A Tale That Overperforms - Undertale

Hello beautiful people of the Internet! And not so beautiful ones... hehe. We're back at long last! We've really been waiting for this moment! Finally! Ren and Sin are back to bring you more reviews! Would you just shut up a second? My god you're so loud. But aren't you happy Sin? I know you've been eagerly thinking up ideas for this review... Sh-shut up Ren! J-Just start telling our adoring fans about Undertale already!

Okay so... Undertale is a game that utterly defies description. In fact I would even go so far as to say it's less of a game, more an experience which you have to try for yourself before judging it. To the untrained eye, Undertale looks like a generic old RPG from the days of the NES, but there's something a whole lot deeper in here. You play as a small androgynous child who has fallen from their home into an underground world known as The Ruins, where there are a number of quirky and unique monsters, and your sole goal is to find a way back home. Battles execute in a standard turn- based RPG fashion, but it's not a case of selecting fight and seeing how much damage you do. When you attack you have to stop a series of bars moving across the screen in the right place to deal damage, and when dodging attacks gameplay takes place in a bullet hell style dodge-fest as you maneuver your soul (a little red heart) around to avoid countless projectiles being fired at you in different ways. Dodging can be very difficult but it makes the combat all the more difficult and rewarding.

Knight Knight? The Good Morningstar? Seriously?
(Hysteric laughter)

 But of course that's the combat, and while it's a big part of the game, it's really not the thing that makes this game so amazing. It's a strange kind of moral adventure really, and though it doesn't outrightly tell you so, the game wants you to beat it in one of two ways. The choice it expects you to take is as standard, killing everything you fight. Your kills reward you with EXP and LV (or Love) and you level up like regular RPG progression. Alternatively, Undertale's combat system gives you the opportunity to 'ACT' instead of 'FIGHT'. 'ACT'ing will give you a number of different options all dependent on the enemy you are facing, certain animal monsters you may be able to pet, for example. Doing the right things with all the enemies will allow you to 'MERCY' them, granting you no EXP or stats, but you get to be happy knowing they're still living a (mostly) happy life. That is the other way to play, kill nothing. Between that you get just a mediocre and somewhat disappointing ending. But the genocider and the pacifist endings are where the real glory is at, and for a story written by basically just one guy, it has one hell of an impact. I mean the writing is great, Sin here was doing the genocider run and was in tears within the first ho- S-SHUT UP. I was fine okay? I-I just had something in my eye the moment I struck that girl down with one last... almighty... oh.... oh god... (sob)

Ah... The human... Bask in that deep, indifferent, unchanging stare... But is it the stare of a murderer? You decide.

Ah... Uhm... Okay so as I was saying! All the elements of Undertale come together to make something great. Although it only lasts at most around 5 hours there's a lot more to see than you'll probably discover in more than one playthrough. Certain items found early on, for example, can have nasty repercussions if you accidentally eat them in a fight and don't have them later on. There's a shocking amount of thought and detail that has gone into this short gem, and it shows in every pixel.

Boss fights all adjust the game mechanics a bit and are really exciting and unique to play.
They also get lots more silly... Especially this guy...

Though you don't get to see particularly much of any of them, many of the characters also have a surprising amount of depth to them, take fan-favourite comedic duo Sans and Papyrus who... well, their dialogue is written in Comic Sans and Papyrus respectively, for starters. The two least serious fonts besides Wingdings, but we don't need to go into that. Basically it means you're not supposed to take them seriously either, but I'm sure you intelligent readers got that. Papyrus' goal is to kill a human and join the Royal Guard. (Ahem) S-Sorry uh... Papyrus' goal is to kill a human so he will finally be allowed into the Royal Guard and have friends and be 'cool' like he' always wanted to be. The joke there being that he's about as uncool as you can get and he grows to really like the Human, especially when you use the 'Flirt' option while you fight him, but you can enjoy that for yourself. All throughout the game there's all kinds of wordplay and humour the mock different kinds of people and tropes yet also endear you to them. And of course there's a LOT of really bad jokes too. Very well executed bad jokes, mind  you, and if you're about an hour in and not laughing your soul out then Undertale probably isn't for you. But if you do try it and don't like it... It probably says something about the kind of person you are... You know, like a total bore or a some studious nerd that doesn't find anything fun except next term's upcoming Quantum Algebra Within Electromagnetic Cells exam. 

Oh look it's Sin!
Oh come on Ren is that supposed to be a joke? Everyone knows I'm not a plane. This is a new low even for you.
... You're kidding right?

It's hard to explain what it is that makes Undertale so special. It's just something that is. Something you feel within you when you play. It's a charming mix of serious morality and quirky comedy that just gets you right there. Whether it's the running theme of pure determination and facing what's ahead A-HEAD on- Ow! (Don't do that.) Orrrr... the beautiful varied soundtrack which really adds to the feel and atmosphere of every fight and location, Undertale is nothing short of a gaming work of art.

So... Sin... Did you uh... finish your run yet?
H-huh? Oh uhm.... Yes! Yes I did!
... You're still stuck fighting S-
YES. YES I AM OKAY SHUT UP. It's my punishment for being a genocider, okay!? That fight is impossible and it's all YOUR FAULT anyway! It's not like I wanted to kill them all or anything!
My fault? You're the bitch that killed 'Goat-
Ah... D-Don't... (Sob)
Oh uhh... Whoops! Until next time everyone! We love you all!

Ren Score: 9/10
Sin Score: 8/10