Specifically 2D story-based games.

I’ll admit. I didn’t want anything to do with Undertale. I had seen the hype on several social media channels, but I kept thinking it was a very niche group of people who were overhyping its value. My boyfriend ended up getting the game during the Steam Winter Sale, and I agreed to play it with him.

It. Is. Amazing.

We’ve put about 7 hours into our first playthrough. Honestly, I’m thinking we’ll be doing another round soon because neither of us were satisfied with the ending we got. We refused to look online for a guide until we had finished at least one of the storylines, so it wasn’t until after that we realized how many different endings you could have gotten. It’s all based on decisions (big and small) that you make throughout the game.

The game itself isn’t super impressive in terms of graphics, but once you start the game, you get an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. The 8 bit graphics, the tinny video game music, and then  there’s the fights. As soon as you feel like you’re getting comfortable, the game makes you dump everything you’ve ever known about old school games out the window.

The combat in the game is very similar to what you’d expect in traditional games. You are walking, a monster approaches you out of nowhere, and you two fight. But you don’t have to kill. There’s lots of creative ways that you can use to get around killing. Here’s an online video someone made of one of the more memorable fights from early in the game:

I got quite attached to the story and the characters. How attached? At one point, our character needed to heal and I was going to eat an item named “BUTTPIE”. I voiced aloud “What’s BUTTPIE?” and then my boyfriend reminded me that it was a butterscotch pie that a character named Toriel had given to us. And then I bursted into tears. The one decision I regret most throughout our whole Undertale playthrough was not knowing we didn’t have to kill the monsters that initiate fights with us, and thus, we had killed Toriel from the beginning. Toriel, the most wonderful, loving creature you can hope to run into. Who fought us only to keep us from harm. (Not a huge spoiler because this actually happens about 5 minutes into the game)

My favourite town in the game is Temmie Village. I freaking love the Tems, and I love how zany they all are. They speak with a slight speech impediment, and they’re all excited as heck about…life in general? Here’s a Tem:

If you wanted a 3 minute glimpse into Temmie Village here’s a good one (no spoilers. The town is quite enclosed in itself in terms of storyline):

There’s small things in the game that make you realize how much time the creator and developers put into the story. You’ll meet characters who speak in the font that their name is inspired after. You’ll find puns that you won’t roll your eyes at. You’ll discover things at every corner. The game really rewards you for thinking/playing outside the box.

The game’s story is one that fills you with determination. It’s not a super long game (I reckon you can finish your first playthrough alone in about 5 hours), but it’s very engaging. I’d compare looking forward to playing the game after work like a TV show. You want to find out where the story is headed next. I’ve got to go listen to the soundtrack now, if you’ll excuse me. It’s highly addictive.