The thing I hated most about Undertale was ironically how its premise was handled. The game wasn’t “This is a game where you don’t have to kill anything.” it was “This is a game where you do NOT kill anything.”
The true story not only forces you into one playstyle but the game is so black and white that the biggest threats are shown as “LOOK AT THIS WEENIE. LOOK HOW CUTE THEY ARE. SPARE THEM OR YOU’RE A MONSTER.” It’s why my first playthrough of the game was a pacifist run. Because it was obvious this is how the game was intended to be played. I thought there would be more grayness in whether its best to fight or not in different instances. I truly believed that Undyne was going to be a hard choice… that is until she took off her helmet. Then I knew there was a way to spare her and it solidified the fact that even the toughest enemies can be passed without killing. But doing so didn’t feel like an achievement. It felt like a chore. Now we know now that the reason the game puts you through that is to show the npcs you meet throughout the game have a lot more depth than just enemies you kill and the two characters you HAVE to fight is only a big threat because the option to spare them is just nonexistant until after the battle is over. So it doesn’t feel like a playstyle I chose and got rewarded for.
Deltarune already feels different. So far it doesn’t seem to be about your choices affecting the story so much as it deals with your choices affecting the characters. Your playstyle ultimately affects the way the game ends but the right answer isn’t so painfully obvious because neither of your party members are totally in the right or the wrong.
Susie is about brutally fighting everything in her path while Ralsei is all about sparing everyone they meet. Now I LOVE balance which is why I think the true answer is Kris a split between two. On my second playthrough of the game I felt it was best to fight and show mercy. I’ll explain why.
The game allows you to choose how you deal with enemies. Defeating them doesn’t kill them, it sends them fleeing in fear. Sparing everyone again seems like the obvious answer until the end of the game. I feel like Kris is supposed to be the balance of both as to pacify a tired monster is a blue option that represents him. You can tire a monster by attacking them OR talking them down and the fact that Kris wields both a sword and a shield leads me to believe that he’s meant to be exactly what Susie says later in the game.
Spoiler Territory!
