Videogame Review: Undertale
I finally got around to playing through this recently. I’d heard so much about it (both good and bad actually) so I tried to keep an open mind. I was pleasantly surprised. Undertale is one of the most charming and engaging indie games ever made. It is the trifecta of strong narrative, excellent music, and solid gameplay with great replayability as well.
It’s a deceptively simple game. You play as a human child who falls into an underground cave leading to an adventure in a land of monsters. The characters are all quite well done. Literally every single enemy has a story, personality, dreams, fears, etc. They stay with you long after you finish the game. The lore is really amazing too. The more you dig into it the more interesting surprises you find as the story is multilayered with a variety of endings. The game breaks the fourth wall in ways that are genuinely clever and exemplify the story’s themes. It’s all very meta and super neat. It’s no wonder the internet went crazy when the game’s mascot character Sans was announced for Smash Bros Ultimate. You have to appreciate how much was done with so little — how such a small, simple 8-bit game managed to create such an emotional impact. This is one of those games I can recommend to anyone.
Grade: A
