How to sum up Undertale, well I personally found it frustrating and annoying but at the same time oddly mesmerising. Undertale is a 2d Platformer that took me back to the games of my youth and had me reminiscing on our old Amiga 500. To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t really classify myself a ‘gamer’ and if my ten-year-old son wasn’t standing behind me excitedly hoping from one foot to another (He’s played this one before) offering me helpful advice on how to progress in the game I would have given up before I ran out of HP (Health Points).
First impressions. It didn’t take long for me to understand the tone of this game and the path it would follow as evidenced by the above picture. But I stuck with it so I could at least say I gave it a good shot. I felt like this game was designed by a teenage boy who would delight in the fact that I was finding this game so annoying.
What I really liked. I have to give credit where it’s due, so on the pro list would be the interface. Right at the beginning you’re given the control options and reminded again during gameplay. I actually wrote the instructions down because I have a terrible memory but it’s a nice feature. The level structure is good, where you are led through the first obstacles before you are set out on your own.
What annoyed me. It might just be the fact that I wasn’t in the mood to play games but being stopped every few minutes to fight something, or having to randomly walk into an invisible wall over and over really detracted from the gameplay.
Game Play. I liked the game controls although I kept trying to use the mouse. I suppose I am very conditioned to be using my mouse to play games. There were few problems when ‘fighting’ characters were I wasn’t sure how to back out and ‘take mercy’ on the opponent. My inability to figure this out early on the game was probably what led to my downfall. I enjoyed the cute pixelated characters and environment which I found very kitsch. The music also put me in a mind of old school games like The Secret of Monkey Island and the Lemmings.
The nitty gritty. So, this game annoyed me. What mechanics are responsible? I’d have to say the repetitive seemingly pointless tasks, like falling into hole after hole, then being forced to have a pointless conversation with another character that is supposed to be helping you. I’m not going to lie, I was hopeless at this game. To start off I thought I was doing OK, but about five minutes after my son went to play with the neighbour I managed to loose all my HP and the game was over. However, the good news is I only have to go back and redo from the last save point.
“The best part of this game is watching someone else play it, because you get so annoyed and thats funny!” Ethan – 10 years old.
I can understand the appeal of this game, so for the low cost of $11.99nzd on Steam you have yourself quite the legitimate bargain if you enjoy this type of platform game. Am I going to play this game again? If I am to be totally honest, probably not, but my son probably will so consider that a win Undertale! I’m giving Undertale a solid 6 out of 10, because even though it’s not my cup of tea it entertained my kids while I played it.
Purchase your own copy of Undertale either on their website or on Steam!
Well, as you can probably tell this website has been a bit neglected. Neglected, not forgotten. I’ve been busy behind the scenes doing the odd design job but my primary focus these days, other than raising my gorgeous kids, is University. I started a Bachelors’ Degree in Digital Design, majoring in Animation and Special Effects at the beginning of this year so instead of ignore my blog I will post how I am going and what I am doing. There are people who tell me they are interested in my journey to Maya Autodesk mastering so here you go!