Something that set Undertale apart from other games (in my experience) and made it extremely enjoyable as a result, is how ridiculous it can be, and how it is very aware of this fact: plenty of characters, from the dog guards to Mettaton, have a silliness to them that seems almost at odds with the premise of a game where killing creatures with human-like qualities is a choice that can be rewarded or punished.
I think a lot of the effectiveness of the humor is how it affects identification, relatability, and/or closeness to the characters and the environment; for example, Temmie’s dialogue looks a lot like goofy messages written on the internet, bringing a familiarity and lightness to the game. (My brother and I still greet each other with “hoi” to this day). The same goes for your options to tell Papyrus that you either “have no redeeming qualities” or “can make spaghetti,” the sort of self-deprecating humor that seems in place around friends a bit more than in a serious, photorealistic, RPG, as well as Alphys and her fondness for Mew Mew Kissy Cutie.
Even the more absurd elements such as the flexing horse merman, Temmie’s violently vibrating encounter sprite, the head of the dog guard extending out of the frame, and most aspects of Mettaton fit neatly into the atmosphere of the game. Since most of the the characters are all monsters (and robots), these wackier moments and characters are more believable in the context of the world; they’re relatable enough to be human, reference our humor enough to be human (say, Tsunderplane), yet also have their own qualities that make them not human, exaggerated, and as a result, hilarious.
All of this plays really well into the tone of the game, making mercy/spare options much more valuable when the characters are much more developed and close (in some ways) to our experiences and humor. Killing monsters also ends up seeming more out of place as a result. The humor meshes with the seriousness of the game to present a sort of life philosophy that’s as much good feelings and laughs as it is showing the game world’s consequences of violence. How did you feel about the humor in Undertale? Was it fitting and refreshing to you as well, too over the top, or something else?
I felt like the humor really humanized the characters in Undertale. And in Deltarune too (don't worry, no spoilers). It was honestly amazing to me because I haven't physically laughed at a game like that in forever. Like I was just sitting in Baker, supposed to be doing my paper, but instead I was just laughing at my computer. It was so fun though. But in addition to being fun it made me care about the characters way more than I otherwise would have. It would have been really easy for your party to fall into stereotypes and become sort of flat in the sense that there's no depth that makes you care about them and the humor does a…
I think Undertale definitely aims for a degree of over-the-top ridiculousness in its humor (which personally, I loved-- I laughed like an idiot when I saw the "no redeeming qualities/can make spaghetti" choice), but I think it does more than just match the tone of the game; I think it actively works to set the game apart from other games in the genre. RPGs are famous (or infamous) for taking themselves a little too seriously-- any game where learning as much lore as possible serves as an advantage for a player (e.g. Pokemon, D&D, etc.) can run the risk of becoming work instead of just being fun, even though enjoyment can definitely be derived from lorekeeping.
Even though Undertale still…