In reading reviews online about what caused Undertale to receive such critical acclaim, a large proportion of the positive reviews similarly comment on the games deviation from other RPG games. IGN for examples comments on how “Undertale’s clever understanding of the RPG mindset and fantastic writing make it an unforgettable experience unique to games.” Specifically, it refers to how the gamer’s expectations of the classic RPG genre are subverted to allow the game to achieve its proper effect. Without holding any expectations, does this mean that the game is still enjoyable for the user?
Playing through Undertale, it was clear that this was a game designed as both a testament and spin on games that have come before it, particularly by the Mother and Mario and Luigi role-playing games. As Flowey teaches the protagonist about LV and EXP, it’s clear that they are then supposed to have definition that may veer how people view these terms in games of a similar nature. Never having played those games myself, I immediately felt a sense of alienation when walking through the game. The puzzles were still enjoyable, and the storyline engaging, however, there was this frequent sense that I was slightly missing a large piece of how I engaged with the game. More precisely, I felt sure that the game was trying to contour up a sense of nostalgia - through a combination of the music, the graphics, as well as the different acts and aspects of its gameplay - and without being able to relate to this nostalgia, it wasn’t clear how properly I was fully able to take away the central thesis of pacifism from the game.
In a sense, it by no means felt like the game was a ‘parody’ as such, as whilst it was humorous in moments, the storyline and fights had enough of their own substance to bypass any accusations of simply being an imitation for comedic effect. In addition, as a player there was still a clear learning curve that I was able to take away from the game. I learned many different subtleties and made many mistakes as I encountered the different characters, ultimately leading me towards the right direction in how best I could approach some of the gameplay mechanics to raise my LV and EXP. However, perhaps the main problem of not being the intended audience of the game was quite simply the level of investment I was able to ultimately arrive at. In Paper's Please, the game acted as a platform to place ethical and moral choices made in every day life into scrutiny through the game as a medium. In Undertale, it seemed it was the choices made in previous RPG games that were placed under scrutiny. As a result, I perhaps am looking forward to now exploring more warmonger style games to better understand the context of Undertale.
I absolutely agree with Albert's comment on the idea of "Undertale" as an 'homage' to classic rpgs as opposed to a parody or anything else. The game perhaps relies too strongly on a feeling of nostalgia like OP said but that cannot take away from the game's polish without that previous familiarity. Though the mechanics frame the game in a similar format to previous RPG games, the art style and its stark simplicity lends to focusing on the dialogue and ideas more than staring at the new creature for the nth time. The writing is where the game stands out and using the previous tropes and an assumed familiarity allows them to stand out of focus in relation to th…
So as a rabid mother fan I will say that Undertale isn't really a subversion of its influences so much as it is a homage to them. That being said, I strongly agree that Undertale works to subvert tropes of the RPG genre in general, continuing the tradition of the Mother series. I think the idea of alienation with regards to Frisk is really interesting to think about with regards to the genocide run (spoilers) I always felt that the dialogue leading up to the Sans fight acted to force a division between the player and Frisk. The way his attitude towards you shifts acts to sort of disembody the player.
I very much sympathize with the experience you had with Undertale. I personally have not played too many RPG games, so there were many references that went over my head. It reminds me of conversations I have had in classes about contemporary art more strongly appealing to those who have a strong history and knowledge of art. We cannot truly appreciate the game because we lack that knowledge and exposure to RPG games in the past. I'm not saying it's a bad things, and that games should try to appeal to all audiences, I am just pointing out that it feels as though this game is an inside joke that I am not a part of.
I suppose this leads…