It’s hard to think about the fact that Undertale came out a year ago this month. Released by Toby Fox after nearly 3 years in development, the game was Fox’s debut into the world of indie videogames. It was also the industry’s biggest sleeper hit of 2015 (as well as our Best Indie Game award from that year). With the 15th marking Undertale‘s 1st anniversary, Toby Fox decided to commemorate the game’s release, writing a retrospective about his response to the game’s immense popularity.
“Though it was released almost a year ago, I have the same opinion of it,” Fox begins. “It’s about an 8/10, niche RPG game. If you like the characters and the humor, you’ll probably like it, and forgive it for its flaws. If you don’t, you’ll probably hate it.”
Fox acknowledged that there was “definitely a lot of luck involved in having a game become this popular,” admitting that he was perfectly comfortable with “never [making] a game as successful again.” Undertale‘s popularity quickly became overwhelming for the young developer, he also explains in the post. He experienced a significant amount of guilt from feeling so stressed out about the game’s success: which only made his anxiety about its sudden popularity even worse. As he put it, his guilt stemmed from “feeling stressed when the success of the game SHOULD be something I’m nothing but ecstatic about.”
But even then, Fox was glad to see that Undertale shepherded many fans through trying times in their lives. He saw first-hand how his game inspired young players to create, write and design their own games. For him, the good it did for fans and creators around the world was one of the most important parts of the game’s success. And on a personal level, Fox was touched by the community’s various creators and fanworks.
As of yet, Toby Fox and Undertale‘s future remains unknown. Some time after the game’s release, a Nintendo representative approached Toby Fox about the possibility of creating a Wii U port, but nothing official has been announced since. Either way, tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to sit down, relax and play through Undertale another time: just to enjoy what Toby Fox’s world has given back to the gaming community.
