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[SealyStar]

Okay, can someone explain the Undertale hype for me? It's been a cancer unto the nets for the last few days now and people won't shut up about how Undertale is the second coming of Super Ocarina of Deus Half-Shock Goes Home VII and all I see is yet another indie JRPG with pixel graphics and lolsorandom writing. Yet there's obviously got to be something genuinely great about it, because it's ludicrously popular despite having all the trappings of a niche game nobody plays.

Also, how does one spend $50/$20 on a game that is $17.99 for the game-soundtrack bundle? Are there microtransactions or do you live somewhere where the local s-with-slash variant is worth less?

[Aklyon]

Probably steam trading cards for the lower amount.
As for the game, afaik from only hearing about it, its like iji: Its got a nifty pacifist mode if you do so, and a not-so pacifist mode.

[SealyStar]

Oh, one more confusing thing: why all the hype now when the game came out nearly a month ago? I don't recall everyone chatting about it in mid-September.

[Putnam]

all I see is yet another indie JRPG with pixel graphics and lolsorandom writing.

Yeah, that's because you haven't even bothered to look at a second of gameplay.

If I seem short about this, it's because most of the complaints about the game rely entirely on zero-experience kneejerk reactions. They take a half-second glance and go "I KNOW THIS GAME ENTIRELY ALREADY".

It's primarily a bullet hell with RPG elements, or perhaps an RPG where most of the gameplay is actually bullet hell. Its humor is... I would best describe it as dense, self-referential the whole way through. Basically the opposite of random. Jim Sterling complained that some gags kept running for too long while giving the game his second 10/10 ever. The game began development in Andrew Hussie's basement and you can sorta tell.

[SalmonGod]

The presentation is very quaint on the surface, but the game has immense hidden depths and creativity.  The writing is... not random at all.  Like everything else about the game, it seems rambling and silly on the surface... you drop your guard to be mildly amused by the dumb humor... and then it knocks you out with some serious shit.  It will shock you with sudden horrifying realizations of failure, and then literally mock and criticize you for them.

It's hard to talk about what really makes Undertale great without spoiling it.  Let's just say the plot has layers, and the in-game plot is only the first layer.  Let that statement sink in.

I'm a short way into my second play-through (EXTREMELY RARE FOR ME) and so many details are falling into place.  And I'm noticing details that I took for granted as random whimsical nonsense the first time, and realizing I'll probably have discovered the proper context to appreciate them the 3rd time though...

[Tack]

Woah. Developed by Andrew Hussie?
Or was that a mettyfor?

[Putnam]

the second most common complaint is that the game criticizes you for making bad choices

and that criticism basically relies on the player being averse to save scumming

but the game wants you to do that i think?

Woah. Developed by Andrew Hussie?
Or was that a mettyfor?

It began development in Andrew Hussie's basement. Not a metaphor. Toby "Radiation" Fox (the creator of the game) was literally in Andrew Hussie's basement when he began work on the game.

[SalmonGod]

the second most common complaint is that the game criticizes you for making bad choices

Really?  What's the first?

[Putnam]

that it looks like lolsorandom and/or generic JRPG and/or feels trash

i seriously saw a guy go on a rant about the lack of original mechanics in indie games when undertale was #1 PC game on metacritic

like oh my god this game is basically nothing but original mechanics for 12 hours

[TheBiggerFish]

Yeah, Toby is one of the Homestuck musicians so this totally makes sense.  But it seriously started in Hussie's basement?

10/10 WAAAAAANNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

[KingofstarrySkies]

I got it. IT'S GREAT.

[Sirus]

I heard that doing a "genocide run" locks you out of ever getting the "best" ending. As a guy who likes to see as many different endings as possible, that's a huge no-no. I'm not a fan of games that (supposedly) punish players like that.

Bear in mind, this is hear-say. I haven't actually fired it up yet because work keeps me busy, and I really really hope that it isn't true.

[KingofstarrySkies]

...No, you need to do the genocide run to get the best ending. I'm not looking forward to it.

[Descan]

I've heard the same things, and I've also heard that doing a hard reset fixes whatever issues arise from that, Sirus. So it's not a "Yeah you never ever ever will get this fixed" issue.

[Putnam]

I've heard the same things, and I've also heard that doing a hard reset fixes whatever issues arise from that, Sirus. So it's not a "Yeah you never ever ever will get this fixed" issue.

not true

I heard that doing a "genocide run" locks you out of ever getting the "best" ending. As a guy who likes to see as many different endings as possible, that's a huge no-no. I'm not a fan of games that (supposedly) punish players like that.

Bear in mind, this is hear-say. I haven't actually fired it up yet because work keeps me busy, and I really really hope that it isn't true.

the game has a very clear anti-completionist message

radiation's previous work was also pretty heavy with the "gamers do horrible things in-game for the sake of completion" theme

there is no completion percentage, no achievements, nothing at all that encourages you to continue playing past any point you feel like stopping except for the promise of more undertale and never make you want to do certain actions just because something told you to do so; this is by design, and Toby's explicitly stated that he will never put in achievements for that exact reason

the genocide run is basically like Spec Ops: The Line but slightly funner, it makes you feel like shit

...No, you need to do the genocide run to get the best ending. I'm not looking forward to it.

not true