Undertale

**Undertale** (stylised as **UNDERTALE**) is an RPG developed mostly by Toby Fox, who also produced the soundtrack, with additional artwork by Temmie Chang. It was released on Steam on the 15th of September, 2015, and as of November the same year approximately 3,000,000 people owned a copy of the game.

## Gameplay

Undertale utilises a combination of classic Japanese RPG style gameplay in a similar vein to cult classics such as the Mother series and an encounter system that draws elements from a genre of games known as shoot 'em up while maintaining a turn-based framework typical of RPG games of the same type.

One of the main aspects of Undertale that make it unique is its being, according to its Steam page, the "*RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone*". During encounters with monsters, many of the commands are less combat-oriented and styled to be more like dialog options, with the player being able to spare the opponent rather than kill them if they are able to find the right dialogue to placate them. If a player kills a monster they will gain EXP and become more proficient at dealing and taking damage; sparing a monster, however, rewards the player only in currency.

Undertale also features multiple endings, and various dialogues and events will play out differently depending on which monsters the player kills or shows mercy to. The endings are mostly divided into three overarching plotlines, known as the Neutral Route, the Genocide Route, and the Pacifist Route, which must be performed after at least one Neutral playthrough and ends in the true ending to the game.

## Plot synopsis

The player takes control of a human who has, shortly after venturing to the top of Mt. Ebott, from which none are said to return, fallen into a cave at the mountain's peak. Venturing further into the cave the player encounters a creature resembling a flower, who introduces himself as Flowey the Flower. While initially appearing to be benevolent and telling the player about the LOVE system, Flowey quickly reveals himself as antagonistic and attempts to kill the player before being shot out of view by a fireball.

The fireball is revealed to have been fired by Toriel, an anthropomorphic goat-like monster who shows kindness towards the player and takes them into her own home in the Ruins where she insists the player stays. Within the Ruins the player encounters various other kinds of monsters, and depending on how the player treats these monsters the game will continue into one of the three routes.

### Pacifist / Neutral Route

If the player kills none, or only a small amount, of the monsters they find within the Ruins, they will ultimately be forced to leave the Ruins despite Toriel's insistence that they stay. Upon trying to exit the Ruins the player will be put into an encounter with her, where they can choose to either slay her or convince her to stand down.

After the player leaves the Ruins they will find themself in Snowdin where they are greeted by the skeleton Sans and his older brother Papyrus, who is intent on capturing a human. Papyrus quickly warms up to the player, however, and allows them to pass through Snowdin into Waterfall, which they must pass through in order to reach the Capital and the barrier which they must cross to leave the Underground.

In Waterfall the player finds themself pursued by Undyne, the captain of the king's Royal Guard, who is also intent on capturing the player to complete a set of 7 human souls which the monsters require to exit the Underground. Undyne attempts to spear the player several times throughout the area before finally challenging them directly at the exit to Hotland, which the player must lead her through, forcing her to collapse of dehydration and cease pursuing the player.

In Hotland the player encounters Alphys, a scientist who was initially working with the king but after watching the player through their journey began to sympathise with their cause, and wants to help the player reach the Capital. An obstacle appears, however, in the form of Mettaton, a robot TV star who was originally programmed by Alphys as a human eradicator. Mettaton places down several traps and puzzles for the player before they reach the CORE, the penultimate area of the Underground. Alphys disables all of the security systems placed inside the Core, but before the player can leave, Mettaton appears to stop them personally.

Defeating Mettaton by surviving until his battery wears down, the player continues to New Home, the capital of the Underground. Walking through the stone halls of the town they eventually reach the castle where King Asgore lives, where they must fight the king one on one before leaving the Underground for good.

### Genocide Route

If the player decides to eradicate the population of monsters within the Ruins, they will find Snowdin to be almost completely empty save for the skeleton brothers and the random monster encounters there. The player will encounter Papyrus at the end of an empty Snowdin town before killing him and continuing into Waterfall. In Waterfall Undyne will confront the player but be killed easily; however she will continue to transform into an even more powerful form known as Undyne the Undying, with hugely increased damage and health.

After defeating the Undying, the player can continue into Hotland, which is barren but for the monster encounters which the player will continue to slay. Mettaton finally shows up at the end of the Core in a new form specifically for killing humans. Due to the player's greatly levelled up statistics, however, Mettaton will be slain in one attack and the player can continue into New Home, where they will encounter Sans, angry at the player for killing all of his friends.

## External Links

* Official website
* Official twitter
* Official blog
* Undertale wiki