Undertale is a game that’s been getting rave reviews from quite a few people - critics or otherwise. Some choice comments
IGN:
It’s hard to express just how much I adore Undertale without spoiling anything significant, but that’s what I love about it. It tells its story in such a dynamic way, and with such a great understanding of the RPG player’s mindset, that it couldn’t have been told in any other way. It’s a masterfully crafted experience that I won’t forget any time soon
The complexities woven deeply into this initially unassuming RPG are enough to keep you invested long after you’ve watched the end credits for the first time. It’s been a long, long time since this style of RPG has grabbed me as Undertale has, and even longer since a small independent effort has been so ambitious, impressive, and unquestionably successful.
inspired by this and egged on by Rishi
@SathyaBhat Btw, grab Undertale you heathen.
— Kept you baiting huh (@slackerninja) November 27, 2015
And so I did play. Or tried to anyway. But I failed. It was during my conversation with Rishi about his review that I was able to elaborate what exactly I didn’t like about Undertale:
Sathya: that game is broken at the start
Rishi: Lolwut?How?
Sathya: from telling you being pacifist is ok and when you take that approach you get clobbered.
Rishi: Yup
Sathya:the wait for a while was bs (ie, the bit where Toriel keeps calling you.. Cute at first and soon enough gets infuriating. )
Rishi: Mentioned that. Stupid communication fail
Sathya. I ended up restarting the game because I got tired
Rishi: 😂
Sathya: honestly if it wasn’t for your recommendation long back I’d have never touched it. The music is charming but the repeatitiveness gets on your nerves. Bear in mind these are all impressions from the first hour
Rishi: You’re spot on
_(I later found that the repetition is actually a style of music called Leitmotifs). _
Sathya: yes I know how good it is supposed to be and all
Sathya: But ‘m fraid with a start like this, they’ve effectively driven away lot of folks. Hear about it => launch => nice music => charming => wtf? ==> wtf am I doing? ==> why the fuck do I keep falling???!!?? => argh that damn music SHUT UP already => rage quit
(side note; yes, I know about the sign boards. But these are something that I tend to gloss over and observe much later)
These were the first impressions when I first played
Rishi: Yup. It’s exclusionary. You have to have loved old RPGs from Japan to like it
Sathya: I see.
Undertale does have enough charm to it that I’ll get back to playing it soon, but every item I think of launching it, I’m reminded of my first hour playthrough experience and I question myself - do I really need to experience that all over again? Well..
