Post by Warork on Dec 6, 2015 9:04:02 GMT
Alright guys, I'm making this thread for a specific reason: I know many of you may have already heard of this indie game that came out a few months ago. Some of you may have already bought and played the game for yourself, some of you may have just seen it being talked about a lot on the internet...some of you may have even experienced the massive amount hype that's prevalent around the game.
I'm here to tell you that that hype is at least partially justified.
I'm here to tell you that that hype is at least partially justified.
Undertale is a retro style RPG developed by indie developer Toby Fox who also did the sound design for a Halloween themed hack of the game Earthbound. It was pretty much entirely made by him in the span of about three years with the help of crowdfunding and has taken off since its release in September, being nominated for three awards in this year's Game Awards including "Best Independent Game" and "Best Roleplaying Game." It has achieved cult status in little time, receiving wide acclaim across social media basically by word of mouth alone and has quickly become an instant classic. The reasons for all this runaway success are wide and varied and I'll address some of the things that make the game great here but in the end, if you want to see what the buzz is about then you gotta pick yourself up a copy and play it for yourself.
Gameplay: The game itself takes a lot of inspiration from games like Earthbound in regards to mechanics. Its an RPG so you'll fight monsters, gain EXP, level up, have health bars and so on. What's pretty fun and unique about the battle system though is that everything is tied into a bullet hell mini game that can vary between very simple and HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON depending on what the story is doing...
Let me show you what I mean...
Gameplay: The game itself takes a lot of inspiration from games like Earthbound in regards to mechanics. Its an RPG so you'll fight monsters, gain EXP, level up, have health bars and so on. What's pretty fun and unique about the battle system though is that everything is tied into a bullet hell mini game that can vary between very simple and HOLY SHIT WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON depending on what the story is doing...
Let me show you what I mean...
Yeah, you see that little heart in that box there? That's you...try not to let it get fucked up...
While not in battle you've got an overworld to explore...once again, pretty simple graphics wise...its reminiscent of the old Pokemon gameboy games but you know, that's part of its style...its charm.
Speaking of charm, this game has it in spades and boatloads. Its obviously not a big budget AAA game from some huge developer, it was made in GameStudio so the graphics and such aren't where its appeal lies...no, Undertale's appeal lies in its atmosphere, its characters, its phenomenal sound design and its incredible story telling.
Atmosphere and Charm: When it comes to making you feel a certain way, Undertale is an undeniable masterpiece. It's unabashedly goofy and hilarious at points and completely somber and morose at others. It runs the gamut of every emotional high that you can think of from creepy, cute, funny, and snarky to suspenseful, dreadful, heartfelt and bittersweet. It pulls all of this off with its minimalistic design and wit of the creator to assemble an experience that not many games can give, all of it serving to suck you deeper into the game's story and attach you more heavily to the game's characters.
Speaking of characters; Undertale has a very memorable cast and that's saying something in a day and age where every Triple A game that comes out seems to be full of NPCs that are about as interesting as a bowl of oatmeal. You will love Undertale's characters, you will hate them. You will be happy when they are happy and be sad when they are sad. If you play this game I guarantee that you WILL become attached to at least one of them.
Much of Undertale's charm as a game comes from its humor, something that it has quite the grasp on. This game will make you laugh at its silliness in a way you haven't done since you were a kid. Yes the game is silly, but it is also very self aware. Literally the entire plot revolves around turning classic RPG tropes on their head and whether you grasp this when you first play the game or not can severely alter the way the story progresses.
Even some of the characters are self aware! You'll be genuinely surprised when a few of them call you out for reacting as any gamer would to a given videogame scenario. Undertale makes you really think about the courses of action you take and by the end of it you just might have to alter how you view your gaming career.
Soundtrack: THIS GAME HAS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING SOUNDTRACKS I'VE EVER HEARD.
While not in battle you've got an overworld to explore...once again, pretty simple graphics wise...its reminiscent of the old Pokemon gameboy games but you know, that's part of its style...its charm.
Speaking of charm, this game has it in spades and boatloads. Its obviously not a big budget AAA game from some huge developer, it was made in GameStudio so the graphics and such aren't where its appeal lies...no, Undertale's appeal lies in its atmosphere, its characters, its phenomenal sound design and its incredible story telling.
Atmosphere and Charm: When it comes to making you feel a certain way, Undertale is an undeniable masterpiece. It's unabashedly goofy and hilarious at points and completely somber and morose at others. It runs the gamut of every emotional high that you can think of from creepy, cute, funny, and snarky to suspenseful, dreadful, heartfelt and bittersweet. It pulls all of this off with its minimalistic design and wit of the creator to assemble an experience that not many games can give, all of it serving to suck you deeper into the game's story and attach you more heavily to the game's characters.
Speaking of characters; Undertale has a very memorable cast and that's saying something in a day and age where every Triple A game that comes out seems to be full of NPCs that are about as interesting as a bowl of oatmeal. You will love Undertale's characters, you will hate them. You will be happy when they are happy and be sad when they are sad. If you play this game I guarantee that you WILL become attached to at least one of them.
Much of Undertale's charm as a game comes from its humor, something that it has quite the grasp on. This game will make you laugh at its silliness in a way you haven't done since you were a kid. Yes the game is silly, but it is also very self aware. Literally the entire plot revolves around turning classic RPG tropes on their head and whether you grasp this when you first play the game or not can severely alter the way the story progresses.
Even some of the characters are self aware! You'll be genuinely surprised when a few of them call you out for reacting as any gamer would to a given videogame scenario. Undertale makes you really think about the courses of action you take and by the end of it you just might have to alter how you view your gaming career.
Soundtrack: THIS GAME HAS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING SOUNDTRACKS I'VE EVER HEARD.
SERIOUSLY, LISTEN TO SOME OF THIS STUFF.
ITS PURE AMAZEBALLS.
The soundtrack in this game is so very varied and unique and compliments a game that does so many great things well at the same time. TobyFox is truly talented to be able to make so many great tracks for such an awesome game and have every single one of them be emotionally appropriate for the situation within the game that they play for. These tracks will make you think, they will make you sad, they will terrify you and they will pump you up. They are a big part of the reason why this game is so great and I wouldn't change any one of them for anything else. This soundtrack is the crown jewel of Undertale. Cherish it.
Plot and Storytelling:
Plot and Storytelling:
I say this without skipping a beat; even if Undertale wins no awards then it will still have the Game of the Year as far as the writing for it goes...and that's for ANY game that came out in 2015.
Seriously, if you're tired of the same old shit that Call of Duty has to offer, if you're sick of the generic plotlines that even greatly made games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls have to offer then Undertale is for you! PREPARE TO FEEL THINGS. PREPARE TO BE ENRAPTURED BY THE STORY. PREPARE TO FEEL THE CRUSHING WEIGHT OF YOUR OWN DECISIONS. PREPARE FOR MULTIPLE VARIED ENDINGS THAT ACTUALLY CHANGE SIGNIFICANCE DEPENDING ON THOSE DECISIONS
YOU ARE THE MASTER OF THIS SETTING'S FATE. WHO WILL LIVE? WHO WILL DIE? WHO WILL BE HAPPY? WHO WILL SUFFER? THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE.
Without spoiling anything I will say that this game's story, much like its gameplay, runs the gamut of silly to horrifying and every other emotion you can think of. I've played it guys, and for a while after I couldn't even look at it again because of how it affected me. It manages to hit on some pretty deep emotions if you let it and it will change the way you might look at some games.
This game deserves so much of the praise it has gotten so far...do yourself a favor and go play it yourself. I promise you wont regret it.
Seriously, if you're tired of the same old shit that Call of Duty has to offer, if you're sick of the generic plotlines that even greatly made games like Fallout and Elder Scrolls have to offer then Undertale is for you! PREPARE TO FEEL THINGS. PREPARE TO BE ENRAPTURED BY THE STORY. PREPARE TO FEEL THE CRUSHING WEIGHT OF YOUR OWN DECISIONS. PREPARE FOR MULTIPLE VARIED ENDINGS THAT ACTUALLY CHANGE SIGNIFICANCE DEPENDING ON THOSE DECISIONS
YOU ARE THE MASTER OF THIS SETTING'S FATE. WHO WILL LIVE? WHO WILL DIE? WHO WILL BE HAPPY? WHO WILL SUFFER? THAT'S FOR YOU TO DECIDE.
Without spoiling anything I will say that this game's story, much like its gameplay, runs the gamut of silly to horrifying and every other emotion you can think of. I've played it guys, and for a while after I couldn't even look at it again because of how it affected me. It manages to hit on some pretty deep emotions if you let it and it will change the way you might look at some games.
This game deserves so much of the praise it has gotten so far...do yourself a favor and go play it yourself. I promise you wont regret it.