In part Undertale is a parody of role-players and gaming in general (just try selling your old equipment for one of the best examples), but the writing is sharp enough, and the characters so easily relatable, that it works as a straight comedy as well. But it’s the consistently clever writing which is the game’s greatest achievement, with a host of memorable characters who all exhibit some very human traits and failings even if they are blobs of slime or animated skeletons. That said, the randomness and repetitiveness of battles is the game’s main fault, and if you’re usually annoyed by them in other Japanese role-players you probably will be here too. Which also means you can complete the whole adventure while still being at level 1. A different mini-game appears if you actually attack someone, but Undertale prides itself as being ‘the friendly RPG where nobody has to die’. In some cases the little sprites bounce around seemingly at random, other times the obstacles are more organised or come in bullet hell type waves.

Between each dialogue option though you have to play a little defensive mini-game, where you control a heart trying to avoid obstacles that assail it differently depending on who you’re talking to. Talk them round and the mercy option lights up, at which point they disappear and you earn gold (but not experience points). You have multiple dialogue choices and often there’s a clue in the monster’s description as to which one might go down the best. Which means standard turn-based combat but also the chance to talk to opponents and, uniquely to Undertale, show them mercy. When one starts up the other major influence reveals itself to be Shin Megami Tensi. Important enemies (actually, we probably shouldn’t call them that) can often be seen in the game world but Undertale is also filled with random battles, in the traditional Japanese role-playing style. The top down view makes the game look like a long lost 90s console title, somewhere between The Legend Of Zelda and EarthBound but more idiosyncratic than either. We’re not going to spoil the memorable first encounter, but the gist of things is that you’re befriended by a motherly monster who guides you around the underground world and its puzzle-filled dungeons. But those 30 seconds are just about the only conventional element in the entire game, which is some achievement considering Undertale still manages to play loving homage to the genre and reuse most of its tropes along the way. Humans and monsters have been at war… young adventurer falls into a dungeon… you know the drill. In its opening cut scene Undertale does its very best to look like a generic role-playing game from the mid-90s.

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