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Thoughts on Undertale (2015)?

ROMhack

Member
aka the ultimate meme game.

Personally I thought it was a decent-if-not-brilliant game that somehow got an unbelievable amount of popularity. Such things are evidenced by the billions of hit that every Undertale video on YouTube has, in addition to the presence of Sans in Smash Bros Ultimate.

Often I wonder just how this fucking game got so popular. I barely hear about it on the GAF though so I'm curious.

Here's a jaunty tune:

 

Shifty

Member
I was one of the lucky ones, in that I got into it and played it to completion without context before the fanbase mutated into the massive, rabid thing it is today.

I liked it a whole lot, very earnestly written with good jokes, bangin' tunes, a clever battle system and subversiveness for days.

I think its popularity is tied to its overall quality, combined with the fact it came out of nowhere and took a lot of folks by surprise. Unfortunately it's now a household internet name, so unless you live under a meme-proof rock you probably won't get that same launch week experience.
 
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plushyp

Member
Another game you all should try (if you haven't) is Lisa. A great game with excellent story, gameplay and music. Warning though, the game is very dark and deals with some tough themes but balances it with some humour that makes both hit equally hard. Very much worth it though and memorable for me even though it's been half a decade since I played it.

 

ROMhack

Member
I was one of the lucky ones, in that I got into it and played it to completion without context before the fanbase mutated into the massive, rabid thing it is today.

I liked it a whole lot, very earnestly written with good jokes, bangin' tunes, a clever battle system and subversiveness for days.

I think its popularity is tied to its overall quality, combined with the fact it came out of nowhere and took a lot of folks by surprise. Unfortunately it's now a household internet name, so unless you live under a meme-proof rock you probably won't get that same launch week experience.

Same. I went in totally blind, like it was just this small game that I'd heard about might be good when I bought it. Seems very weird in retrospect.
 
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VGEsoterica

Member
Right place, right time. Good game but it definitely releases in a wheelhouse to generate a ton of coverage. It was certainly an inventive story though
 
I played the demo. Undertale a brilliant example of making a game engaging despite the minimalistic presentation, thanks to a simple yet gripping premise. The soundtrack is great.

I'm not a fan though. The humor isn't for me, though I like tha Sans made it into current pop culture. The story going meta is a memorable case of storytelling that can only be done in games and it's a strong factor in the game's popularity. Toby Fox knew how to make a game that was NOT just another weird indie game.

I'm still waiting for an indie RPG that truly kills it with "conventional" storytelling and/or that has a genuinely fresh and inventive turn-based combat (Cosmic Star Heroine attempted doing that, you can argue whether it succeeded or not, but the writing department definitely was lacking).
 

bobone

Member
Great music for sure.

Game wasn't anything special. Play any SNES RPG and you will get a better gameplay experience.

I played it before all the wierdos flocked to it. And honestly nothing about it stuck with me. Almost zero memory of the game other than the music.
 

Mista

Banned
Apart from the simple mechanics, it’s one of the greatest games I ever played. And yeah, fuck the games annoying fanbase.
 

Sakura

Member
I only played it part way through back in the day before I got bored of it. I'm just not into furries.
 

ExpandKong

Banned
Picked it up a couple months after launch when the buzz got too big to ignore. Quality game, some surprises, excellent soundtrack. Sucks about the fan base though.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Never got around to playing it, largely because the fanbase around it was so annoying.

Honestly, the biggest takeaway for me is that - holy shit, it came out 4 years ago already.
 

Daymos

Member
I knew it wasn't for me so I didn't buy into the hype and didn't play it. Later on after watching a non-rpg fan buy it, play it for a few hours, and then drop it I knew I had made the right decision.

I try to keep an open mind but I sort of find comic indie rpgs a bit of an insult to the classic JRPGs of the 90s. Like you throw together some 8 bit graphics and a funny story and suddenly it's supposed to be as good as chrono trigger.. yeah not really. I know the developers don't intend it to be that way, but the fans (and/or the media) try to make it out to be more than the game really is.
 
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SpiceRacz

Member
Unique experience. Didn't enjoy the combat. The story is great as well as the soundtrack. Overall, it didn't impress me the way it did with others. I don't think I would ever play it again, but I'm glad I did.
 
I never played it, but I hate it because of the fanbase. I can't stand how the guy's music and characters end up in everything, from Smash to Pokémon either. It's like you can't escape this shit. I know it's irrational, but that's how I feel about this game, the stupid hype surrounding it and its retarded fanbase.
 
I've tried giving it a chance three times and I just really, really, really fucking hate everything about it.

It feels like someone is making a joke that I'm not in on. Like I'm supposed to "get" something that I'm not getting. Annoying characters, dialogue, mediocre music and nothing that I can relate to, or that clicks with me.

I felt like the game tries sooo hard to be quirky, weird, random and just arbitrary. When I notice that I don't really like a game I'm usually indifferent but I don't think I've ever disliked a game as much as Undertale.

That's my opinion after giving up on it the third times, after like 5 hours. 🤷‍♂️
 

Vawn

Banned
I don't know what I was expecting, but I thought the game was garbage. Up with Gone Home for most overrated indie games I've ever played - and I play a ton.
 
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I was always curious, but wary of the game, as I noticed people in SJW friendly environments seem to praise it.
The gif of that skull flower thing getting pissed off , because the player isnt catching the petals is pretty funny though.
 

Fbh

Member
I thought it was great. It had some unique and creative ideas, an interesting combat system and nice music.

The fanbase is annoying but then again, so are most fanbases.
 

Katsura

Member
Never tried it. First i heard of it was on /v/ were they were overhyping it. Of course, everyone knows never to listen to /v/ so i paid little attention to it. Then tumblr and reddit started their weird worship of it and i lost even more interest in it. Might give it a try though since it's on gamepass
 

Shifty

Member
Another game you all should try (if you haven't) is Lisa. A great game with excellent story, gameplay and music. Warning though, the game is very dark and deals with some tough themes but balances it with some humour that makes both hit equally hard. Very much worth it though and memorable for me even though it's been half a decade since I played it.

That's a solid rec if you're into boundless soul-crushing misery :messenger_weary:

I was always curious, but wary of the game, as I noticed people in SJW friendly environments seem to praise it.
The gif of that skull flower thing getting pissed off , because the player isnt catching the petals is pretty funny though.
It's not an SJW game by a long shot. If anything it's a power-of-friendship story that sidesteps most of the associated trope traps.

Chances are it gets play in those circles because the idpol crowd noticed that most every character is a unique species and did their usual thing of co-opting it. So diverse, so inclusive, these characters provide representation for our marginalized furry / skeletonkin / robotkin / airplanekin brethren, etc.
 
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SweetShark

Member
I was one of the lucky ones, in that I got into it and played it to completion without context before the fanbase mutated into the massive, rabid thing it is today.

I liked it a whole lot, very earnestly written with good jokes, bangin' tunes, a clever battle system and subversiveness for days.

I think its popularity is tied to its overall quality, combined with the fact it came out of nowhere and took a lot of folks by surprise. Unfortunately it's now a household internet name, so unless you live under a meme-proof rock you probably won't get that same launch week experience.

Yeah, me to. I bought it purely only cause of it's artstyle.
I thought at first it was a Pokemon like game.
I was gladly wrong of course.
 

Bakkus

Member
Great game, story and music. A must play. The puzzles however are so braindead easy that I can't for the life of me understand why there are so many of them. But other than that it's incredible.
 
I wasn't able to enjoy it and it's mostly because of the fans and overhyping. I felt slightly angry/dirty as I played it. Was I supposed to feel like it's awesome to be infantilized by a cow?

I will admit that the battle system is pretty unique but I don't particularly like bullet hells.
 
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