Chương 18: C18: Undertale Experience

After I announced the existence of Undertale ordinary players didn't notice anything major about it. To them, it just felt like the situation had escalated, and I was in a hurry to save my skin. This wasn't just talk. It was like a frontal bayonet charge from my army!

But for the well-informed gaming media, the reaction was quite different. They viewed it like watching a Chihuahua suddenly barking louder than expected. Goodness! Initially, they thought it was just some young upstart boldly stepping up for a direct attack~ a farce. But now, it was clear: this was a premeditated hype move~ the young one was also playing a game!

Even though they knew what was happening, the media couldn't resist the traffic that this juicy drama was bringing in. Thanks to the reports from various outlets, the buzz surrounding both games, "Undertale," and "Blossom," skyrocketed quickly.

In the gaming studio, Zhong was starting to feel a bit anxious, a bit panicky. The two games were now linked in the public's mind. The rapid rise in popularity wasn't just due to my blog post exchange with Chen Xu. What really made the difference was the significant game promotion investment I had poured in. Now, only time will decide Who will wear the wedding dress. But for now? It seems like all that effort and investment is benefiting "Undertale" just as much, if not more.

___________________________________________________

On July 15, "Undertale" was officially launched on the domestic game platform store. Compared to "Blossom" on Hepai's side, "Undertale" managed to get a head start by being release three days earlier.

As a game designer and player, Some couldn't help but be curious about its performance. After all, "Undertale" is not your typical game like "Magic Mirror." While "Magic Mirror" gained a lot of attention, it was still an 18R game, which comes with its own limitations. Now, everyone, including myself, is eager to see what kind of quality Chen Xu has delivered with "Undertale."

At the Game and Media company Hepai, I, Wu Tian, had only been working for a short while. Even though it was Sunday, I found myself sitting in front of my computer, preparing to evaluate "Undertale." Despite it being just an ordinary independent game, The recent surge in its popularity made it hard to ignore.(Woah in gaming company playing games is what people called as overtime)

(╯°□°)╯( ┻━┻ )

The only downside was that, I had to work overtime on my day off. But, as I glanced at the clock, I reminded myself of what the editor-in-chief had said: "The company pays quite well for overtime. Just bear with it."

After tidying up my cluttered workspace, I finally launched "Undertale." The first thing I noticed was the simple logo icon on a black, starry background, with "Neon Game" written in bold characters and a line of English below.

The screen briefly went black before revealing a faded, yellowish portrait of a little girl with long hair, her face obscured. Next to her stood an animal, faceless as well—something between a rabbit, a dog, or a sheep?

I couldn't help but fathom about this odd duo as the game continued.

The opening animation was styled like a manga, as It starts flipping through pages as if telling a story in the comic form.

"I guess they didn't have the budget for CG animations, so they opted for this style. It's not bad, though," I thought to myself.

Already, "Undetale" had made a good impression on me. Maybe this overtime shift wouldn't be as gruelling as I had feared.

As the portrait continued to change, the background music kicked in. The simple scales added a nice touch to the atmosphere.

^-^======================= ^-^

"Long, long ago, the earth was ruled by two races—Humans and Monsters."

"One day, a war broke out between these two races."

"Through a long war, the human race finally won, and they sealed the monsters underground."

"And now, many years have passed..."

Ebert Hill - 201X. Legend has it that those who climbed the mountain never came back.

^-^======================= ^-^

A simple background introduction, and nothing really stood out.

After naming the protagonist Lu Shou, I saw it wake up on a patch of grass full of yellow petals.

Following the game operation prompt that appeared earlier, I controlled the character to walk forward.

After arriving at a gate that looked like the entrance to a castle, I walked in and saw a sunflower-like flower appear walking toward me.

--------------------------------------------------

"Hello!"

"I am Hua Hua!"

"Hee hee hee!"

"You must have just arrived in the underground world, right?"

"Oh my, you must be very confused."

"Looks like I have to teach you the rules of the game here."

"Hua Hua, has no choice but to teach you personally. Are you ready? Let's get started!"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Such a strange character.

Looking at the sunflower-like flower in front of me, I thought to myself,

LV upgrades make you stronger, right? Shouldn't that mean levelling up? What on earth does 'love' have to do with this?

Looking at Hua Hua's lines, I couldn't understand them.

"Is this some kind of joke?" I mused.

And what are these so-called "friendship particles"? Something about this little flower didn't feel right. Yeah, it's too gay.

I had a bad feeling, and soon the game confirmed my suspicions.

Accompanied by a sinister laugh, Hua Hua, who seemed so friendly at first, twisted into a terrifying monstrosity after explaining that LV was increased by touching these so-called "friendship particles."

After touching the white particles, my character's health instantly dropped to 1 point.

"You idiot! In this world, it's either kill or be killed! Ha Ha ha Ha ha...(Sinister~ High pitch laughter) Who would miss such an opportunity?"

"Die!"

I knew someone would come to my rescue.

Standard RPG plot device.

As I watched the heart-shaped icon surrounded by countless white particles, I felt no surprise.

I get it. The combat here is about dodging, like a rhythm game.

"It's predictable." I thought, watching the health drop while waiting for the scripted rescue.

Sure enough, just as the barrage of particles was about to hit me, my HP that had dropped to 1 suddenly refilled, and the attack on me vanished.

Hua Hua's expression in the game turned to confusion, and soon after, a group of flames knocked it away.

A woman with horns on her head appeared, saving Lu Shou.

"What a cruel creature, torturing such a weak and helpless child."

"Don't be afraid, child. My name is Toril, the keeper of the ruins."

"I come here every day to check whether anyone has fallen in. It's been a long time since any humans had."

"Come along now, I will guide you through the catacombs' pathway."

"This way."

After a brief conversation, the goat-like woman named Toril led me away.

She showed me how to solve puzzles and navigate traps.

At the same time, she explained that I didn't always have to fight enemies. I could also persuade them to avoid combat.

The puzzles were simple—pushing stones and not stepping on a bunch of fallen leaves.

"Although it's not exactly a gruelling experience, the quality is underwhelming compared to that gal game. This feels less interesting than a match-3 game."

I sighed, facing a monster, and chose not to talk or spare it.

Instead, I went straight into battle mode.

So far, the only thing I've enjoyed was Hua Hua's creepy expression earlier and the combat system itself.

Despite the dodgeball-style mechanics, the variety in how different monsters fight kept things fresh.

For instance, the frogs fought by hopping around in the battle box, which matched their design well.

"I just hope this game doesn't drag on for too long," I muttered to myself, shaking my head. 'The sooner I finish, the sooner I will leave the office.'