Undertale - Maybe Games can be Art

Instead of being like most people on the internet and saying things like "13/10 2gr8" or "had a bad time. 10/10" or "best game ever. if you disagree you are the worst scum out there and i will proceed tell you, in detail, why", I have decided to write an actual reveiw for this game, praising its strengths, and pointing out its weaknesses.

---REVEIW START---

So if you've been living under a rock, you might have no idea what Undertale is. And that’s pretty sad. But that is also a great thing. THE LESS YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME, THE BETTER IT IS! Sorry, for yelling there, but that is extremely important. But gameplay-wise, the game acts like a traditional JRPG, where you traverse a world from a top-down view, solve puzzles, and most importantly, engage in random enemy encounters. Except, the game will take all the expectations you have for the genre, and flip them on their head.

GAMEPLAY:
Unlike a traditional RPG, you do not have to kill anybody. You can discover a series of actions that will allow you to give your attackers mercy, and "spare" them. But if you do, you will never gain any XP, and won't ever level up, making the game much harder. Even if you chose not to attack your foes, they will still attack you. And this is another way Undertale denies the genre it comes from. When enemies attack, you aren't forced to take damage like in a normal RPG, but instead, you enter a kind of minigame-esque window. Here, enemies will launch lots of harmful projectiles, which deal damage to you if they hit you. So you must try to dodge all of the incoming enemy projectiles. This really mixes up the gameplay, as every enemy has multiple attacks, and can even do combo attacks when working with other enemies. The gameplay, even still, is Undertale's weakest link. I, personally, enjoyed it very much, and it never got too stale to me, but there are some that disagree. For starters, if you aren't good at these dodging minigames, you are going to have a very bad time in some of these fights. Also, the bosses, although they mix things up often, they are long, occasionally tedious, and one can often get stuck on them. However, none of these issues are big enough to detract from the game's value. Case in point: a friend of mine who didn't like the combat, and got stuck on multiple bosses constantly, considers the game to be the best he's played all year.

---Gameplay: 8/10 (Unique, Occasionally Repetitive)

STORY:
This game has a great story. It is deep, complex, and emotional. It may not seem like much at first, but as you go deeper into the game, you will find yourself enthralled and engaged. Unfortunately, there are some times in which you will be very confused, and the game does little to remedy that, which can lead to confusion blocking some of the most emotional experiences of the game. Besides that, the game has some of the most humorous and instantly likable characters I've ever seen. You will be laughing, or at least smiling, for the majority of the encounters you have with these great characters. The other times, you will probably be tearing up, or in deep contemplation. However, some of these characters fall into some predictable tropes, and don't do much outside of them. The writing is still top-notch. As a side-note, this game's creator thought of just about everything, and the game has dialogue for just about every action you can take, in and out of the game itself. But overall, the story is engaging, heartfelt, emotional, AND SHOULD NOT BE SPOILED (sorry, I did it again)

---Story: 9/10 (Emotional, Heartfelt, Beautiful)

GRAPHICS:
Ok, let’s be real. This game has some pretty garbage graphics. I didn't mind them, but I know some people (not personally, thank goodness), that have turned the game off simply because it looks like trash. This is true, but it is the dumbest excuse I have ever heard to not enjoy this wondrous game. And also, the game will slightly ramp up its graphics as you progress, so don't be turned off by the first area

---Graphics: 4-6/10 (Tolerable. Depends on your opinions on artstyle)

MUSIC:
This game has incredible music. It has invaded my music playlists, and been in my head for about a month as of this review. I'm listening to it while typing this, and more likely than not, I'm listening to it right now, while you are reading this. It’s that good. It’s catchy, emotional, and extremely well written. This game's music is incredible. My friends while playing, would be right before a boss, and would ask "is this boss hard?", and all I would say in response would be "It has good music", and they wouldn't care about the difficulty of the boss anymore. There is an incredible use of motifs, and the soundtrack is all-around superb

---Music: 10/10 (Memorable, Exciting, Emotional)

SOMETHING ELSE (?):
This review so far has not done this game justice. Looking at the individual parts makes this game seem so much less than it is. I made my almost all of my friends that didn't have it already buy this game, because I wanted to share the experience so badly. I watched almost all of their playthroughs, and I saw them love it all the way. This game got into my head. I've binge watched youtubers playing this game. I've seen so many people laugh and love and cry all because of this game. There is something indescribable about this game, it is truly heartfelt, and it deserves to be played by you, and all of your friends. In the end, Undertale isn't a perfect game, but it’s a unique one, and one that you won't forget, or put down in the near future

---Magic: 10/10 (Heartfelt, Moving, and Witty all at once. This is a powerful game)

FINAL SCORE:
9.8/10 (One of the best games the year, maybe more, as long as you can put up with some minor annoyances)

Undertale - Maybe Games can be Art Instead of being like most people on the internet and saying things like "13/10 2gr8" or "had a bad time. 10/10" or "best game ever. if you disagree you are the worst scum out there and i will proceed tell you, in detail, why", I have decided to write an actual reveiw for this game, praising its strengths, and pointing out its weaknesses. ---REVEIW START--- So if you've been living under a rock, you might have no idea what Undertale is. And that’s pretty sad. But that is also a great thing. THE LESS YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS GAME, THE BETTER IT IS! Sorry, for yelling there, but that is extremely important. But gameplay-wise, the game acts like a traditional JRPG, where you traverse a world from a top-down view, solve puzzles, and most importantly, engage in random enemy encounters. Except, the game will take all the expectations you have for the genre, and flip them on their head. GAMEPLAY: Unlike a traditional RPG, you do not have to kill anybody. You can discover a series of actions that will allow you to give your attackers mercy, and "spare" them. But if you do, you will never gain any XP, and won't ever level up, making the game much harder. Even if you chose not to attack your foes, they will still attack you. And this is another way Undertale denies the genre it comes from. When enemies attack, you aren't forced to take damage like in a normal RPG, but instead, you enter a kind of minigame-esque window. Here, enemies will launch lots of harmful projectiles, which deal damage to you if they hit you. So you must try to dodge all of the incoming enemy projectiles. This really mixes up the gameplay, as every enemy has multiple attacks, and can even do combo attacks when working with other enemies. The gameplay, even still, is Undertale's weakest link. I, personally, enjoyed it very much, and it never got too stale to me, but there are some that disagree. For starters, if you aren't good at these dodging minigames, you are going to have a very bad time in some of these fights. Also, the bosses, although they mix things up often, they are long, occasionally tedious, and one can often get stuck on them. However, none of these issues are big enough to detract from the game's value. Case in point: a friend of mine who didn't like the combat, and got stuck on multiple bosses constantly, considers the game to be the best he's played all year. ---Gameplay: 8/10 (Unique, Occasionally Repetitive) STORY: This game has a great story. It is deep, complex, and emotional. It may not seem like much at first, but as you go deeper into the game, you will find yourself enthralled and engaged. Unfortunately, there are some times in which you will be very confused, and the game does little to remedy that, which can lead to confusion blocking some of the most emotional experiences of the game. Besides that, the game has some of the most humorous and instantly likable characters I've ever seen. You will be laughing, or at least smiling, for the majority of the encounters you have with these great characters. The other times, you will probably be tearing up, or in deep contemplation. However, some of these characters fall into some predictable tropes, and don't do much outside of them. The writing is still top-notch. As a side-note, this game's creator thought of just about everything, and the game has dialogue for just about every action you can take, in and out of the game itself. But overall, the story is engaging, heartfelt, emotional, AND SHOULD NOT BE SPOILED (sorry, I did it again) ---Story: 9/10 (Emotional, Heartfelt, Beautiful) GRAPHICS: Ok, let’s be real. This game has some pretty garbage graphics. I didn't mind them, but I know some people (not personally, thank goodness), that have turned the game off simply because it looks like trash. This is true, but it is the dumbest excuse I have ever heard to not enjoy this wondrous game. And also, the game will slightly ramp up its graphics as you progress, so don't be turned off by the first area ---Graphics: 4-6/10 (Tolerable. Depends on your opinions on artstyle) MUSIC: This game has incredible music. It has invaded my music playlists, and been in my head for about a month as of this review. I'm listening to it while typing this, and more likely than not, I'm listening to it right now, while you are reading this. It’s that good. It’s catchy, emotional, and extremely well written. This game's music is incredible. My friends while playing, would be right before a boss, and would ask "is this boss hard?", and all I would say in response would be "It has good music", and they wouldn't care about the difficulty of the boss anymore. There is an incredible use of motifs, and the soundtrack is all-around superb ---Music: 10/10 (Memorable, Exciting, Emotional) SOMETHING ELSE (?): This review so far has not done this game justice. Looking at the individual parts makes this game seem so much less than it is. I made my almost all of my friends that didn't have it already buy this game, because I wanted to share the experience so badly. I watched almost all of their playthroughs, and I saw them love it all the way. This game got into my head. I've binge watched youtubers playing this game. I've seen so many people laugh and love and cry all because of this game. There is something indescribable about this game, it is truly heartfelt, and it deserves to be played by you, and all of your friends. In the end, Undertale isn't a perfect game, but it’s a unique one, and one that you won't forget, or put down in the near future ---Magic: 10/10 (Heartfelt, Moving, and Witty all at once. This is a powerful game) FINAL SCORE: 9.8/10 (One of the best games the year, maybe more, as long as you can put up with some minor annoyances)