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[Earthpainting]

Platform: PC and Mac (Steam)
Genre: Roleplaying Game
Release Date: September 15th, 2015
Developer: Toby Fox
Trailer: A trailer exists, yes. Does not appear to spoil anything major, except that it has awesome music.

ABOUT THIS GAME

Welcome to UNDERTALE. In this Kickstarted indie RPG, you control a human who falls underground into the world of monsters. Now you must find your way out, or stay trapped forever. In this game, you don't have to kill anyone. Each enemy can be "defeated" non-violently. Dance with a slime. Pet a dog. Whisper your favourite secrets to a knight. Or, ignore this choice and rain destruction upon your foes.​

FEATURES ACCORDING TO DEV

• Killing is unnecessary: Negotiate out of danger using the unique battle system.
• Time your attacks for extra damage, then dodge enemy attacks in a style reminiscent of top-down bullet-hell shooters.
• Soulful, character-rich story with an emphasis on humor.
• Become friends with all of the bosses.
• At least 5 dogs.
• You can date a skeleton.
• Hmmm... now there are 6 dogs...?
• Maybe you won't want to date the skeleton.
• I thought I found a 7th dog, but it was actually just the 3rd dog.

STORY

A long time ago, two races ruled peacefully over the Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, a terrible war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magical spell.

In the year 201X, a small child scales Mt. Ebott. It is said that those who climb the mountain never return. Seeking refuge from the rainy weather, the child enters a cave and discovers an enormous hole. Moving closer to get a better look... the child falls in.

CHARACTERS

HUMAN: That’s you, sort of. This is where I'd describe you, but I don't want to seem presumptuous or patronising. You're probably cool though.
FLOWEY: A friendly flower, and your best friend. He has a knack for funny faces.
TORIEL: Caretaker of the ruins. Her job seems to be to aid anyone that has wandered in the ruins. Her favourite food is snail pie.
NAPSTABLOOK: A humourless monster who is good at pretending to sleep.
OTHERS: The dictionary defined "others" as the remaining ones in a group which have yet to been specified. They are unspecified because I don't know what the remaining cast will be like, nor do I think spoiling all the characters would be beneficial anyway.

COMBAT

”Combat is where you can show the true nature of your soul.” While you are in a FIGHT, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. Toriel shall come to resolve the conflict. You have three options at your disposal. [ACT], [ITEM] and [MERCY]. [ACT] gives you a set of actions unique to each enemy. Some cause monsters to act differently, others let you spare the monsters, while others do nothing at all. The [ITEM] option speaks for itself. [MERCY] allows you to spare a foe, or run away. (Toriel asked to please ignore the FIGHT option.)

​

An aura of peaceful determination exudes from your body when you try to spare an opponent. Any enemies that are questioning their desire to fight you will give up. You can spare ever enemy, but most will have to be convinced not to fight somehow. If all else fails, a whooping until an enemy is severely damaged will usually convince them too.

​

REVIEWS AND IMPRESSIONS

Jimquisition - 10
Rock Paper Shotgun - Words out of 10
Destructoid - 10
Giant Bomb - 5

Spoiler

/5

PCGamer - 91
PC Invasion - 100
Level Up (Spanish) - 82
ZTGD - 100
Game Informer - 9.5
Open Critic page for more
impressions thread of the original demo.
What were my impressions from the demo? Thank you for asking. Thought it was clever, fun, and full of heart. The closest comparison I can think of in tone are the Mother series, and the games of Yoshirou Kimura. The type of game that uses weirdness, humour and innocence to teach you something about how you approach games and maybe a little bit about yourself.​

DEMO

There is indeed a demo for you to try out. It's about half an hour long.
Do note that the demo's save won't transfer to the full release. The game supposedly has changed a bit under the hood since then, but it should still give an idea of what it's like. As far as I can tell, the demo is the start of the game, so you'll have to re-do it if you take the leap to the full game.​

LINKS

Official Undertale website
@UNDERTALE on Twitter
Undertale's Tumblr page
Original Kickstarter page
Hylian Hero
​

Due to the nature of the game, it's still kind of easy to spoil someone, even if they've essentially already beaten the game. I do think it may be helpful to be mindful about clarifying which type of run you're talking about. Something like adding highlighted tags could help:

[B]NEUTRAL run:[/B]
[B]PACIFIST run:[/B]
[B]NO MERCY run:[/B]​

NEUTRAL run:

Spoiler

Flowey is a shit, petting is the shit, and anime is real.

There's no BBCode to add specific colours for extra clarification sadly enough, but I guess this would help make it easier to wade through for those that haven't explored all possible paths.

 

[Aizo]

The soundtrack is definitely awesome. I have the demo, and I hope that I enjoy it!

 

[Dinjoralo]

Wow, it's been a while since I played the demo when it first came out. I hope the final game is just as dense with detail!

 

[BossRush]

Forgot this came out tomorrow. I'll pick it up once I get a job cause I wanna support Toby. Also game looks rad

 

[Veldin]

Feels like it's been such a long time since I played the demo. It ended on a pretty ominous note and I'm excited to see what's next. SO hyped.

 

[Murugo]

The demo immediately sold me on the game when I played it a few weeks ago. The writing is wonderful and full of personality, and the combat system should bring some interesting encounters in the full release.

Also, for those who've played the demo through once,

Spoiler

there are multiple endings depending on how you complete the final encounter

.

 

[Demon Lizardman]

So, how long do you think this game will be?

 

[hemtae]

UNDERTALE! The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone.

On the one hand, "RPG game". On the other hand, pacifist option. I'll probably check it out during a sale.

 

[Alboreo]

I tried the demo a while back and fell in love. I'm so excited for this.

 

[Zolo]

Been waiting a 1-2 years for this!

 

[Earthpainting]

And we're live. Ten bucks for those that are interested.

 

[Panthalassic]

Didn't back the KS, but I'm going to pick it up ASAP.

 

[Battlechili]

Oh boy! This is my most hyped for game in a while. The demo was so lovely, I can't wait to play the full game. Already got it on Steam. Just started it and it seems to follow the demo almost to a tee so far. I was wondering if the demo would even be a part of the game. Cool.
The fact that this game is out now fills me with...DETERMINATION

EDIT: Don't forget to link the full soundtrack OP! I think that's important. https://tobyfox.bandcamp.com/album/undertale-soundtrack

 

[Earthpainting]

Managed to play an hour or two of it, and it's been living up to my expectations. The difficulty really ramped up during the lengthy boning session. Glad to see the game is having no trouble to keep things both fresh and entertaining. Been doing my best to play nice, and it's been going well so far. Health recovery was an issue at times though before I reached the first town.

 

[Veldin]

This game is SO GOOD. Really entertaining characters so far.

 

[Panthalassic]

A friend of mine got it for me as an early birthday present! I'm a few hours in but I'm stuck at a certain part, and could use some help.

Spoiler

It's the piano puzzle at waterfall.

Otherwise, I love it so far! Great music and character!

 

[Ultimate_Trainer]

Wish it was on Linux, so I won't have to switch to my Windows partition, but its worth it for this game! I have a dumb smile on my face ever since I started it. I love it!

 

[Dinjoralo]

Holy hell, this is amazing. The writing, the humor, the variety in combat, it's all so damn great. I LOVE this game.

 

[Veldin]

I'm overwhelmed, man. Seriously anyone who may stumble across this thread: if you enjoy video games you owe it to yourself to play this.

 

[Battlechili]

Anyone figure out the locked door yet?

 

[BrawlPurist]

I'm about 2 hours in and, already, this game has caught me completely off-guard.

Spoiler

As I'm sure many did, I completed the first chapter regretting my actions, and reset to try again. I noticed the new dialogue during the incident and paid it little mind, writing it off as a clever nod to my save scumming. I noticed how the game mechanics changed to reflect my different attitude toward the encounter. I felt bad about what I'd done and tried to fix it.

And the game called my ass out on it.

I have never been so absolutely BLINDSIDED by ANYTHING in a work of interactive fiction. Maybe I'm just tired and maybe I should have picked up on it, but that son of a bitch Flowey called me the fuck out.

And it hurt.

Please, PLEASE do NOT read the spoilers above if you haven't played the opening to this game yet. Suffice to say, it is absolutely magical.

If you're on the fence, just do it. Don't think about it; it's absolutely ABSOLUTELY worth it.

Spoiler

I TAKE IT ALL BACK ;_;

 

[Veldin]

Anyone figure out the locked door yet?

Spoiler

If you're talking about the house next to Napstablook's, the key can be bought from a shop after the Hotlands. There's another door in a cave in Snowdin that doesn't open(or maybe it can I dunno) but it does have a purpose.

 

[GSR]

I've heard nothing but good things about the game from all over the place. Hope to give it a spin this weekend.

 

[Earthpainting]

I'm about 2 hours in and, already, this game has caught me completely off-guard.

Spoiler

Words

Please, PLEASE do NOT read the spoilers above if you haven't played the opening to this game yet. Suffice to say, it is absolutely magical.

If you're on the fence, just do it. Don't think about it; it's absolutely ABSOLUTELY worth it.

Spoiler

I TAKE IT ALL BACK ;_;

I had a similar experience with the demo.

Spoiler

I sort of did what was most convenient the first time around, and messed up. Flowey called me out and I had a Chrono Trigger trial moment.

I tried to go back, but got called out again, and got a hint that apparently Flowey also can save scum? I don't have a clue yet what that's about, but maybe it's just an explanation for how he knows about all the time lines. Now in the full version I did it right from the first time, and he mostly just antagonises me, and was trying to egg me on about future failures.

The opening chapter definitely made me feel like it's going to be worth replaying with other choices, so I'll be doing exactly that.

 

[JonathanNemo]

The very first difference I noticed from the demo is that the one enemy you couldn't show mercy to has a new conversation option.

Spoiler

*pats belly*

Clever way to make an exit.

The second difference is

Spoiler

I guess nobody reads manuals anymore

 

[ugly]

Bought this this morning. Loved the demo. Seems pretty magical

 

[aravuus]

Didn't try the demo and I'm a tiny bit skeptical but fuck it, it's only ten bucks and you all seem to love it. Bought, will give it a try in a minute.

 

[Panthalassic]

Beat the game a few minutes ago. Vague spoilers.

Spoiler

I'm not happy with the ending I got. I need to do better.

Great game though, 10/10.

 

[ROBOKITTYZILLA]

Soundtrack and game bought!

I saw a demo playthrough about a year ago and have been excited for the release ever since. Based on early reviews, it looks like it definitely delivered. Can't wait to start playing.

 

[The Bankslammer]

Bought the game after hearing nothing but good things from friends about it. As a fan of cute dogs and skeletons I've already gotten my money's worth.

But seriously, I'm about an hour and a half in and really loving the game so far. I normally just can't get into RPGs at all, but the super inspired battle system and writing are just so good.

 

[Nose Master]

Played this for an hour or so last night. Demo area was really good, but it kinda dropped off after that. The

Spoiler

Font

skeletons humor didn't really hit, and the pacing fell apart.

 

[Murugo]

Just finished the game, and I can only say the experience was nothing short of incredible. A second playthrough is imminent.

Spoiler

I killed only one enemy by accident, and if it weren't for that I would have gotten the "best ending". Although it's likely getting an ending with more than 0 EXP is probably better to start with.

Couldn't find the solution to the door or piano puzzles, either. I'm guessing the song for the piano is the melody that plays in the corridor, but the first note is too low.

 

[Dinjoralo]

Spoiler

Couldn't find the solution to the door or piano puzzles, either. I'm guessing the song for the piano is the melody that plays in the corridor, but the first note is too low.

Spoiler

You can't do anything with the door, and the key to the piano involves the statue in the next room.

Spoiler

Also, you probably didn't do everything you need to do to get the "best" ending. Did you meet Undyne at her house?

 

[Earthpainting]

I just had my final showdown with

Spoiler

Mettaton

EX, and it gave me my first game over. It doesn't mess around. Great use of mechanics though, same for the previous boss.

Spoiler

You can't do anything with the door, and the key to the piano involves the statue in the next room.

Any additional hints for the

Spoiler

piano

puzzle in the waterfall area?

Spoiler

I put an umbrella over the statue to shield it from the rain, and it played a song, but I have no clue how to translate that into the notes. After a few tries it just seemed way too hard, and so I moved on. I did later notice from the archaeologist turtle monster that the emblem of "the angel" contained the same symbols as the piano keys. I tried to go back, but I couldn't really figure out how to turn that into the right sequence either. I figured I was missing something, or that the game would eventually get back to it. I have a save right after taking out the robot now, which starts feeling like the game's climax, so I can't help but feel like I'm going to run out of chances soon.

There's still a big chance I was supposed to be able to recreate the song I heard from the statue, but to me that may as well be asking me to do morse code.

It seems like someone with a musical background like the dev could have a warped his sense of the average person would be able to do, and it would be unfortunate.

 

[Battlechili]

I beat the game on a full perfect pacifist run. And didn't. I mean I saw

Spoiler

the REALLY REALLY evil Flowey final boss and beat him and then spared him, and then some stuff about needing to go meet Undyne was mentioned. Then I had to start all over from before Asgore and go find Undyne

Amazing game with a HUGE amount of content. It has a lot of little details, too.

 

[Veldin]

Killing everything in this game is an exhausting, miserable and haunting experience. Yeah, you can kill everyone. Not that there's a good reason to or anything. Beforehand I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that nothing interesting would come from it. Why would I kill a bunch of characters that I love? There's better things to do with my time, surely. Yet... something told me that I should give it a shot, you know? Just once, so that I could see what it's like. So long as I knew what I was getting into, it wouldn't be so bad.

If you're thinking about it too, well, trust me. It's not worth it. I really don't recommend it at all.

...

 

[Gbraga]

You know, I didn't like the demo that much, so I didn't really care about this game, yet a friend kept talking how much he was enjoying. He asked if he could spoil me, and I said "ah, fuck it, why not". He told me what happens in this game.

This game is fucking amazing, and I didn't even play it. It's truly incredible, and I think it's a safe recommendation to people who like stuff like Nier or Souls for their story and world building. This shit is a masterpiece. At least when it comes to that part, hopefully I have fun with the actual game as well, because now I will definitely play it.

A thorough playthrough of it by someone as in-depth as ENB would also be amazing for the game's popularity.

 

[Battlechili]

Killing everything in this game is an exhausting, miserable and haunting experience. Yeah, you can kill everyone. Not that there's a good reason to or anything. Beforehand I thought about it for a long time and came to the conclusion that nothing interesting would come from it. Why would I kill a bunch of characters that I love? There's better things to do with my time, surely. Yet... something told me that I should give it a shot, you know? Just once, so that I could see what it's like. So long as I knew what I was getting into, it wouldn't be so bad.

If you're thinking about it too, well, trust me. It's not worth it. I really don't recommend it at all.

...

I am determined to become best buds with Flowey.

 

[dark_inferno]

I heard (Non Story Spoiler)

Spoiler

If you Type in Hitler as a name you will get Hard Mode.

is that right?

 

[Earthpainting]

I beat the game, but I think I messed up along the way. I got the mother of all bad endings it seems.

Spoiler

I Flowey went super saiyan and killed me like 8 times in a row in the most explosive, fuck-you unfair way, where every failure kicked me out of the game back to the desktop. I figured the game was being sassy so I kept going, until I noticed I was actually supposed to fight it like that. When I finally did it, I got a hint on what I didn't do right.

I did manage to get 0 EXP, which turned out to be a very good thing!

Amazing ride either way. Going to jump back in tomorrow to see how I go for the true ending.

 

[Battlechili]

I beat the game, but I think I messed up along the way. I got the mother of all bad endings it seems.

Spoiler

I Flowey went super saiyan and killed me like 8 times in a row in the most explosive, fuck-you unfair way, where every failure kicked me out of the game back to the desktop. I figured the game was being sassy so I kept going, until I noticed I was actually supposed to fight it like that. When I finally did it, I got a hint on what I didn't do right.

I did manage to get 0 EXP, which turned out to be a very good thing!

Amazing ride either way. Going to jump back in tomorrow to see how I go for the true ending.

Just make sure to survive and

Spoiler

use act during that boss fight whenever it appears to get help from the other souls

 

[Scher]

Well, I have to say, that full genocide ending sure is something. This game does a very good job of just making you feel like the worst person ever. For anyone who has done a full genocide playthrough,

Spoiler

has anyone spared Sans at the part where he basically is pleading for you to stop? Anything special happen?

 

[Artanisix]

how long is a playthrough, roughly?

 

[Veldin]

how long is a playthrough, roughly?

About 8 to 9 hours max for a first full playthrough reaching the best ending. Subsequent playthroughs for other endings are around 5 hours average.

 

[Kirlia]

Guys, play this game. It's only ten bucks. You won't regret it.

Spoiler

Well, maybe you will if you decide to kill everyone in the game.

About 8 to 9 hours max for a first full playthrough reaching the best ending. Subsequent playthroughs for other endings are around 5 hours average.

If you're going for all the endings, DO NOT DO THE BEST ENDING FIRST unless you want to feel like ABSOLUTE SCUM when you replay for the other endings.

Best order (if you really insist on getting all endings):

Spoiler

Genocide (kill everything), then Neutral (kill some things, although if you want the best Neutral ending, spare as many bosses as you can), then Pacifist (kill NOTHING).

Then again,

Spoiler

the Genocide route ends with the most difficult boss in the game, so you MAY want to do Neutral, Genocide, Pacifist. But seriously, don't do Genocide unless you want to feel like absolute trash.

 

[a very cute dog]

I wish I could pick this game up. I played the demo and it was lovely, right up my alley.

 

[Conezays]

Just bought it . Gotta find time for both this and Dropsy, haha.

 

[Veldin]

Best order (if you really insist on getting all endings):

Spoiler

Genocide (kill everything), then Neutral (kill some things, although if you want the best Neutral ending, spare as many bosses as you can), then Pacifist (kill NOTHING).

(Ending spoilers)

Spoiler

While that does sound like the least painful approach on paper, in practice it actually leads to what is probably the worst possible ending. Not sure how deep the rabbit hole goes yet. You are right though that avoiding a genocide run altogether is for the best if you don't want to be disgusted.

 

[Artanisix]

Thanks guys just picked it up, huge fan of indie rpgs.

 

[Kirlia]

(Ending spoilers)

Spoiler

While that does sound like the least painful approach on paper, in practice it actually leads to what is probably the worst possible ending. Not sure how deep the rabbit hole goes yet. You are right though that avoiding a genocide run altogether is for the best if you don't want to be disgusted.

Spoiler

Yeah, I heard about that after my original post. Holy hell, yeah. Just avoid Genocide entirely.