I’ve been a fan of video games since I was a kid. My first video game was Pokemon Sapphire, and ever since I’ve been addicted to the medium. Video games have a distinct advantage in storytelling that books and movies are lacking. As an interactive medium video games can make players empathize much better than any other medium. Most games don’t take advantage of their interactivity, focusing more on polishing gameplay rather than creating an interesting story. But when a game uses its interactivity to the fullest, it can be an amazing experience. A perfect example of this is Undertale.
Undertale’s core mechanic is a save system that remembers your actions. You’re free to reset your save at any time but the game will remember actions you’ve taken in previous runs. This save system lets Undertale force the player to be accountable for their actions.
Among RPGs Undertale is special in that it encourages the player to be peaceful. You’re told to spare whoever you can by the first character you meet and the game’s mechanics promote this. Death is permanent, a lesson that most players don’t learn until their fight with the game’s first boss Toriel. Killing Toriel is something almost every player does in their first run, and it drives home the point that what you’re killing for exp aren’t just enemies, they’re people. At this point many players reset only to be chastised when they then spare Toriel: Undertale knows what you did. You murdered her and thought going back would fix it. These two mechanics give Undertale a depth it wouldn’t normally have by forcing the player to own their choices. This is done through the game’s two main endings: the true pacifist ending and the genocide ending.
A pacifist run is exactly what it sounds like. You have to complete the game without killing a single enemy. Most players consider this the true ending of Undertale since it’s the only happy one. Sparing all of the enemies isn’t easy: in particular the third boss Undyne makes it her sworn duty to kill you and chases you until she no longer physically can. Most of the fights would be easier to end by killing your enemy, but you’ve already learned there are consequences to this. The pacifist run rewards you for your efforts though. You get to learn more about all of the characters you meet along the way and you befriend all of them. The bosses play prominent roles in the game’s ending and you’re even given the choice to live with Toriel once you finally escape to the surface. Your hard efforts paid off, and you’ve gotten your happy ending. After this, however, many players weren’t satisfied. They were curious: what happens if I kill everyone? Undertale knew they would ask, and so it answered with the genocide ending.
Genocide is the ultimate ending to Undertale. This run can never be undone. If you want to replay the game you’re allowed a “true reset” at the end of a pacifist run which removes all of the actions the game remembers you taking. Not even a true reset can undo the genocide ending. The genocide route is also the hardest route to take. Nowhere does the game mention anything about it. No hints are given on how to achieve it. The genocide route takes hours of grinding away at enemies until literally none are left in each area, at which point you’re punished with monstrously hard boss fights and sad deaths of characters you’ve likely come to care about. Along with this the game never fails to let you know why this is happening. It’s quick to remind you that this could stop at any point if you just spared a single person. Even after you defeat the final boss – a grueling fight that takes many players hours – you still have the option to undo everything you’ve done and be a pacifist again. To get the genocide ending the player must go against everything they’re being told, all for a feeling of curiosity. The game even chastises players who were curious enough to watch a genocide route even should they not play through one themselves. Undertale makes sure to remind you here most of all that every choice you make is yours and that there are consequences for your actions.
Luca's Roost 