No, not Fallout 4. We're talking Undertale.
Where do I start? How do I start? Where do we begin with this simplistic masterpiece that, in a world dominated by big money studios that can pump celebrities, wads of cash, licenses and hype, managed to come about from an Indie developer, Toby Fox and was funded not on licenses but instead a simple Kickstarter campaign?
Simply put this game does not have fancy graphics. It does not grind your PC to a crawl for desire to utilise the processor to its fullest. It does not demand you have the most up to date components and drivers nor should it even need to. It's a callback to the older games with a very simplistic art style, its manual up/down/left/right controls and more importantly a dialogue system that actually has meaning and impact.
I'll not spoil the plot too much - just give you the basics. You play a human child, who fell down and got trapped in the Underground where the Monster races have been trapped after a war. You simply have to survive. This takes you on a journey with some brilliant personalities, who have charm and wit of their own.
And it doesn't pull punches. The very 'prologue' section in the Ruins is quite moving, especially your interactions with Toriel. And from there the emotions just keep on going. Sans and Papyrus, the dogs, Alphys, Undyne, Mettaton, Temmie...all these characters have their quirks and ultimately you come to know them a lot better.
And this rollercoaster ride of emotions is part of Undertale's charm and unique combat system. Sure, it has the traditional Level and EXP....but there is no requirement for you to actually kill anything. You have options and ultimately you can go through the game without harming a single soul. Kindness is as potent a weapon as a blade here. Furthermore your actions have consequences. What you do to one NPC can and will be reflected later on, to the extent that your very journey through the game can change, including what bosses you end up facing and how you face them.
Morality is important. You have to do what you feel is the right thing. And ultimately your own actions can make things harder for you. I'll be honest and say that this aspect is by far my favourite aspect of this game.
The fact that whatever you do has an impact...and can alter the very structure of the game itself is incredible. It is a game focused on the gameplay, the puzzles, the mechanics...rather than the graphics or who voices who.
However, Undertale does have an incredible soundtrack. Toby Fox's abilities here make the chip tune style well and truly catchy and endearing and really, each song is an aspect of the characters it is linked to. You cannot be upset playing this game. It endears itself to you, even at an audial level.
And the music is powerful. Just as words have an impact, so does sound. For a game produced with very basic resources it is truly a masterpiece. And this is a pattern that has come about fairly recently - for all the big studios that pump brand name games in your face...the Indie offerings are even more impressive. Undertale keeps that standard up and as such I would recommend anyone to go play it. And prepare to get stuck in.
Undertale is not an expensive game. You can get it for about £7 on Steam or direct from its own website - http://www.undertale.com/
I highly recommend this game. Especially if you want to have a genuinely good time and a journey where you will laugh, smile and cry.
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