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Remember your Gbatemp 2015 Game of The Year everyone? It just turned 1 year old today!

Ah Undertale. Easily one of the biggest shocks to grace everyone's gaming pallet of last year. It dared to do some things simply, differently, and exponentially. Undertale just had this magnetic draw to it with everything that it did in writing and character creation that had us all latching on to it when it released.

And who could really blame you for doing so? A game that gave you the option to kill everyone or not a single entity. A game with a Dog Knight that stretched all over the screen and had one of the most memorizing songs I've ever heard in gaming. A game with two brothers that aren't Mario and Luigi but made themselves just as iconic through silly puns and bone-dry humor. (I'm so sorry, how could you not make that joke?)

Undertale was truly special for a number of reasons, but I think the word that truly describes what made it phenomenal is what I've echoed so many times already in this writing. Simplicity.

Undertale dared to show us that simplicity at its finest can make a game fantastic. Undertale was by no means graphically intensive and it was obviously inspired by so many other games to make it what it turned out to be. But what it turned out to be was a rock-solid story driven experience that played with your emotions, played at your humor, played with your mind and made you question every decision.

The impact Undertale had last year made a small little indie title a colossal titan in name. Every gaming outlet had it on its GOTY battles or were writing pieces on it. The Undertale fandom took the game and ran with it as far as they could, much to the ire of the rest of the internet. Even within our own community there was a clear divide between the ones that made the game their everything and those that couldn't handle the intensity of the fandom.

Despite what you might think of it, many of us today stand by the greatness of Undertale and what it delivered. You can read our official review here, see our heated Game of The Year discussion here, and find the official steam page for the game here.

Undertale pushed boundaries and became a big name for itself by doing what games are supposed to do better than what newer games were doing around it.

Entertain you.

And that's why we celebrate its release a whole year later, and celebrate the power of the indie community. Because in the end, we all just want experiences we can enjoy. And boy do we enjoy Undertale.

 

[Atro]

Now we need Mother 4!

Oh my god yes

 

[Ev1l0rd]

If anything, it was "neat".

This basically describes my feelings towards Undertale. Solid game, but go way too overhyped by the "fans" (because in my opinion a good fan is mature, and sees the weak spots in the topic they are a fan about and are mature enough to not shove it in your face all the time, while a "fan" is the rabid monkey that throws feces at anyone who doesn't think said topic is the second coming of Christ). Thankfullly, while the Undertale fanbase has remained large, the "fans" have moved on towards the next big thing, while the actual fans have stayed behind.

Note that my only experience with the Undertale fandom is /r/undertale and YouTube comments.

 

[Deleted User]

I fantasised about genocide

oh okay

 

[hobbledehoy899]

It's fun.

 

[Wander's Hat]

I hate the damn fan community. Five Nights at Freddies 2.0, worse because they think the game is "perfect".

Sometimes I feel like people these days don't understand moderation and don't think critically enough.

I wanted to like this game. I love the Mother series and I am extremely psyched for Mother 4. When Undertale finished it's project I thought it was cool because of the mother style.

Boy oh boy.

You just can't go anywhere on the internet without some moron spewing "teh undertale maymays". At first I was able to brush them off, but good fucking god you can't even talk about fonts without someone talking about undertale. People need to calm the fuck down. The game wasn't revolutionary. It's not really "notable" or "game of the year". If anything, it was "neat".

I can understand that. I like Undertale, but it's not the perfect game to end all games. That goes to Portal for me - simple controls made for a challenging puzzle game that ended at the best time and made you want more, but YMMV.
I know how you feel with the memes, except my qualms are with Shrek. I hated the films as a kid, and then that hate went dormant for a while. But the memes resparked my hate.
At least with Shrek memes, it's a bunch of idiotic kids and manchildren repeating phrases like parrots so it's easy to make a regex filter for something like Comment Snob or Word Replacer II. Undertale fans like mix'n'matching a lot more so it's sorta harder.

 

[Swiftloke]

Glad to see you writers took my idea.
Seeing all the love/hate through this thread reminds me that some games aren't for everyone. But for RPG lovers like myself, Undertale does everything right.
-a story that made it's own category for how good it is, and how the gameplay ties into it. I could go on for ages about how cleverly designed this was. (apparently contested)
-fun gameplay, though like any RPG it gets old in a second playthrough. Undertale fixed this with 3 very different paths that completely change the game, with the same core gameplay at heart that's fun.
-excellent soundtrack (completely uncontestable)

 

[Kurt91]

In itself, I like the game. As far as the fanbase goes, there's a lot of crap, but you find some genuinely neat stuff by people who really appreciate the characters and the setting. The only thing that I particularly don't like is a bit hard to explain, I think.

The battle system is amazing. It beats the issue that classical turn-based RPG battles have, where you're just picking from menus and passively watching what happens. Yes, I know that games like Paper Mario add things like Action Commands, but those seem kind of un-natural and shoehorned in at times. (Probably why I prefer Super Mario RPG over Paper Mario. Don't get me wrong, though. I love the first two Paper Mario games.) There's also the issues with straight bullet-hell games to consider. They're known for their beautiful and colorful patterns as well as their music, and it's fun to watch a playthrough even when you're not skilled enough to get through it yourself, to see the way they come together. However, bullet-hell games are usually much more stressful since you have only 1 HP and you can't quite admire everything since you're too busy staying alive, as well as panicking a bit when you do get hit.

Undertale has a pretty good way of covering both issues. Dodging attacks manually feels natural, and the RPG mechanics and mercy invincibility allow a more forgiving experience that makes it easier to admire the traits that bullet-hell mechanics bring to the table. It's very simplistic, though, and would benefit from being explored more and expanded upon. However, Undertale has made such an impact that any attempt to expand upon it is going to be called out as just ripping-off Undertale and probably wouldn't be accepted as well because of that.

tl;dr - The game is pretty good, but you can't try to expand or learn from the mechanics without being looked down upon for ripping it off.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

I got 2 words for everyone.

Spoiler: Here it is.

TUMBLR SHIPPING

What not enough? I think it says it all... okay 2 videos then.

Spoiler: Be warned this is not to be offesive.

I'll let screwattack speak on my behalf.

Okay, i guess you really want my opinion... Nah, no way you don't but i'll give it anyway.

• @Chary is right, i think the music was well done.
• The graphics are not so impressive.
• I didn't know "Bullet hell" games were popular, but i guess concept wise it made sense, just fell short in my opinion.
• This game reminds me of terranigma (Both follow concept of how choices sometimes have bad concequences.... Or maybe a bit more of xenogears more than earthbound.
• If this game is based off of earthbound (From some comments i seen here) Which is a bizarre game to begin with, then i don't have much to say about it.
• FUN FACTS: I just come to the conclusion, Cave story and Undertale have similar things like both was made by a single person, they both take place in a cave, they have multiple enemies, dispite having more advance technology to make better presentation of a game both use retro styles, graphics and music, the focus is more on story than game play.
• I fail to see or understand why games like this and earthbound are so popular. So perhaps i am in need of some help with that.

While i never played the game, i only watch one of the dozens of people who do and think is just okay. Having optional decisions to influence the difficulty of the game based on story made it again, nice concept. Having more endings gives people reason to play it again, the idea of the game breaking 4th wall and being self aware to the point of messing with our minds like corrupting or even existing information through save data, well metal gear solid and psycho mantis done it once. Enternal darkness on gamecube also does stuff like that. I'm sensing a trend here, 4th wall breaks on whole new level. Is a game at least that what counts.

Okay i'm ready let the salt fly.

 

[Deleted User]

Now we need Mother 4!

Wasn't MOTHER 4 supposed to release summer of 2015? How many times have they delayed it now?

 

[Chary]

• The graphics are not so impressive.
• I didn't know "Bullet hell" games were popular, but i guess concept wise it made sense, just fell short in my opinion.
• This game reminds me of terranigma (Both follow concept of how choices sometimes have bad concequences.... Or maybe a bit more of xenogears more than earthbound.
• I fail to see or understand why games like this and earthbound are so popular. So perhaps i am in need of some help with that.

For an indie game, trying to emulate the SNES era style, I think the graphics did just fine.

It's a niche genre, but a fun one. Undertale really isn't a pure kind of game in that genre. I guess it's a little bit influenced by Touhou/others though.

Yeah. It's also reminiscent of Shin Megami Tensei, where you can talk your way out of a fight. Toby Fox took a lot of cool ideas from SNES games.

I could never get into the Mother/Earthbound series. It's just too "wacky" for me, and feels a little dated.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Wasn't MOTHER 4 supposed to release summer of 2015? How many times have they delayed it now?

DId no one tell you? Undertale is secretly mother 4 as a Non japan exlusive.

Yeah. It's also reminiscent of Shin Megami Tensei, where you can talk your way out of a fight. Toby Fox took a lot of cool ideas from SNES games.

YES THANK YOU! This is the game i forgot to mention. @Chary you the best!
This, when you talk and conversate with enemies, is another game with this idea. I used to spend hours trying to talk to monsters to join me so i can get stronger and fuse them, except some were naked and looked inappropriate and cursed me out.

They just do funny goofy things in this one and is silly i guess but it was a unique idea to be able to talk to the enemies ratther than have to fight or run.

 

[Deleted User]

I never cared for the game. I played it 2 times and never see why it was so hyped. I could play Mother 3 again than play Undertale another time.

Also the fanbase needs to die

 

[HaloEliteLegend]

I wonder what would've happened if Earthbound released today in its existing state instead of decades ago. It's a title that influenced and inspired Undertale, and would likely have been a huge indie hit if it was released on the radar today. I mean, they could always make another Earthbound sequel... Or finally give us the sequel we haven't gotten localized yet...

It's funny how Undertale was inspired by many games from the SNES era. There's some forgotten magic to be beheld in those games so long ago. It's nice that it's resurfacing in the indie scene nowadays. Undertale was successful because it managed to bottle up that magic for a new audience.

 

[FrozenDragon150]

I never cared about the game at all. Yes, I played through the Neutral Pacifist, Pacifist and Genocide routes at different points to try and see of the characters made me feel something for them, of the plot was such a masterpiece of narrative.

But it wasn't. I never felt anything for the charactera, I was never fascinated with the world, I didn't give a second thought over butchering all the random enemies. The game gives you a lesson about how you're not above the consequences of your actions but... Guess what? The format itself torn appart that message. Of course I am, delete save data, boom. Already above the consequences of what I do on the game.

The gameplay got me drowsy by the time I reached Snowdin on my first playthrough, maybe I just don't like bullet hells too much, but the combat here was just a massive drag. And in general, it drags on both ends, on a pacifist run, having to evade all the attacks so many times just to keep trying to talk sense into the enemies, on Genocide it's even worse with all the grind and walking around.

All in all, it's just an average game for me, then fanbase is cancer personified, but ignore them and I'll at least enjoy the music, the only part I unironically liked. The gameplay, especially combat, is boring and pretty uninspired, the story is nothing special (at least not to me) the visuals are good for a SNES era style, the characters remind me of a SNES era game character, too, boring. IMO, the game is very much overhyped and overrated.

I especially don't like the comparisons to EarthBound, I like THAT game's plot, characters and combat way more than this one's and, guess what? It's an actual SNES era game, giving it a reason for any of it's design flaws UT just doesn't have by virtue of NOT being a SNES era game.

 

[DKB]

I liked Underhertail.

 

[Foxi4]

I hate the damn fan community. Five Nights at Freddies 2.0, worse because they think the game is "perfect".

Sometimes I feel like people these days don't understand moderation and don't think critically enough.

I wanted to like this game. I love the Mother series and I am extremely psyched for Mother 4. When Undertale finished it's project I thought it was cool because of the mother style.

Boy oh boy.

You just can't go anywhere on the internet without some moron spewing "teh undertale maymays". At first I was able to brush them off, but good fucking god you can't even talk about fonts without someone talking about undertale. People need to calm the fuck down. The game wasn't revolutionary. It's not really "notable" or "game of the year". If anything, it was "neat".

Five Nights isn't even a good horror game and it's barely a video game.

It relies exclusively on jump scares, which are not scary - they're startling. They're an unexpected loud noise - that's not horror, that's just annoying. If I sit behind you quietly and then suddenly scream right into your ear, it's just about the same experience as Five Nights - there's no difference.

The reason why it's barely a video game is that it doesn't explain its own rules to the player. It gives you a basic run-down, sure, but most of the mechanics have to be "discovered" by the player, except the game doesn't give you clues, it just kinda assumes that you'll do the guesswork and figure out how to play the damn thing. It's like giving someone a football, telling them that we're going to play football now and straight up bashing into them like a steam train. "Choo choo, motherf*cker, you better learn how to "play the game" real quick, because I'm beating you pretty badly!" - that's not a game, that's just taking advantage of someone who doesn't know the rules. It's mostly trial and error, so it's hardly the gaming masterpiece everybody touts ot to be.

It's a product of the retarded Pewdiepie jumpscare generation that wouldn't know real horror if it hit them right in the face. There is almost no substance to it.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

Overrated Meme Game.

 

[Yepi69]

I played both games and I don't see the similarity. Both are RPGs and that's it.

Don't mind him, he's fishing.

 

[CeeDee]

DAE LE UNDERFAIL IS THE WORST STUPID BRONY FURRY FAGGOT HIPSTERS LIKE THIS GAME DEVIANTART OCS FETISH ART ALL FANDOMS SUCKKKKKK EXCEPT WEEBS CUZ ANIME FTW

...can I have my likes now?


In all seriousness, I do think UNDERTALE is on of the better games I've played recently. (I'm not too picky about games in general, though.)
I don't buy into all the "this game is great it cures depression causes world piece" stuff, but I do think it's a good game nonetheless.

I do like the battle mechanics a lot, combining RPG and bullet hell works well here.
Story is fairly well done.

Spoiler

The various routes depending on enemy kills is a cool story mechanic... as is the neutral-route final boss's game crashes and fake intro/save things.

Graphics look nice in my opinion, though I do love pixel art, so I may be biased...
The characters are, for the most part, likable in some way or another, but I do not understand the obsession with Sans whatsoever...

Spoiler

nor Asriel Dreemurr or the first fallen human.

OH, AND THE MUSIC IS AMAZING
Overall, the game is good. It's probably not as good as EarthBound or MOTHER 3, but it's a nice creative RPG game.

The fanbase... it's a fanbase. I'm not one of the people here that go "EWW FANDOMS R SO CRINGE" and I do believe not all fandoms are absolute crap like most people here think they are. It has plenty of decent people in it, like the content makers. I've seen some good fanmade music mashups and fan animations, for instance. But all things considered, the fandom doesn't "turn me off" from the game itself, and is fairly tolerable in most cases.

Overall, UNDERTALE is a good game! It's not as impactful or important as some would believe, but awesome nonetheless.

 

[bi388]

How can that be? As far as I know, EarthBound doesn't try to make you feel bad for defeating your enemies

The mother series multiple times tries to make you guilty for defeating specific enemies. And besides 1 mechanic doesn't define a game. The quirkiness that is symbolic of mother is clearly borrow by UT. Although clone is a stretch.