Thread:Mabian/@comment-24545226-20160912004403/@comment-27701762-20160912011143

The changes aren't always particularly obvious, but that is in part because the routes themselves are not immediately apparent. A brand new player who knows nothing about the game doesn't even know there are different ways to play the game. Part of it is meant to be the learning experience of trying new things.

As a rule of thumb, Neutral and True Pacifist look pretty much the same, up until the very end, so the only way to know which route you're on is to keep track yourself. Genocide is clearer about letting you know when you are and are not on it.

My recommendation (following Cheeseskates's from the other blog post you made) would be to do what comes naturally the first time around. Go with your gut. I would say that the less you know about the routes and how to activate them, the better. The game teaches you how to play it, so long as you pay attention, but those clues can be easily missed, for one reason or another. So you may finish the game, and then need to start over again. That's fine. Just keep the old adage "It's not the destination that matters, it's the journey" in mind. And the game has little changes made to it when you start over (and when you load a save), so the game should have some little surprises for you every now and then.

If, once you start up, you feel like you're stuck, the Wiki will have everything you need, whether it be hints (in which case, I can probably try to push you in the right direction without giving it away) or direct answers (where either the forum or the Wiki pages will solve your conundrums).