Shaking up an existing genre is a risky move. You run the possibility of both alienating the hardcore players and failing to attract new ones. This makes it all the more special when a game manages to successfully turn an entire genre on its head and make you look at it from a different perspective. Undertale took RPGs and asked the player if killing all those monsters along the way was necessary or even right. Giving you the choice and having the outcome change depending on your choices made this a can’t miss game this year.
The concept is simple enough that it’s hard to believe that no one really tackled it beforehand. On my first playthrough of Undertale, as with most games with karmic choices, I went the good guy route. While it certainly aligned with what I would have personally done, it turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Likewise, for my second playthrough, I killed everything in my path and it was a little easier, but made me feel horrible. Pair that with a great story with a lovable band of characters and you’ve easily got my number 9 game in my top 10 games of the year.
