Undertale was initally released in 2015, but continued to be made compatibe for other systems other than Windows and mac until 2021. It was conseptualised and developed by Toby Fox, with additional design from Temmie Chang. It is an RPG with turn-based battles where the player is dodging attacks if not FIGHTing or ACTing. A lot of Undertale is optional depending on the type of game the player wants. The game includes meta-knowledge and fourth wall breaks where the actions of the player within the current save, and elsewhere, is tracked. Dialogue and the characters and environment will be deferent depending on player actions.
The rough story it that a human child falls down Mount Ebott and into the Underground, where monsters are trapped behind a barrier instated by humans after the war. The goal of the Player as the fallen human is to get through the Ruins, then the rest of the Underground, to King Asgore. A human and monster soul is needed to get through the barrier so it is likely the Player will have to fight Asgore, whether they want to or not...
The story and richness of the game changes depending on the Player's action. If they decide to have Mercy for monsters, and ACT against them so they can be Spared, the Player is a pacifist. However, they could decide to try and FIGHT every monster, killing them and leveling up to take on Asgore and the other game boss. This would see the player on the Genocide Route. There is also many Neutral routes that can be taken, each with slightly different endings.
I would say one of the most iconic things about the game is the music! And sound design generally. Once you play the game you'll recognise any of the character's chatter noise (I can hear Sans',,, eh eh ehs). The music was solely developed by Toby Fox and there are updwards of 100 tracks within the game. The emotional response I have to some of them is immense. Lots of them have overlapping melodies or through-lines to call back to certain characters or parts of the game.
Fun fact: I've only ever played the Pacifist Route! I might play the Genocide Route in future, but just to say that any information about the Genocide Route is not from personal experience. I love the characters dearly and am somewhat scared to hurt these fictional characters...
They are mostly in order of appearance.
You play as a fallen human. There name, one eventually learns, is Frisk. The name chosen by the player is... someone else. There is little personality to the human, with no lines of dialogue, no facial expression, and little known or decided about them and their backstory.
Mother Goat! Toriel is the first resident of the Underground the fallen human meets. She helps guide the child through the ruins, makes them butterscotch-cinnamon pie, and they live happily ever after... until the fallen human wants to leave the Ruins to explore the rest of the Underground and escape back to the humans. She's truly lovely, sassy, and is always there when you need her.
What a sad ghost Napstablook is. Very relatable. They are such a sweet character. I love their tunes, and I hope they become a well renouned DJ if they are able to get to the surface.
This funny skeleton clearly has secrets. He loves to mess with the Player and is unafraid to break the fourth wall. His love for his brother clearly is his driving force, as well as generally caring for Monsters — it's no insignificance that he is the last Monster you meet or FIGHT before getting to the barrier.
The silliest man in the game. This skeleton just wants to join the Royal Guard. Papyrus' loud personality is so loverable! Pretty much the best character in the game, I love that the player is eventually able to call him and all the things he add.
The terrifying head of the Royal Guard is actually kinda the coolest. This fish lady is an expert at fighting, cooking, and intensely loving her friends.
Alphys is a mess. The Royal Scientist is a mess with some really intense secrets. She's an anime loving, nerdy, internet trash, anxiety ridden dinosaur. Her crush on Undyne, yes sir, you're perfect Alphys.
OH YES! Bro's crazy. A gay icon. A killer robot. A sexy show host. A lonely ghost. A transgender? The moment. He is the moment. MTT EX is one of the best characters to cosplay. His story is fun and yet his relationship with Napstablook is deeper than we see, there's more to him than being a fashionable killer robot.
The King of the Underground really is Fluffybuns. He's so sweet, tending for the gardens and the Monsters of the Underground. After all he and his family goes through, he stays and rules. I love him and Toriel and the way we get to see them bicker a bit lol.
Although Flowey is the first Monster you meet in the Underground, he stays with you. I feel bad for Flowey, I really do. To feel like the world is kill or be killed is so sad and lonely and clearly results in the behaviour. Ariel really pulls at my heart strings, he really is just a child trying to help his sibling and so so sad about the reality he has to face.
Apologies for lumping everyone else together here. All the Monsters in the Underground are epic. The one's you Fight or Act against...
If you end up taking the genocide route you'll know Chara. So I don't lol. I'm sorry that they were so lost they had to act like that.
My first contact with Undertale was watching Dan and Phil play it a decade ago. It took them a whole year with 10 episodes (around 11hrs) of gameplay, where they play the (True) Neutral and True Pacifist route. It has always stuck with me. When downloading YouTube videos were easier, I downloaded all of their videos and watched them on the 3hr drives to and from family again and again. I love the characters in the game, but I adore the versions of the characters that Dan and Phil brought to life! They're Sans and Papyrus are my Sans and Papyrus, Toriel will always be a little Welsh to me. Similarly, the full OST is in a yt video and I had that downloaded and would listen to it. Pretty much every year Toby Fox is in my top 5 listened to artists.
I bought the game on Steam at the very beginning of 2020 and can remember taking my laptop with me on my Year 10 Ski Trip, trying to dodge Undyne's attacks on the teeny tiniest arrow keys. I honestly cannot tell you how far I ended up getting in my first playthrough. I think it was the final Mettaton fight, I just couldn't get past... I think. I'm honestly not sure. I might have finished the game or not even got that far but because I know the route so well, thanks to Dan and Phil, I cannot recollect it properly. However, this year, after getting a Steam Deck, I played through it pretty quickly! About 500-600 minutes and I managed to talk to all NPCs both during the game and after the barrier was broken, going all the way back to Asriel. I surprised myself at only dying once during the Photoshop Flowey fight! I loved playing it in a new way.
Characters: Toriel / Papyrus / Monster Kid / Asriel
Songs: Home (Music Box) / Memory / SAVE The World / Fallen Down / Can You Really Call This A Hotel, I Didn't Receive A Mint On My Pillow Or Anything / His Theme / Quiet Water / Last Goodbye
Locations: Waterfall (specifically the statue) / Home
Quotes: It's you! ... Despite everything, it's still you. / But it refused. / The music continues, and doesn't stop.
Background: featherspiral on tumblr.
Undyne poster: razzlefrazzle on tumblr.
Characters poster: JoresuOni on Newgrounds.
Title font: Undertale font on Deefont.
Paragraph font: Determination Mono on FontSpace.