or need to buy, save the occasional healing item. The soundtrack really kicks up when you enter the boss fights, as each has their own theme. Each is going to be pacified in a different manner as well, which adds some variety to combat. Again, the game is lighthearted but it does have some stuff that can be unnerving, which happens at the end of either route (Normal, Pacifist or Genocide), as well as some NPCs that only show up with a very low random chance. You'll be better off watching youtube videos showing these parts, or reading the game's fan wiki if you're curious about those, because triggering them yourself is near impossible. (Fun side note: Toby Fox, the main person behind the game, left a message for disassemblers, asking them to avoid posting what they found by checking the game's files to avoid spoiling much of the game's story for those first buyers) This game is 100% worth a full playthrough.

This was certainly not a game for me. I love role-playing games and was encouraged to play this by people who strongly recommended it as something funny and unique. Therefore, my expectations were turned up and thus really let down. First of all, I really disliked the characters and jokes, which other people have said should be charming and funny. For me, all is just silly, like an obscure and ugly web-comic. It did not feel like a well-written RPG at all, but rather a parody of some kind. Moreover, the fighting system is really terrible, one of the worst I have ever encountered. I was told that I would be able to talk to my enemies instead of fighting, so that I could be a pacifist throughout the game. I was really looking forward to that, since I feel that it is an option missing in most RPGs (Phantasy Star being a great exception). However, the fights are made like little "bullet hell" mini games, where the player must avoid missiles instead of speaking to the enemies. Extremely terribly executed. Sometimes I managed to end the fights peacefully, but the quickest way to stop the pain was usually just to kill the monster quickly. I cannot understand why anyone would love this fighting system, since it has nothing to do with the story, taking place in caves inhabited by friendly monsters. It is a huge mystery to me why this game is loved so much by so many people. My real quest now is trying to find out why people recommended this is the first place. What makes them so positive? I really wonder.

There's a certain warm spot in my heart for video games that evoke emotion, and Undertale is exactly that. I have never seen any piece of media that has made me feel the emotions this game does. Never have I experienced something so profoundly emotional as this in a game. Making a character is easy, but is it possible to make the player feel empathy for them? This is what most people think of when they hear Undertale, but it's something that I still feel needs repeating because of how unique it is. These characters feel like real people, with real issues, real quirks, and real needs. And not just main characters, there are simple encounters that make you feel. The ability to write characters in this way is incredible. The music is force that ties everything together. Toby Fox is a genius at composition. The way he creates music is nothing short of incredibly skilled. The use of leitmotif to create nostalgia is, in my opinion, one of the smartest composition tricks I have ever seen. The final act of the neutral run and the end of the Pacifist run are the only times I have ever ugly-cried as a result of a video game. The songs 'Undertale' and 'Hopes and Dreams' are pivotal to making this emotion come to life. They are heart wrenching and emotional scenes, and they are executed with grace and poignancy. These are scenes you have to play yourself to truly experience. Nothing you see will do it justice. Keep tissues nearby, trust me on this. No video game, or really any other piece of media for that matter, has touched me, made me bawl, or care about characters like this game has. Undertale is a masterpiece.

This is not overrated, far from it. It's a beatiful work with so much passion on it. Don't be afraid to play it blindly, it's so much fun and full of amazing characters. I loved the experience.

I got *really* bored, really quickly, tried to press through it but gave up quite early. Everyone is attacking me to kill me and I'm supposed to want to learn about their back-stories for some reason? Why would I want to do that? In general there's nothing really wrong with the game, everything is playable, I just don't see anything interesting in it. Oh the soundtrack and the sound in general is very nice, +1 for that. The graphics are nothing to write home about, the controls and menus are nothing to write home about, I guess the story (but not the characters I saw) may be something to write home about but when there's nothing else interesting around I'd rather just read about it or watch a video. The gameplay was repetitive from what I saw. (Also, the Linux version doesn't work for me but the Windows version works fine on Wine)