Undertale is a deceptively simple-looking RPG created by Toby Fox in 2015. The worldbuilding of Undertale expands beyond the world itself by directly including the player.

The main principle is this: your actions have consequences. Every playthrough you make of the game, even when you load a new save, remains canonically part of the story. Deciphering its history takes multiple playthroughs, and beneath the cutesy characters and charming pixel art style is a dark tale woven with bloodshed, banishment, and betrayal.

You begin by falling through a hole into the Underground, the subterranean realm where the monsters were banished after losing their war against the humans long ago. There are six distinct levels in the Underground.

Ruins:

This is essentially the tutorial level, where you first find yourself after your fall. Toriel, a kind monster, instructs you to stay on the path and shows you how to show mercy to monsters you encounter. The fighting is turn-based and primitive, but with scarily realistic penalties.

Ruins is an odd place. You fall into a cluster of golden flowers. Red and auburn leaves are everywhere in small piles, though the only tree to be found is in front of Toriel’s home. Her house is warmly lit and pleasant, a place to pause and reflect before the onslaught of the remainder of the game. Though comfortable, it has an indiscernible eeriness. A child’s room without a child to occupy it. Locked doors. Mirrors that reflect you. A chained-off staircase.

But you press on.

Snowdin:

Snowdin is cold and icy, home to creatures who can bear it, like skeletons in hoodies and sweatered wolves. The vibe is anything but gloomy, though, with adorable dog bosses and snowball shenanigans. It has a shop, an inn, and even a diner where a certain someone might invite you for a date. There are many puns and clever easter eggs that don’t make sense on the first playthrough. Exploring the character’s houses sheds light on their quirky personalities. The further you progress, the more you notice the kind nature of these supposed monsters.

Oh yeah, and there’s a mysterious door that you can’t open.

Waterfall:

This level is dark, glowing with geodes and aquamarine torches, echo flowers and exotic fungi, waterfalls and glimmering pools. The soundtrack is tinkling and enigmatic. The deeper you delve into the game, the more evident it becomes that it’s absolutely chock-full of secrets. Before the room with dimming crystal lights is a difficult-to-find room known as Temmie village, a place which will surely give you a giggle. Again, there are houses you can explore and secrets you can discover – just not on the first playthrough. Either way, you’ll be enamored with the Ferry Dock, the River Person, and the Wishing Room.

You continue with determination.

Hotlands:

This is where things heat up and tension begins to build. The Hotlands are arid and punctuated by flowing lava. The lab you must pass through is home to a nerdy scientist who litters her space with comics and anime figurines. There are suspicious letters scattered over the floor, a hole in the wall she claims is the bathroom (it’s more horrific than a bathroom). Staying at the swanky MTT Resort, all golden tiles and flowing fountain and overwhelming sense of foreboding, you’ll sense the end is near. The world itself creates a sense of nervous anticipation with its sheer strangeness, with closed doors and puzzle pieces from previous levels finding their place.

You enter the elevator to the final level.

New Home:

Everything is grey, somber, and quiet. Long corridors occupy the foreground with a cityscape in the distance. Taking an inconspicuous path leads you to a room of coffins with a chilling secret. You encounter Asgore’s home, a grey mirror-image of Toriel’s. By contrast, the Last Corridor is bathed in yellow light that catches you off-guard (cue Megalomania; feel your heart drop). The Throne Room is a natural oasis, filled with greenery and yellow flowers. It is like being in the eye of a storm.

Undertale is one of the most atmospheric games I’ve ever played, proving that you can do so much with so little. It shows aspiring worldbuilders that tiny details and intricate connections are not to be overlooked, and that secrets only make the experience more rewarding for the person who uncovers them.

Nicoline

I’m a 22 y.o. mess in the Professional Writing program. I love video games, half-assed home exercise, and going for walks. Different universes have always been an escape for me, but what is it about a fictional world that submerges you so completely?