Review RPG Codex Review: Undertale

[Revenant]

Look, you're either entertained by the characters/humor or you're not. This isn't really an RPG as much as a story that uses RPG elements to help tell itself.

We're not saying "you need to see the entire movie before it's good"
We're saying "the entire movie is pretty good and has a great ending"

If you watch the "movie" for an hour and you don't like humor or the characters, well... it's just not for you. Hell, I don't like sports games. No harm, no foul.

Comedy is and has always been very hit or miss. Some people like irony, some like dry wit, some enjoy puns, some really dig black humor...

Undertail is a game. It has shit gameplay. Do you have trouble putting the two together?

 

[Scroo]

It's really like jasede says. if it's not your cup of tea why not ignore it? I hate racing games, dislike shooters etc so I just don't play them. Of course this is a rhetorical question since we are on the dex ^^

 

[Revenant]

It's really like jasede says. if it's not your cup of tea why not ignore it? I hate racing games, dislike shooters etc so I just don't play them. Of course this is a rhetorical question since we are on the dex ^^

Even if I don't like certain genres, I can still distinguish between good and bad games within them. UT fails even as a wannabe JRPG, if that is even possible: not a single shmup enthusiast in this thread said the combat was good and linear level design was criticized by p much everyone, so what's left? A bunch of queer furfaggot NPCs? Nigga pls.

So what is this game's redeeming quality? Even though the game supposedly has a lot of C&C, I understand it mostly boils down to seeing different flavor text lines in subsequent replays/reloads. And people say Bioware "C&C" is bad. The only new trick UT does is that the game cheats you by backing up save files in unexpected locations, which probably seems extremely innovative for a tumblrina but is p meh to every RPG gamer out there. Ultima V had built in copy protection that used reading an unformatted part of the floppy drive and making the player lose every single combat if copy protection wasn't there, and that was done in 1988.

Which brings us to the point why actually people defend UT, especially here at the Codex. Notice every fan having a UT avatar as a message of solidarity. Coicidence? I THINK NOT. SJW agenda is the only thing that's floating this leaky boat, and this game is Satanic

 

[Scroo]

 

[Jasede]

Hey Scrooge don't forget the Wicca meeting on Saturday. I'll bring the incense.
Let's hate men together!

 

[Daedalos]

The fag and the girl stick together through thick and thin.

Shocking.

 

[Caim]

The fag and the girl stick together through thick and thin.

Shocking.

Men who don't jump and rape you are getting increasingly rare in Germany. It's a logical choice.

 

[ArchAngel]

It's really like jasede says. if it's not your cup of tea why not ignore it? I hate racing games, dislike shooters etc so I just don't play them. Of course this is a rhetorical question since we are on the dex ^^

It is hard to ignore shit games when a site I hid on to ignore shit games now also promotes shit games.

 

[ArchAngel]

Can you stop pretending watching someone else play 15 minutes of a game is a valid way of forming an opinion?

I also read people comments about it and first paragraph of the review. Enough to recognize a shit tier game.

 

[Ulminati]

Undertale is 'k.

The humour didn't really work for me. (And neither did the sound. Music would randomly go to 120 dB and wreck my eardrums, so I had to turn it off and run it on youtube). And to be honest I probably wouldn't have played this if I hadn't been given it as a present and felt like I should give it a fair shot.
That said, for all its failings, it does try to do something slightly different for a change. And that's rare enough for me to cut it some slack. Somewhere under all the hipsterism there's a genuine charm and love for the medium by the author. So I'd say pirate to try, then buy if you like. It's better than TWitch3r, Wasteland 2 and PoE at least. Perhaps because it's short.

It has an idea. It toys around with it and uses it in some novel ways. And then it has the good grace to end before it's overstayed its welcome.
Which is the same thing I said about portal 1, so it's a recommendation I guess.

Back to real life. See you in a couple more months.

 

[Irenaeus III]

See you in a couple more months.

You don't really have to come back.

 

[Daedalos]

See you in a couple more months.

You don't really have to come back.

Dat burn! ;-)

 

[an Administrator]

It's better than TWitch3r, Wasteland 2 and PoE at least

 

[almondblight]

We're not saying "you need to see the entire movie before it's good"
We're saying "the entire movie is pretty good and has a great ending"

If you watch the "movie" for an hour and you don't like humor or the characters, well... it's just not for you. Hell, I don't like sports games. No harm, no foul.

On the very same page...

Hey Codex, I played Fallout for 30 minutes and it didn't have many consequences, what gives? Where's this so-called brilliance?
Then I even tried the demo and it was just some dumb tiny town. I couldn't change anything in it. Some shitty game you guys are praising, LOL

Consider this post an answer "from the hip" - but the fact that you couldn't afford $10 to buy the full game and find out for yourself, and instead chose to consult walkthroughs/playthroughs and spoil the whole thing for yourself, kinda says it all.

The demo only gives you a taste of things...but the one thing it does NOT do, is give you anything about what consequences your choices will have. Yeah, that makes it kind of a weak demo (by your standards of "game needs to show me RIGHT NOW what's it's on about") but there you go.

The game needs to be seen as a whole. Yes, it's true it's a bit bland the first hour or maybe even more. It's the whole experience that makes it great tho, this game cannot be judged by just playing it for half an hour.

Clearly an excellent way to get information. If you watched 15 minutes of a guy playing Fallout on twitch it'd probably involve him reloading half a dozen times to pick some locks and find nothing but worthless garbage.

Seems you guys are saying whatever you think puts the game in a good light, then saying the opposite a couple posts later if you think it's more persuasive. But after 26 pages of asking, what nobody seems to be able to say is what are the examples of the awesome stuff in the game. And since Unkillable Cat is telling me that reading about how my cow-mother-thing remembers I like caramel the second time I play means I "chose to consult walkthroughs/playthroughs and spoil the whole thing," I'm getting the impression that the reason why we're not seeing such examples is because the game's just not that impressive.

 

[Dark Matter]

Hey Codex, I played Fallout for 30 minutes and it didn't have many consequences, what gives? Where's this so-called brilliance?
Then I even tried the demo and it was just some dumb tiny town. I couldn't change anything in it. Some shitty game you guys are praising, LOL

(It's certainly a jRPG-lite, but then, the front page reviews rogue-lites that have less in common with Nethack or ADOM and more with some Apple product...)

I get that you're being facetious, but this is still such an insulting comparison that I feel compelled to say something.

Despite the beginning being the weakest part of the game, there's still a lot to love about Fallout even in the first 30 minutes. Fallout has one of the best intro sequences ever in gaming, It has a great character creation system that offers lots of different possibilites. Within the first 5-10 minutes, you get access to the overworld and you're free to go wherever you want.

In comparison, this is what you're greeted with when you first start Undertale.

Followed by idiotic gimmicks (the invisible walls in the very first area), handholding through linear corridors, seemingly endless waves of trash mobs every 10 seconds with some of the most uninteresting bullet hell combat.

Looking beyond the reductionist comparisons, Fallout is a game with a sense for good taste in terms of its tone, atmosphere, writing, visuals, music. Undertale, on the other hand, well....that fucking abomination above says it all.

 

[Irenaeus III]

That will be Irenaeus IV avatar.

 

[hivemind]

It might not have to be if you stopped wasting posts on stupid defeatist shit and actually tried for the 200 fists.

 

[Bigg Boss]

snip

I'll give you everything except the so called "idiotic bullet hell" comments. It is one of the most unique JRPG style combat systems in recent memory. Despite the gimmick it is fun as hell to play. No, it is not the next coming of Jesus like the fanbase keeps claiming, but it is being talked about so much because it is different. Of course comparing it in any way to Fallout is idiotic beyond all belief.

 

[Excidium II]

Let it be said that at least it offers good r34 material.

 

[Gangrelrumbler]

It's really like jasede says. if it's not your cup of tea why not ignore it? I hate racing games, dislike shooters etc so I just don't play them. Of course this is a rhetorical question since we are on the dex ^^

Even if I don't like certain genres, I can still distinguish between good and bad games within them. UT fails even as a wannabe JRPG, if that is even possible: not a single shmup enthusiast in this thread said the combat was good and linear level design was criticized by p much everyone, so what's left? A bunch of queer furfaggot NPCs? Nigga pls.

I like SHMUPS and I think that the gameplay is pretty good. Sure most shmups have better bullet patterns, but the patterns in the game provide decent fun and I guess are challenging for people who are not into bullet hell. There are also gimmicky boss fights that are quite rare in SHUMPS. Overall the combat system was a quite good idea though a bit underdeveloped because unlike bullet hell games Undertale tries to be mainstream, so the patterns can't get too crazy. Characters and dialogues are also pretty funny, though not everyone must like them.

 

[Zombra]

But here's my honest assessment: if you find that trailer in any way appealing, if you enjoy games like Earthbound and/or if you have a weak spot for unique games that offer something fresh, then heed my advice - stop reading this review and go play Undertale. Or at least try the demo.

TL;DR: Undertale is a brilliant game, and the less you know about it before going in, the better.

Stopped reading, looking forward to reviewing the review after I finish the game. Thanks felipepepe

 

[CyberWhale]

Undyne Or: How I Learned What Is a Great Boss Fight

Just finished the game, I agree with almost everything you wrote felipepepe. The review is unfortunately dragged down by uneven amount of text devoted to certain aspects of the game, unnecessary pandering to the same Codex retards who have unleashed their verbal feces in this same thread and bad editing overall - something that most Codex reviews have been guilty of.

I wouldn't however say that this represents the same thing Citizen Kane represents for movies, I think a far better example and comparison would be Planescape: Torment and its relation to cRPGs. Undertale has almost the same amount of tropes and genre conventions subverted, but it draws heavily from JRPGs instead or, to be more precise, their western indie imitations (which are, to be completely frank, in most cases completely deservedly despised here). Having said that, it is not only shorter and less complex, but not even remotely as good as PS:T is. Still, I do think we are talking about an exceptional game that should be played through (at least once) by everyone who likes not only (western indie imitations of) JRPGs, but video games in general. Like most RPGCodex darlings, it is a heavily flawed gem (best described with the popular term "the whole that is larger than a sum of its parts"), but a gem it is nonetheless.

 

[Cadmus]

This game looks like a piece of hipster shit, bleh.
I might try it one day when I run out of games with COLORS in them.

 

[Jasede]

If we're honest with ourselves, PS:T was the very definition of hipster shit. The design document explicitly states how they went out of their way to break as many genre tropes and conventions as possible, deliberately. Swords are common? Let's have no swords. Rats are an easy enemy? Let's put in cranium rats and make them a serious threat. Zombies are boring? Let's give every zombie a unique description and things to interact with.

What is a hipster if not a person who tries to buck the norm on purpose because he thinks he's too good for what everyone else does? By this very definition, PS:T is the original hipster game.

And I love it very much.

 

[Caim]

If we're honest with ourselves, PS:T was the very definition of hipster shit. The design document explicitly states how they went out of their way to break as many genre tropes and conventions as possible, deliberately. Swords are common? Let's have no swords. Rats are an easy enemy? Let's put in cranium rats and make them a serious threat. Zombies are boring? Let's give every zombie a unique description and things to interact with.

What is a hipster if not a person who tries to buck the norm on purpose because he thinks he's too good for what everyone else does? By this very definition, PS:T is the original hipster game.

And I love it very much.

Cranium Rats have their origin in Planescape itself.

And the difference is that with PS:T they made a reconstruction from the deconstructed pieces. They didn't take it apart just because they could: they made something new out of it.