Undertale, one of the biggest games to have come out within the past year. It is created by Toby Fox and was funded through the site Kickstarter. Since it’s released it has won the hearts of many players and has become one of the most popular games online. The question is, does the game deserve the hype and praise that it gets? This review will explore just what makes this game so beloved by the majority.

Graphics-7/10
Undertale was heavily inspired by games of the NES era, specifically Earthbound, and that is apparent in the graphical style of the game, which is 8-bit. The graphics can be described as simple. For the most part they don’t stray from their simplicity, there are exceptions which won't be mentioned due to spoilers. The graphics unfortunately are weak because of the simplicity, compared to other games of the style, like say Shovel Knight for instance, it somewhat falls short. The graphics are decent to look at however, there aren’t any graphical errors and you can clearly see each character and the scenery. They're also pleasing to look at and not filled with blinding colors

Sounds 10/10
The music of the game is phenomenal. The music does a good job of raising the atmosphere of each place or situation. The first boss battle the song “Heartache” plays which both serves to pump up the player for the fight as well as to make the player feel emotional considering just who they are fighting. Snowdin Town has a sweet song that serves to calm the player and fits the charm and Christmas feel of the town.

One aspect that is quite nice is depending on the route you choose, the overworld music changes. Pacifist/Neutral have the normal soundtrack, however the music played in Genocide route plays different music. The music played is the normal music slowed down and in a place with happier music, such as Snowdin Town, it is very disconcerting to listen to. It really gives a haunting feeling since the music sounds so creepy and you're alone wondering each area listening to the music.

Lastly the sound effects. They’re nothing too spectacular however they’re not bad, they fit with what they’re used for and that’s all that can really be said about them. I don't find anything good or bad about them.

Story- 10/10
It is very difficult to talk about the story of Undertale without entering spoiler territory, however I will try my best to not give spoilers for the story.

The basic premise is the main character, whose name will not be mentioned as you only find out after beating the game, falls into the Underground, a place where monsters were banished to by the humans. So the summary may sound boring or uninteresting and honestly, the beginning of the game may be a bit boring story wise. Once you get into the meat of the story you will find it a fulfilling experience. The journey through the underground trying to find your way back home is an emotional one filled with laughter and tears. The story can branch off depending on the choice the player makes and it is worth it to do every route to experience the full story.

A good story needs good characters to move said story along. Undertale is no exception, it has a wonderful cast of characters. All of which are unique with their own stories and personalities. All of them fit in with the story and are portrayed in a way that can get a player to connect and identify with them.

Addictiveness 10/10
The game can be very addictive. It’s one where you can find yourself immersed in the game world spending hours on just exploring and talking to the characters you meet. The game is a short one and as such it is pack filled with content, content that you won’t want to put down until you complete it.

As stated, the game has three routes. Each route provides different scenes and even then one of the routes, Neutral, has different dialogue in the ending for each action you did in the course of the game. As such the game has a replayability aspect to it for those who want to see every aspect of the game. To get the full story you will have to play through the game at least three times to get all the endings, four if you also want to see the end of a Pacifist run after doing a Genocide one.

The game has also many little secrets and Easter eggs that will leave the player wanting to find them all. These add to the addictiveness and replayability because some of them are secret bosses or even add little aspects to the story, such as a secret character that can be connected to a certain pair of brothers.

Depth-10/10
This game has a lot of depth to it. First off the depth of gameplay. In each battle there are four options you can choose to do “Fight” which attacks the monster, “Act” which allows you to interact with them, “Item” which lets you use an item, and “Mercy” which lets you spare a monster or run away from them.

The three routes are dependent on these options. Genocide involves you fighting them while Pacifist involves you peacefully interacting them so you can eventually spare them. The game accounts for each action you do, if you kill a certain monster, another one can potentially hate/dislike you. Dialogue changes depending on what you have done, so it’s good to do different things on each playthrough to get the full effect of the game.

Difficulty 6/10
Depending on the route you’re going through, the game can be either very easy, or very difficult. The Neutral route is for the most part easy. If you’re gaining EXP then you will be able to survive hits. Really you can easily get through the game without much trouble. You may have trouble with the final boss however it isn’t anything too impossible. The Pacifist route is the middle ground. It’s very similar to the neutral route except you’re not gaining EXP so you have to make sure you’re not getting hit much because you will die easily. Lastly the Genocide route. For the most part it is easy since you can easily kill all creatures. However there are two very difficult Genocide only bosses. The second of which will take hours to beat, hours spent getting frustrated at how many deaths will occur. This boss is heart pounding and really tests the limits of the gamer.

Overall 8.8/10
Overall the game is phenomenal and lives up to the hype that surrounds it. There are many reasons why it is so beloved such as quirky characters to the amazing music. It will take the player on an emotional roller coaster filled with ups and downs. It’s a game that any fan of retro style games can appreciate and even if you aren’t a fan of the style there is a lot about the game that can be appreciated. It’s a game that has to be experience to truly understand just what makes it so special.

~So there's my first review. Please tell me what you think. I tried not to go to much into spoilers but considering the game, that is difficult to accomplish. Hope you liked the review~

Good job, my friend. You summed up this game nicely. However, maybe you should have mentioned the different routes more and how to activate them. ( Neutral: Kill but don't kill everyone, Genocide: Kill everyone, Pacifist: Kill No one, and True Pacifist: Kill no one and finish certain objectives). You were spot on. More people should see this wonderful review.

This was a nice review, It says everything that needs to be said so good job on that. I hope to see more reviews from you in the future.

18mlivingston : Thanks for the compliment. It was my first review so it's nice to see some feedback on it.

Ultrajeff : Yo thanks for the reply. I probably should have, though when I was writing it I probably assumed that the names would give an idea as to how to get the ending(since genocide literally means to kill a large group) but yeah. I do agree that I should have specified. So thanks for the little critique. But yeah thanks for the positive feedback.