Fungi Forums
Video Games => Video Game Chat => Topic started by: BriGuy92 on September 24, 2015, 10:33:23 PM
-
Undertale (http://www.undertale.com) 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!
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vasLG_Tizk
-
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fsmaaaash.net%2Fdrawn%2Fsans%26amp%3Bpapyrus.png&hash=8a15421984e02de3adcdcb1418b0fa1d)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl47cYmrsx0
♥
-
I am disappointed that nobody has rated it 3 out of 10 yet.
-
Haven't gotten around to playing it yet, but Tsunderplane has assured me I'll enjoy it.
-
I finished the neutral and pacifist runs over the weekend, and... yeah. BP kind of already said most of my thoughts about it. Sans is probably my favorite character (although picking a favorite is REALLY HARD) but he's the closest character the game has to a real pal. End of game spoilers: Except for in the No Mercy route in which you will Have A Bad Time with him, and it's actually kind of shocking.
This one's for Weegee.
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Forvo2P0.png&hash=2218a5c2edd1525e397fb8f0f91dd125)
-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-27GFE9IJQ
-
I would be really proud to one day make something that Pat Robertson thinks is demonic.
-
Sans as a demonic entity and example of violent video games having a negative impact on children
(https://i.gyazo.com/990bfa51e0f90adf930b768fe51650cd.png)
-
How hilarious would it be if Pat knew that Undertale actually makes you (kinda, at least if you're emotional) want to cry if you're brutal.
-
Haven't played it yet, but this... mammal almost has me convinced.
-
Oh dude that's your spirit animal bar none
-
Oh, without a doubt.
(https://themushroomkingdom.net/board/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi2.kym-cdn.com%2Fphotos%2Fimages%2Fnewsfeed%2F001%2F021%2F408%2Fd77.png&hash=f7dbd4c4a70e649f7bfcc49e103f0aaf)
-
Just finished both a Pacifist and Genocide run. I was hesitant to play this because of the sheer hype surrounding it, but there's no denying it's among the most unique and charming video games to come out in the last several years. It would be impossible to list all the little touches and meta elements I found interesting. No review I could write would adequately explain why it's a good game. Even the stuff that made me real mad was still kind of cool in its own way. There's just so much there, especially for such a short game.
As soon as you decide to go for Genocide, the gameplay becomes anything BUT "light." I did indeed "have a bad time" with Sans, but his role in that playthrough also catapulted him to probably my favorite character, and "Megalovania" alone is almost worth the price of the whole game.
-
Definitely one of my top games of the year (although, to be fair, my laptop hasn't been able to run 2015's real A-listers). It struck me as a combination of the Mother series and Space Funeral going in, and I wasn't wrong, but I didn't expect the excellent soundtrack. Equal parts lols, chills, and nightmare fuel were experienced.
Unfortunately didn't manage the pacifist run.
-
You go back and do True Pacifist right this instant, young man.
-
Just as soon as I stop kicking myself for forgetting to write down what that one monster said about how to get to Temmy Village
-
That was actually the one thing I missed during both runs I did... somehow completely overlooked it, which is a shame because it's amazing.