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Undertale.

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BriGuy92:
Undertale is a recent indie game by a guy called Toby Fox, previously a contributor to Homestuck by way of music. (Full disclosure: I thought Homestuck was a webcomic, and didn't know it somehow had music, but that is a different topic altogether.) It's a puzzle- and dialogue-heavy RPG with turn-based battles, in which you dodge enemy attacks by playing a tiny little Touhou, and can also talk your way out of any battle. The dialogue and presentation are very clearly Mother-inspired, and it's funny throughout.

It's on the page that I linked, but here's the trailer for the game again:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hojv0m3TqA

There's a demo available on the website that consists of the first dungeon and boss. It takes about a half-hour to play through, so you can easily see if the game is to your liking. I haven't finished the game proper myself, but reports are that it's about six hours long, and also has several different endings, making replays a non-tedious thing to do.

I recommend you check it out!

BP:
I watched a friend stream a good amount of it (since I no longer live in the sticks and streaming video for a few hours is something I can do now, it's exciting) but pulled out because I wanted to play it myself and leave stones unturned. The soundtrack is really great, I've had Papyrus' battle theme in my head since then.

It's gotten me thinking about pacifism in games. Specifically... how should a game go about presenting pacifistic options without making it feel like pacifism is playing the game right and violence is cutting the gordian knot? In Undertale, because how to end battles nonviolently is explained and more elaborate than fighting, it feels like it's what you're supposed to do. Maybe because we just can't really think about a game that has multiple endings, but doesn't having a "true" ending and an intended way to get it. Maybe it does have more to do with the player's actual real-world moral compass and all it takes to make an enemy difficult to want to kill is to make it relatable. Maybe consequence is necessary, but it's impossible to have consequences that matter less to the player than simply being good.

I want to think there is a perfect way to present choices like this in games without making them explicit, and resulting in most players going good because that's what they would do in real life.

ANYWAY, Undertale cool and interesting. A bit heavy-handed but still smart. Soundtrack good. Characters fun. World mysterious.

WarpRattler:
I played through Undertale over the past day. Mostly I'm sad I don't have more Undertale to play now, unless I take up the suggestion of a genocide run, which sounds like the most painful thing.

BP:
Now that I've finished it (pacifist run of course) I need to revise my opinion of it. It is an important game. It out-earthbounds Mother 3. In that it will be my new #1 example of how video games can do narrative in ways no other form of media can.

It is difficult to explain why it is so great and leave it all unspoiled. So I'll just say that everyone praising it is being truthful. They all had good experiences with the game. But ignore them and don't let them give you expectations. Play it on your own. Let the game have a one-on-one with you.

It is story-driven. It may be tempting to write it off because of that. But. I think everyone needs a game with lighter gameplay and an engaging world every once in a while. To cool off a bit.

Also there's a skeleton who makes spaghetti in it so

Lizard Dude:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vasLG_Tizk

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