Undertale

 Switch
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 533 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 423 out of 533
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 533
  3. Negative: 62 out of 533
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  1. greninjaX
    Dec 18, 2018
    8
    I only played this game to see if it was as good as the insane fans say it is. in the end I don't think undertale is very good as a video game, but it's more of just something you experience. so is it worth experiencing? . . . yeah, it really is.
  2. martinho_99
    Jul 27, 2022
    8
    This game is an outstandingly unique experience. Unbelieveable one man alone came up with the story, programmed all of it and made this legendary soundtrack.
  3. ghutch823
    Feb 25, 2021
    8
    Pretty small Spoilers ahead! I really enjoyed this game. It's not perfect, far from it, but its well worth a playthrough. Now there's not much to say that hasn't already been said in terms of praise for this game, so I'm just gonna stick to the parts I don't like in this review. Also as a heads up I played the Switch version of the game. SO, Undertale is pretty much an internet legend atPretty small Spoilers ahead! I really enjoyed this game. It's not perfect, far from it, but its well worth a playthrough. Now there's not much to say that hasn't already been said in terms of praise for this game, so I'm just gonna stick to the parts I don't like in this review. Also as a heads up I played the Switch version of the game. SO, Undertale is pretty much an internet legend at this point, and I see why. It's story and characters are fun and surprisingly well written. HOWEVER, my main issues lie in the combat and the genocide run of the game. The combat is overall pretty solid, and I really like the bullet hell aspect, but the real issue with it is when you have to get through a lot of the same type of enemy. This game pretty much lives and breathes on shock factor and subverting expectations so when you already know what to do and how to do it then the combat starts to feel really tedious and lackluster. This is only worsened by the genocide run of the game, where you kill literally everything. Now the genocide run is super cool in concept, but in execution its a nightmare. Since you're committing, you know, genocide, the enemy encounter rate absolutely plummets, leaving you to just wander around for literally like five minutes doing nothing before you find an enemy to fight. On top of that, the difficulty spike when you reach Sans is actually insane. I get that that's the point but after hours and hours spent on just one fight, with little to show for it, I just gave up. Also, this is a minor gripe, but the "but no one came..." dialogue is a real missed opportunity in my opinion. It shows up really early on in the run, and it really creeped me out honestly. But then it just keeps on showing up over and over again the point where it becomes much more annoying than impactful. I think it should have been saved for much later in the game, and then used much less. So yeah those were my big complaints. I still love the game, but genocide run kind of killed my enthusiasm to go back to it. I still highly recommend it though if you haven't checked it out.… Expand
  4. Blue9710x
    Mar 28, 2022
    8
    Undertale was a joy of a game to beat. It has the charm of a game made by a single guy and expands on a genre of games I typically do not enjoy, turn based rpgs. Although I find some parts of the game boring and not every joke lands Undertale is a game I had lots of fun playing and was a great refresher from all the darker games I normally play.
  5. NuTTyRickRolled
    Feb 22, 2023
    8
    The game is amazing (after all, it is Undertale)

    What’s not amazing is joycon drift… genocide run is unbeatable now. Worst version of this game but still good 8/10
  6. chr1so
    Oct 21, 2019
    7
    Very overhyped game. Don't get me wrong, it's ok, but the walls of 10/10 reviews surprise me.
    I did like the fighting system though with the minigames, and some of the dialogue's pretty funny, it's just a bit meh overall.
  7. Neatqt
    Mar 18, 2019
    7
    Cast: 8/10
    Story: 7/10
    Fun: 7/10
    Gameplay: 8/10

    Recommended
    ----------------------
  8. donmopa
    May 31, 2020
    7
    Pros:
    1. New fighting dynamics and mini games are a very clever adition to the game.
    2. Story it's quite fun.
    3. Different endings add replay value. Cons 1. Too short
    2. Too easy 3. Very straight forward. Not too much making
    4. Puzzles are far away of being challeging
  9. telecaster23
    Dec 13, 2019
    7
    Undertale is a good game, but is it really that good as how other people praise it? I think not. For me, the game lacks something that makes the game feel so dull at some point... I know, it's supposed to be not realistic in any way possible, but there's something to it that makes me think the game is lacking something. Though the graphics, characters, and music are all good. Even theUndertale is a good game, but is it really that good as how other people praise it? I think not. For me, the game lacks something that makes the game feel so dull at some point... I know, it's supposed to be not realistic in any way possible, but there's something to it that makes me think the game is lacking something. Though the graphics, characters, and music are all good. Even the system is something to look forward to, but the story is kind of 'meh' after finishing it. IMHO, I think people are overrating this game so much that when you play it and realize it was all hype, you feel kinda disappointed.… Expand
  10. MaddoxWhite
    Apr 24, 2021
    7
    I mean yeah it's fine I guess

    I don't get the hype tho, lol

    I'm sorry, man.
  11. capchaba
    Jul 14, 2021
    7
    Undertale was my first switch game. I had a different approach when talking about this game. I first watched a gameplay then I bought the game, so I knew what to expect. The game has a different approach for what is classic from the battle system to its narrative... it's different but pleasant.
    It's not a game for everybody and it's somehow overrated but it is still a good game.
  12. B00tador
    Nov 28, 2021
    7
    Endearing funny and original, doesn't quite come together for me personally though
  13. b00lpr0p
    Mar 22, 2019
    6
    Too many dialogues, sometimes it bothers, it seems that the author wanted to write a cartoon, not a game. Despite this, it's a reasonable game.
  14. bingbang
    Jun 23, 2020
    6
    I want more games that offer options to progress that don't involve combat, but I found the mechanics behind it too unforgiving in Undertale.
  15. couchmonkey
    Jan 24, 2021
    6
    Undertale, an RPG that's also a shmup, a rhythm game and most of all, a puzzle game. A great work of art, but lacking as a game.

    Pros and cons (from the ones that matter down to the ones that were minor). #1 Con: This game is one huge troll. What starts out as charming and surprising turns old and stale by the end. #2 Con: It's ultimately very linear and narrative heavy. There are    Undertale, an RPG that's also a shmup, a rhythm game and most of all, a puzzle game. A great work of art, but lacking as a game.

    Pros and cons (from the ones that matter down to the ones that were minor).
    #1 Con: This game is one huge troll. What starts out as charming and surprising turns old and stale by the end.
    #2 Con: It's ultimately very linear and narrative heavy. There are different paths through the game, but to me they have a very binary "good / bad" feel to them.
    #3 Pro: It is a great work of art. The central theme of violence vs. peace is excellent and it critiques gaming tropes all over the place. Sadly, Undertale must indulge in annoying aspects of gaming to hold them up to the light. Yes, puzzles can be dumb and overused. No, pointing it out doesn't make them better.
    #4 Pro: Great soundtrack, reminiscent of 8 and 16 bit greats but modernized.
    #5 Pro: The battle system is incredibly unique. Defending involves playing a little shoot-em up, attacking involves rhythmic tapping, being "nice" involves picking from a few pre-written actions (like "wave hello") to appease the monsters.
    #6 Con: The battle system is not for everyone, the shmup portion in particular will kill RPG fans that are not action gamers. I also found being peaceful less fun than being violent.
    The tiniest pro: The game has solid, humorous writing.

    Replay value: This game wants you to place at least 2-3 times, but I didn't find it compelling enough to complete 2 playthroughs. Maybe one distant day in the future. I spent about 10 hours on it the first time through, and I feel the replay value is low.

    As of this writing, I'd say the dollar value of Undertale is around $11.70 CDN ($9.09 US). The actual asking price in the eShop is $18.99 CDN.    … Expand
  16. Jobni
    Sep 4, 2022
    6
    It was an ok game but that’s it. It's a slightly different game with some fun, a fine storyline and a different battlemode. But when I played it it reminded me of a mobile game. I don't really think there was anything really fantastic about this game.
  17. karotkake
    Nov 5, 2018
    5
    eh it was ok

    kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
  18. Grunty
    Feb 16, 2019
    5
    Honestly I don't understand the hype about it. It is quite bland, humor is ok but overall everything is average. I enjoyed far more West of loathing for example. I regret buying this game and it give me discredit on the metascore rating.
  19. EmCza
    Aug 19, 2020
    5
    This great concept, but not great game ... or... This is great game but in different way.
  20. Pikmin2IsGood21
    Jan 16, 2021
    5
    its alright. goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood gooood good goooooooooood
  21. ophone
    Mar 25, 2022
    5
    As it seems, a majority of gamers like this game.
    My opinion of it is more mitigated. Sure, its characters are likeable, the combat mechanics innovative, and the fact one can spare adversaries, while even being able to befriend a few of them, changes from the RPGs I'm used to.
    During my first playthrough I've opted for the more aggressive route, although I wasn't able to beat the final    As it seems, a majority of gamers like this game.
    My opinion of it is more mitigated. Sure, its characters are likeable, the combat mechanics innovative, and the fact one can spare adversaries, while even being able to befriend a few of them, changes from the RPGs I'm used to.
    During my first playthrough I've opted for the more aggressive route, although I wasn't able to beat the final boss. As for now I'm not in the mood to go on with my pacifist playthrough. There are gamers who celebrate its potential of replayability, me on the other hand have seen enough the first round, until now the main traits are the same between my aggressive and my more clement game.

    To conclude Undertale offers a different, even innovative gaze on RPGs, but to me it's not the work of art its fans see in it.    … Expand
  22. ochinchin
    Oct 2, 2018
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Holier-than-thou, preachy, moralistic, emotionally manipulative game that criticizes you for doing things it's designed to do without even being morally consistent

    Unfair morality: I'm expected to sympathize with the monsters who plan to murder an innocent child, have already murdered several children, and also plan to commit genocide but I am criticized if i cross a similar line, killing is only treated seriously when the player commits it and not the monsters

    Emotionally manipulative design:
    - Frog during tutorial tells you that some enemies need to be weakened to be spared, sparing Toriel is unintuitive so a on a first run if you haven't been spoiled you will probably try to weaken her but the hit that should weaken her is uniquely set by design to do enough damage to kill her
    - Sans judges your actions and tells you the "true meaning" of rpg terms in the ui (EXP stands for Execution Points) right before the end of game where it makes no sense in-universe since at this point most of the deeds have already been done, the intention is clear that during an unspoiled playthrough you're supposed to kill occasionally and then get caught off guard and feel guilty at the end when you're judged, as a result of this design Sans comes across as a preachy moralistic hypocrite

    Characters: With the exception of Sans and Mettaton characters are dumb enough to be pets, clearly they were intended to be endearing but I found them to be obnoxious, Sans comes across as preachy, moralistic, and self important, I did like Mettaton though

    I Really Hate Sans:
    - Even during a genocide run Sans makes no real attempt to persuade or stop you from killing monsters, even Papyrus who he supposedly cares deeply for. Instead he makes immature holier-than-thou threats that achieve nothing ("ur gonna have a bad time"). He only likes to judge you for killing monsters while glossing over the actions and plans of the monsters. What kind of person would tell you "u shouldve done better ur a bad person for killing" after having been chased through a hostile environment of people who want to murder you, have murdered people before you, want to commit genocide, and have been impaling you with spears and **** ?! The monster's motivations are irrelevant because the player is an innocent victim under no obligation to sympathize with the assailants and the promise to Toriel to "protect" the player doesn't remotely justify any of this

    The rules of the world are not believable, it seems that anything goes. Player's unique ability to manipulate time is a major plot point, it's explained that the player has the ability because he or she is the most "determined" being in the Underground. Flowey loses the ability because only one person can manipulate time. The rule is too simple to be believable. Humans are an entire race of beings and the player is probably not the most "determined" being in existence. There's a whole world outside the Underground, what makes the Underground so special that you get to time travel only when you're in it? Why does the place that the humans sealed the monsters just happen to be this special? What are the boundaries? Who or what judges "determination" in order to determine who gets to time travel and how? Is it just a stat to be compared?

    Meta shock value is cheap

    Has charm in presentation and great music but the story and characters offend me which are the main draws of this game

    rant over    … Expand
  23. Rawrpaw
    Oct 24, 2018
    4
    Undertale has some unique mechanics which are interesting, such as the mini-game you play to mitigate any damage you receive, however for an RPG the storyline seemed overly simple and the humour is fairly basic. I found this game underwhelming after reading all the extremely positive comments, especially if you consider that at the time of writing it's almost ranked the same by players asUndertale has some unique mechanics which are interesting, such as the mini-game you play to mitigate any damage you receive, however for an RPG the storyline seemed overly simple and the humour is fairly basic. I found this game underwhelming after reading all the extremely positive comments, especially if you consider that at the time of writing it's almost ranked the same by players as Zelda BOTW (8.5) and Mario Kart (8.6). I'm a big fan of 8 bit games, but I wouldn't recommend this to a friend.… Expand
  24. wsiemens
    Feb 18, 2020
    4
    I don't understand the hype. It's unique and a cute game but I was ready for it to end and I likely will never pick the game up again. Worth a play if you can get it for $5 but over rated.
  25. Ingleberg
    Jan 28, 2021
    4
    elementary school humor, bland combat with frustrating bullet hell parts, cliche'd somewhat preachy story, everything about this game is tryhard and it's not enjoyable. The "combat" bothered me probably the most though. I could have gotten through the game if not for that. This game is the perfect shining example of bandwagon millenial fanboys overhyping something that is painfully mediocre.
  26. Foxylary
    Oct 4, 2021
    3
    I hate the feeling that I've wasted my time, and it's totally the case after finished Undertale. I really don't get why it's a must play. It was really boring to me. Enough different to be remembered and the game have ideas, but hell, it was not that good at all. The story was uninteresting, absurd jokes barely made me smile sometimes, music was good, graphics style was..."special"....I hate the feeling that I've wasted my time, and it's totally the case after finished Undertale. I really don't get why it's a must play. It was really boring to me. Enough different to be remembered and the game have ideas, but hell, it was not that good at all. The story was uninteresting, absurd jokes barely made me smile sometimes, music was good, graphics style was..."special".... gameplay was original during fighting for an rpg, but finally boring. The final boss was just a mess. I want my time and my money back.… Expand
  27. mchrgr2000
    Feb 25, 2019
    2
    This game is a 2D graphics, 8bit-level low resolution, RPG-like text based adventure. This means that choices and story are mainly told by the text.

    The RPG combat mechanics is to the bone, few parameters to control and few weapons, everything boils down to clicking a moving bar with good timing in attack, and avoiding to be hit by pixel sized bulled coming toward you in defense. The    This game is a 2D graphics, 8bit-level low resolution, RPG-like text based adventure. This means that choices and story are mainly told by the text.

    The RPG combat mechanics is to the bone, few parameters to control and few weapons, everything boils down to clicking a moving bar with good timing in attack, and avoiding to be hit by pixel sized bulled coming toward you in defense.

    The story line is the most basic and usual "escape the dungeon" stuff. There are few riddle and puzzles here and there of the level "search the switch to open the door". Music is repetitive. Pretty boring game,    … Expand
  28. BenjaRPG
    Oct 13, 2020
    2
    Undertale es un jrpg que decidí probar dada la avalancha de recomendaciones y buenos comentarios que lo anteceden. Es lamentable señalar que el título no estuvo a las alturas de las expectativas.
    Presenta un sistema de combate único donde cada batalla puede terminar con varios resultados posibles. Es posible combatir, "dialogar" o huir de la pelea, sin embargo la ayuda del juego para    Undertale es un jrpg que decidí probar dada la avalancha de recomendaciones y buenos comentarios que lo anteceden. Es lamentable señalar que el título no estuvo a las alturas de las expectativas.
    Presenta un sistema de combate único donde cada batalla puede terminar con varios resultados posibles. Es posible combatir, "dialogar" o huir de la pelea, sin embargo la ayuda del juego para comprender el sistema, aplicarlo y entender sus implicancias en el desarrollo de la historia es nulo, por tanto lo más natural será matar a lo loco como en cualquier juego del género.
    No me sentí cómodo jugando este juego, no me sentí encarnando un personaje que tenía que desarrollar una determinada historia, si no más bien me sentí siendo yo mismo troleado constantemente por los desarrolladores. Al parecer el juego intenta plantear cierto humor negro, dentro de la trama oscura de la historia principal, pero honestamente para mi no funcionó ni siquiera un poco, no me pareció gracioso. No quiero espoilear, pero los diálogos dejan bastante que desear, así como la profundidad de la historia en sí, la cual en realidad no llegué a comprender del todo. Estuve durante las 10 horas y pico de juego esperando que la experiencia se transformara en el estilo único y diferenciador que muchos críticos señalan, aquello jamás ocurrió.
    Si hay algo que podría destacar del juego es su estética y el diseño de personajes que es bastante único, a pesar del rpg maker.
    Honestamente no recomiendo para nada este juego. Soy amante de los jrpg y realmente me pareció paupérrimo, las últimas horas de juego fueron solo esperar a que acabara pronto.    … Expand
  29. Profyt
    Dec 13, 2019
    2
    Is this supposed to be funny? Fart jokes and rambling from npcs?
    The graphics suck, the gameplay is super tedious- countless one-liners and unfunny puns instead of actual gameplay. The puzzles are solved for you as punchlines to unfunny jokes. The main character has no character at all. The combat system is terrible. This game is trash.
  30. Danik882010
    Nov 19, 2018
    1
    I played this game with high expectations because of it's positive reviews. I know many people love this game but it's not for everyone. I was very dissapointed in the story, humor, and combat mechanics of this game. I think it is way over hyped. The best thing I can say about this game is that it's charming, it has good characters, and it has good music.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Switch Game of 2018
12
#12 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
93

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 29, 2018
    95
    If you haven't played Undertale before, you will want to pick this Switch version up to experience what everyone's talking about for yourself. [Issue #36 – November/December 2018, p. 17]
  2. Switch Player
    Oct 25, 2018
    100
    One of the most original modern JRPGs of all time, and beatable at the fraction of the time. Once you get over its primitive aesthetic, you’ll soon realise why everyone else has been so captivated by Toby Fox’s creation.
    Read full review
  3. 3DJuegos
    Sep 25, 2018
    90
    Toby Fox's work is not just an anecdote: it is perfectly well-thought out. It hides something that connects directly or indirectly to anyone who has spent too much time with a gamepad in his hands.
    Read full review
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