You've probably heard a little about Undertale, "The Friendy RPG In Which No One Has To Die." That nicely describes the game- an RPG with a fresh new twist on the genre- even if the "choice" arguably isn't much of one.
The story involves you playing as a child trapped in a kingdom of monsters that want a human soul so that they can escape to the surface. In most cases, this would involve fighting your way to the exit and killing every monster in your path, but this isn't necessarily the case here.
The game mechanics involve two different approaches to dealing with monsters- killing them by reducing their HP to 0, or sparing them by taking various actions to pacify them, or simply waiting them out. The latter choice is obviously the more interesting approach, since the former only consists of attacking or healing- there's no magic, no special abilities, virtually no debuffs or status ailments, and no guard command, making the actual combat bare-bones. Sparing monsters is also obviously the better choice, but as for how much better... without spoiling anything, let's just say the game takes great pains to discourage you from going the Kill 'em All route.
In either case, you have to dodge Bullet Hell style attacks, and while it's very difficult to avoid them all, upgrading your equipment and buying healing items does help offset much of the challenge. This, combined with relatively easy puzzles, means that Undertale is not very difficult.
The story is probably the strongest part of the game, parodying and deconstructing many RPG tropes. The cast of characters is well-developed, and while they have significant personality flaws, and thus make bad decisions, they're essentially good people at heart and likable characters.
The graphics are fairly simplistic, and while this evokes a retro feel, they occasionally seem primitive. The music, however, is excellent, with a diverse set of tracks (some of which are admittedly variations on others) that nicely fit the mood of various areas, while matching the quality of classic RPGs' soundtracks.
Of course, one of the strong points in Undertale, as well as one that couldn't have been done before, is how it takes into account improbable player decisions, as well as those made without saving.
The game's fairly short, as it's possible to reach the end within 5-7 hours. There's a fair amount of replay value for things that might make more sense on a second playthrough, and various alternate outcomes, but it's somewhat annoying that the game has the temerity to guilt-trip you for playing again after you get the Golden Ending. That, combined with the game's approach toward the evil path, seems antithetical to conventional wisdom that games should encourage players to play through again and try new things.
All in all, Undertale is quite enjoyable, albeit more for its story than its gameplay, and more for its mercy system than its moral choices.
Somewhat heavy-handed at times, but a good experience overall
You've probably heard a little about Undertale, "The Friendy RPG In Which No One Has To Die." That nicely describes the game- an RPG with a fresh new twist on the genre- even if the "choice" arguably isn't much of one.
The story involves you playing as a child trapped in a kingdom of monsters that want a human soul so that they can escape to the surface. In most cases, this would involve fighting your way to the exit and killing every monster in your path, but this isn't necessarily the case here.
The game mechanics involve two different approaches to dealing with monsters- killing them by reducing their HP to 0, or sparing them by taking various actions to pacify them, or simply waiting them out. The latter choice is obviously the more interesting approach, since the former only consists of attacking or healing- there's no magic, no special abilities, virtually no debuffs or status ailments, and no guard command, making the actual combat bare-bones. Sparing monsters is also obviously the better choice, but as for how much better... without spoiling anything, let's just say the game takes great pains to discourage you from going the Kill 'em All route.
In either case, you have to dodge Bullet Hell style attacks, and while it's very difficult to avoid them all, upgrading your equipment and buying healing items does help offset much of the challenge. This, combined with relatively easy puzzles, means that Undertale is not very difficult.
The story is probably the strongest part of the game, parodying and deconstructing many RPG tropes. The cast of characters is well-developed, and while they have significant personality flaws, and thus make bad decisions, they're essentially good people at heart and likable characters.
The graphics are fairly simplistic, and while this evokes a retro feel, they occasionally seem primitive. The music, however, is excellent, with a diverse set of tracks (some of which are admittedly variations on others) that nicely fit the mood of various areas, while matching the quality of classic RPGs' soundtracks.
Of course, one of the strong points in Undertale, as well as one that couldn't have been done before, is how it takes into account improbable player decisions, as well as those made without saving.
The game's fairly short, as it's possible to reach the end within 5-7 hours. There's a fair amount of replay value for things that might make more sense on a second playthrough, and various alternate outcomes, but it's somewhat annoying that the game has the temerity to guilt-trip you for playing again after you get the Golden Ending. That, combined with the game's approach toward the evil path, seems antithetical to conventional wisdom that games should encourage players to play through again and try new things.
All in all, Undertale is quite enjoyable, albeit more for its story than its gameplay, and more for its mercy system than its moral choices.