Undertale



Undertale (stylized as UNDERTALE or UnderTale) is a role-playing game developed independently by Toby Fox with additional art by Temmie Chang in the Game Maker: Studio engine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X on September 15th, 2015. The game has been met with incredibly positive reviews.

Gameplay
Undertale is a role-playing game that utilizes the traditional mechanics normally seen in role-playing games but with a number of differences.

The battle system in Undertale is turn-based and seems to be heavily inspired by bullet-hell games - in particular the Touhou series - where the protagonist's SOUL, represented by a red heart, must avoid attacks unleashed by the opponent. As the game progresses, new elements are introduced, such as colored obstacles which require the player to stand still or move through them, and boss battles which change the way the heart is controlled. During the player's turn, they have the opportunity to fight the opponent (involving timed button presses), perform actions that can change the opponent's mood, use items, and show mercy by sparing the enemy if the correct actions are used. Killing an enemy will reward EXP and LV., but neither are given if they are spared; GOLD is given in both cases. The game has a large emphasis on the morality between killing and sparing the monsters encountered, as the player's actions determine what ending they will receive. Unlike traditional RPGs, it is possible to complete the game without ever killing a single monster.

The overworld mostly consists of complex puzzles that the player must solve in order to progress. Monster battles can also be seen as puzzles, requiring the right set of actions to resolve the fight peacefully. However, should the player decide to commit to murdering every single monster, almost all the puzzles are disabled, and the player is required to grind in order to progress the game. Unlike traditional RPGs, grinding (under a neutral setting) and backtracking are not mandatory, and no side quests exist within the game.

The game is also known for its dialogue that is witty and humorous as well as having drastic alterations based on the player's actions, and occasional breaking of the fourth wall. While killing/sparing results in notable dialogue changes, the most prominent alteration involves the manipulation of the game's SAVE feature, particularly quitting or resetting the game: almost every major character possesses meta knowledge, remembering actions the player had performed in previous playthroughs.

Undertale also contains hidden secrets that can only be found by hacking the game.

Main Story
Long ago, two races ruled over the Earth: Humans and Monsters. One day, a war broke out between the two races and after a long series of battle, the humans were victorious. The greatest of their magicians sealed the monsters to the Underground with a magic barrier. However, this barrier is not a perfect barrier.

Many years after the war, in 201X, a human child climbs Mount Ebott for their own mysterious reason. It is said that those who climb the mountain never return. The child discovers an enormous hole in the mountain and falls in while trying to get a closer look. Now, the story begins.

The protagonist, who is suggested to be named after the player, starts off their adventure in the Ruins and shortly meets Flowey, a sentient flower who attempts to kill the protagonist for his own amusement. He is later thwarted by a motherly monster named Toriel, who teaches the child how to solve puzzles and resolve conflicts in the Underground. After a boss fight with her, she allows the child to exit the ruins.

Development
Undertale was originally titled UnderBound 2 according to an old PK Hack forum post made by Toby "Radiation" Fox back on February 4, 2013. The game was meant to serve as a sequel to an EarthBound ROM hack, which may have never existed, titled "UnderBound" and was planned to be the spiritual successor of "FreeBound".

The first known demo of Undertale was sent to the video game merchandising website, Fangamer, to play back on May 2, 2013. The game was met with positive reviews so a public demo was later released on May 23, 2013.

Undertale was later funded through a kickstarter campaign with a goal of $5,000. It ended up receiving $51,124 from 2,398 people. Due to the short length of the demo, Fox expected the game to be completed as early as August 2014.

Trivia

 * On two preview images of the official website's "about" section, the character's name is Taco.
 * The page title of the website's "demo" section is "UNDERTALE Delicious Free Sample".
 * If one tries to check the official website's HTML, they will find this message by Toby Fox, which says: "What are you doing? Looking for secrets? Don't put your nose where it doesn't belong. Or you might learn something you DON'T like... Hee hee hee."
 * If one types "asgore.com" into any search engine, they will be immediately sent to the official Undertale website.