Undertale

The story seems very banal and prosaic. A long time ago, people and monsters coexisted with each other, but then disagreements and enmity began, people turned out to be stronger and drove the entire race of monsters underground, sealing the exit with magic. You play as a child who went for a walk on a mountain with the notoriety of missing people. Having fallen underground, the player finds himself in the world of monsters. I know it sounds like a hackneyed cliché, but then everything will depend on the actions of the player, and, finally, these very actions will be much more important than in most games on the market. The very notorious moral choice that is so hard given to developers at the script stage.

Are you ready for mercy?

Combat, at its core, is turn-based, with only 4 options: attack, action, use items and … show mercy. Enemies, a priori, attack every move, which is expressed in maneuvering a red heart in a white box from various obstacles. Each attack of any monster looks different, outwardly it resembles either Super Hexagon, or any flying arcade game in the spirit of some Ikaruga, only with the exception of the ability to shoot back.

The meaning of the “Action” option is not to thoughtlessly sort through all the available options, such as “Smell”, “Pat”, “Smile”, “Sing a song” and so on. But to track the emotional state of the enemy and his status, which hints at the option, suitable for a merciful conflict resolution. A simple example: one of the monsters, which looks like a deer with forked antlers, decorated with a variety of objects (from socks and sweets to … a dog). It complains to the player that he does not like it when children “decorate” his antlers with all sorts of garbage. And there is a completely logical option. Step by step to remove these items from his horns, for which the monster will be grateful and lose all interest in fighting further. The ability to “not kill enemies” greatly changes Undertale. Both in the narrative sense and in terms of the tone of the plot. And no one says that killing is not an option. Everything depends on the player.

Vice vercism

Fans have nicknamed two radically opposite ways of passing the game “Pacifism” and “Genocide”, there is a very significant contrast between them. But in turn, such a description of the possibilities of passing Undertale is also very schematic. Everything is much more elaborate. After many hours of being in the game, you will again and again find new opportunities, new friendship bridges. New choices that have a very lasting and important effect.