Quick Look: Undertale

Undertale has some weird boss designs

I would have enjoyed that quick look a whole lot more if Vinnie hadn't read all of the text in that very annoying high pitched faux southern voice.

It made watching the quick look about a really great game nearly unbearable.

It's also not very fair and a tad disrespectful to the developers of the game.

@humanity: So what you're implying is that if people consider this their GOTY they are against the AAA industry in some way? That's a little presumptuous. Most peoples preferences aren't so black and white. They can have two juxtaposing interests.

@marblez3: I'm saying play whatever you like. I might not "get it" but I'm not putting you down for it or trying to convince you otherwise.

My feelings exaaaaaactly.

You are literally the first person EVER to have a negative reaction to Vinny Caravella. He is easily the most enjoyable person on the internet.

I enjoyed the voices, to the point where it's going to be weird if I buy the game and have to play through without Vinny narrating it.

@jacksukeru: Random encounters are actually pretty rare, and there's a lot of fun stuff to read depending on how you handle them

It was maybe not my favorite quick look but as for disrespect..

He'd probably be okay with it.

@efesell: Can't wait for "'Undertale isn't perfect' 5/5 - Giant Bomb" to be added.

On that note, anybody that isn't convinced by the QL should really read the review or play the demo, see how things might play differently. One of the things I'm surprised Austin didn't touch on in this QL is how this game plays with breaking the 4th wall, for example. From my experience it happens very rarely, but when it does, it's some of the most amazing stuff...

Remember how Flowey said something about Austin being rude for pretending not to know him(/her?)? That's because Austin had played this game before.

Or maybe go kill Toriel in the demo and then reload and try to beat her without attacking her

(Those are pretty safe to read, by the way, and if you weren't convinced, you wouldn't mind reading those anyway, right?)

That's the kind of stuff that made this game stand out when I saw someone play the demo of what looked like just some kinda humorous RPG like 2 years or so ago, and definitely one the the biggest things I'll remember this game for.

yuuuup

Is this the first game to feature non-union voice actors since the strike?

I'm sad that austin and vinny missed the part where the font of the dialogue text for sans and papyrus is in sans-serif(for sans) and papyrus(for papyrus)

Nah they got it. "Sans and Papyrus?" "Uhhuh"

Vinny why would you kill toriel!

@mrbubbles: Comic sans, sans is a comic after all

omg I didn't even think about that!

This game just doesn't look all that fun to me. Of all the hundred of thousands indie darlings that are released each year, and every single one of them being praised as the greatest game of the year, I just don't have the patience for them. As others have said they often mean well but end up not being that fun to actually play. And I can't pretend like all of those games are the deepest shit ever made when a lot of them are about as interesting to play as Venetian Blinds for Atari 2600.

Et tu, Toriel?

He switches to Sans Serif when he gets real serious.

comic sans is sans-serif

I know that but MS fonts.

This game has talking skeletons therefore I must play it.

EDIT: Also the SMT negotiation and Touhou combat are cool too.

Crystalis (NES) is one of my favorite games ever. You can use the paralysis spell on every townsperson. And talk to dogs. And fight really fast. And stuff.

This is a great game please give it a try everyone. There's a demo on their site.

Okay, Austin, I'll buy another game because of you. I hope you are happy.

I'm getting an Old Gregg kinda vibe from some of Vinny's voices

@sessh: I did the same thing.

He's not wrong...

He's a fantastic person (maybe the best person), but boy did I find this QL too annoying to finish because of that voice. Got about 15 mins in.

@dave_tacitus: You are right, he isn't. Played about 3 hours now and I love this game.

I love this game so much

@castiel: So they are pretty great? Venetian Blinds spawned the best Game Room character.

@nigeth: God forbid that Vinny has a sense of humor about a game that has a sense of humor, right?

If you think the voice is annoying, fine. But "disrespectful"? Come on, now.

@chandemic: If you don't like an aspect of a game in what is essentially a video review, then offer your rationale for why you don't like it. For example if you don't like the tone of the dialogue written for a character of a game then build an argument for why you don't like it. Don't mock the game or developer in what is basically a review.

Let's just say that Jeff and Dan have been more sensible about how to present a game when they reviewed the train wreck that is Tony Hawk 5.

More importantly though, it's very very annoying to have to listen to someone review a game in a high pitched faux southern voice or indeed any sort of terribly acted fake accent. It makes it hard and very aggravating to listen to when you are actually trying to see what is interesting about a game.

I wouldn't even have minded if it had just been a throwaway joke but they spent about two thirds of the actual video talking back and forth in voices that became more and more ridiculous.

@nigeth:You're reading way too much into a silly voice. I don't think Vinny was trying to show that he didn't like the dialogue, the character, or the developer - he was just doing a voice to make the video more entertaining. The GB guys do this all the time. Loosen up.

Regarding Tony Hawk - I'm guessing it's fine if Jeff and Dan make fun of a game (one that that you don't like) as long as their criticism is supported by evidence/arguments? That doesn't seem to fit your definition of civil discourse at all. We must think of the developers - they're people, too!

Also, since when are Quick Looks "video reviews"? Last time I checked, video reviews usually don't include a person who has never played the game before. Austin seemed to be the one explaining the game's premise and demonstrating the mechanics, and he certainly had positive things to say.

In any case, expecting hard-hitting objective journalism in a Quick Look is a tall order....

@chandemic: Listening to Vinny make funny voices for half an hour is not necessarily the main reason I come to this website (it may be one reason but not the primary reason) but to each their own I guess.

So let's just say that I wasn't particularly fond of them keeping this bit going for the better part of twenty minutes as I felt that it detracted from the main reason I watch quick looks. Namely to get an idea about what a game feels and plays like from people whose opinion's I value.

"Regarding Tony Hawk - I'm guessing it's fine if Jeff and Dan make fun of a game"

Except they didn't. They had probably all the reasons for doing that yet they didn't and it made the failings and utter brokenness even more apparent. That was my whole point. They could have mocked the game mercilessly and it would probably have been utterly justified yet they didn't.

"Also, since when are Quick Looks "video reviews"?".

Quick looks are videos in which one or several persons present an overview of a particular game's gameplay and story and then talk about the things they liked or disliked about it. Videos that are made available for the general public to see.

This might not meet the benchmark for what you consider a review but debating whether a thirty odd minute video of people playing and giving their opinions about a game might technically be a review or not is basically just arguing semantics and technicalities

"In any case, expecting hard-hitting objective journalism in a Quick Look is a tall order"

I'd like to see at least a little bit of actual gameplay and what the guys like or dislike about a certain game though. I like the personalities and styles of the Giantbomb crew otherwise I wouldn't still be watching their videos. I don't like it when their personalities completely overshadow and practically bury the content I'm interested in under their weight.

As a sort of post script:

I'd probably be less bothered by it if the crew usually had several different pieces of content where they gave their opinions about a game than usually 'just' one quick look and nothing else.

It's just a tad disappointing if you are particularly interested in the guys' opinion about a certain game or if you want to see a little bit more about a game you're interested in when it turns into two guys testing out their funny accents half way through.

Especially when you know that this is usually the only piece of content they do about a particular game.

I know it's a rather late comment, but that snail fact is true. The process is called torsion.

Oh nooooo i can't believe you killed Toriel. I did that at first and actually cried, i thought I was supposed to. Realized that i didn't have to and restarted the game after that. I like this game a lot.

I'm so conflicted on this game. The characters, the writing, and the world this game has going on all seem fantastic. But I find it frustrating that the game gives you this major option in combat to divert yourself away from what's unique about the game which is the engaging dialogue interaction with the enemies.

This of course all depends on how its framed by the game early on. I suppose I have no way of knowing without playing this dang thing myself.

I really enjoyed that, although Vinny broke my heart when he killed that goat lady :(

Been hearing a few people hyping this game up... should have known better that nostalgia makes people hype things up more than they are. But then again I suppose I am missing the reference of this game due to lack of nostalgia. This isn't for me, I am sure there are some aesthetics and layers to these games but nothing quite that amazing.

This game's fan base is weird.

I didn't expect people to be turned off by Vinny's voices--as someone who played through the whole game (and I do mean whole), I think this is great.

Rock voice is spot-on!

I really want Vinny to read me a bedtime story.

This looks interesting, I may have to try it.

Anyone who's on the fence or turned off about this game due to the over-hype, it's worth it. Try the demo. The humor is pretty great, it's relatively short, and you never need to grind unless you want to evilly murder every monster in the game (or send dogs to college). It takes out a lot of the interface frustration of RPGs. You should especially look into it if you're a fan of "interface screw" mechanics or meta-narrative, as this game has the absolute best examples of those I've ever seen. It's funny that it came out alongside MGSV, because I felt that game was lacking in the usual mgs-style screwiness. I hope more games in the future play around with what the idea of a game is, and how to use a game's limitations to its advantage.

I came back to watch this after hearing them hype it up on the 8-4 Play podcast from last week... @Vinny was the best thing about this game.