#completeinfinity's underswap

THE INTRO:

Starting off with the introduction sequence: I really liked it!

It was initially really cool with how it tied into UNDERTALE's intro, but ended up feeling too brief and kind of unnecessary. The new introduction is long enough as-is, and does the job of explaining the story. Due to this, the UNDERTALE thing feels kind of tacked on, and doesn't really seem to serve any purpose story-wise.

The art for the intro sequence is absolutely stunning, and I don't think it's too detailed. The music is coordinated effectively with the visuals, and helps set up the story really well--though, I feel the music could have used some different instruments, as it felt a bit unfitting at the end.

SPLASH SCREEN:

The splash screen was really neat during my initial playthrough!

Its visual presentation needed some polish, but was nice and flashy. However, I felt that its flashiness sacrificed replayability--the player isn't able to skip the splash screen, unlike the intro.

It goes on for way too long, making the player wait for the "Press Z to start!" text to fade in completely in order to progress. It becomes incredibly annoying when starting up the game multiple times--like I did, since I encountered multiple softlocks.

MAIN MENU:

The main menu is absolutely gorgeous--in terms of artistic design, its layout, and the music. I feel that it could have used some SFX when going between options, in order to pair well with the visual presentation.

My only major critique is that "New Game" should NOT be above "Continue," because the player can accidentally press it. Make that the second option, or replace it with "Reset" once there's an active SAVE file, for consistency with lore and such.

GENERAL STUFF:

This section's going to be a list of my general thoughts on certain things:

The borders are absolutely beautiful! I didn't have any issues with these, since UNDERTALE also had higher-quality borders for its console releases.

The main menu's border (while probably a placeholder) was significantly lower res than the others, and covered part of the screen. NEVER have borders obscure the game window, and always have consistency!

The eight-directional walking, akin to EarthBound/Mother, is really cool! Nothing seemed off with it here, or detrimental to the gameplay/visual aesthetic.

I feel like there's a discrepancy between the environment and character art, with the environment having a higher level of detail. Make sure to be consistent! Either make the character art more detailed, or the environment art less detailed.

The sprint mechanic is neat, but I don't like how long it takes to recharge--nor how you can't see the bar recharging. I'd recommend having the bar recharge much faster than it depletes, and to always be on-screen unless it's full. I also recommend having it refresh between rooms.

The base movement speed seems much slower than Undertale's, which the sprint mechanic DOES compensate for--but its current iteration makes walking in the overworld a little tedious.

The sprint feature allows you to walk in front of Asgore. Take into account how sprinting will affect interactions with the overworld and characters--have them react appropriately, or ditch sprint.

The custom menu design was nice, though the Tem Flakes description went outside of the description box. Make sure to take into account text space with menu designs! You'll either need to have VERY simple descriptions, or rework the layout.

I thought it was odd that the game used dialogue portraits and names--it seems a little redundant, since you can see who you're talking to.

I disliked how the treasure chests automatically closed, as it can be confusing for the player. It makes them need to re-check every chest to know if they've opened it--keep them open!

SNOWFUL FOREST:

I loved how different the first area was from Undertale's Ruins! The starting point effectively showed the player where to go, and made them question what was beyond the blocked off path. The area's atmosphere--established by the environment art, ambient SFX, and music--was excellent, and gave me a feeling of isolation and desolate coldness.

I liked the inclusion of the sprinting puzzle to introduce the mechanic, but it needed more development. The game never tells the player what button to press to sprint, and the puzzle's sign associates "faster" with the color cyan--which, in UNDERTALE, is associated with not moving, as opposed to orange. You need to explain which buttons to press for mechanics!

I loved the tension of the fake-out Game Over screen! However, I have some issues:

The sequence is a PAIN for replayability, since you can't skip text and it lingers on too much.

It didn't make much sense to have the SOUL shatter, since Asgore saves you. This makes the fake-out Game Over screen feel forced.

Having everything freeze frame as the icicle is about to hit the SOUL would have been much better--a moment of pure panic, where everything slows down. The text from the Game Over screen would still play out, and then Asgore comes in and saves you.

Asgore's introduction was great! He felt well-written, and I loved Temmie skittering off in the background. It made me laugh! Walking up to the castle with him was also nice, though it was difficult to actually take in the exterior. You need to let the player see the eye candy! This could have been fixed through having Asgore say "here we are!" as you approach, and then the camera view shifts, with Eva looking up at the grandness of the castle.

I really wish that this area had been developed more, as its current iteration felt way too short and underdeveloped. Different instances of this include:

Its treatment as both a short introductory area, and a semi-major location--complete with its own aesthetic border, music track, and Deltarune-esque music title. I really liked all of these, don't get me wrong! The area just didn't feel "major" enough for them.

Its lack of meaningful puzzles. There was only a single puzzle which served to introduce the sprinting mechanic, and that was it. Perhaps there could have been 1-2 more to build upon this knowledge?

Temmie nor Asgore are given enough interactions to really help build them as characters, or establish them as memorable. Temmie talks to the player a few times, disappearing in between. Asgore saves the player from danger, introduces himself, then disappears until you follow him down the lengthy path to his castle.

I feel Temmie could have had more of a presence, trying to befriend you in an attempt to get your guard down. I also wish I could have seen them actually moving around the area, kind of like how Asgore briefly does!

Asgore could have warmed you up (due to the cold), commented on the puzzle you completed, remarked on the blocked path, spoken to you as you walked along, and maybe have helped you across the broken bridge's gap.

The rooms are mostly empty and not very engaging, which as an introductory area, this does not help engage the player with this world. This especially hurts with the backtracking as you follow Asgore to the castle path.

There didn't seem to be a genuine reason why Asgore ventured out and discovered you. Perhaps he took notice of the blocked path while strolling, and then came across Eva's footprints?

TEMMIE:

Right off the bat, I felt that Temmie using the word "greetings" made it way too obvious that they were Chara. This is in the context of an Undertale AU fan-game, where the target audience already knows all about these characters--making this a dead giveaway. It worked with Undertale ("Howdy!"), because we didn't know who Flowey or Asriel were. Use subtlety!

I've already mentioned how Temmie does not feel very developed as a character, and how I feel that could be improved. However, there are a few more things I'd like to point out.

First, I noticed there was an inconsistency between Temmie's dialogue, and what's written on the Tem Shop signs--while they speak in a normal manner, the signs have "derp speak" text. Rather than some sort of "act," it felt like these signs were written by a different character altogether. Make sure to be consistent with this kind of thing!

The Tem Shop itself was really cute, with well-done art! I wish that it had more of a prominence, though, as it only exists to give you a single item and it's very off to the side. The room is also a bit too large, considering there's nothing else in it.

I absolutely LOVED how ominous Temmie leading you towards the cave felt--especially with the intent of misleading and killing you. The idea of misdirection also really fits well with Chara as Temmie, considering they're not just going to outright go and murder you, but gain your trust and then strike. When you get into the cave, though, I feel like Temmie should have been the central focus in the room since the chest stands out a lot more--you could argue this is because Temmie wants you to focus on the chest, but considering the lack of interaction with them, they should have been more prominent.

THE CASTLE:

God, I loved the music of the castle. It's really nice-sounding and fits with the area, though I felt it had too many character motifs crammed into it. While the environment art mostly suffered from the same over-detailedness as Snowful Forest--when compared to the character and other overworld object sprites--I found the color palette and overall design to be very aesthetically pleasing.

Having the one Loox as "Asgore's knight" was such a cute idea! I just wish that Asgore had actually interacted with his "knight," considering he's a friendly old goober and wouldn't just ignore them. While this is an incomplete build, I hope that they planned to have more than just one knight--otherwise it would have a missed opportunity for more character interactions, and worldbuilding for the area.

When it comes to the SAVE text, I feel that "fills you with PERSEVERANCE" is nice, but doesn't make sense in terms of Undertale's DETERMINATION lore. Perseverance is a SOUL trait, and not the substance which grants the player (and other humans) the ability to SAVE and LOAD.

While this section of the demo hadn't been fully written out, I liked Temmie's reappearance by the SAVE point! I think it would have been nice if they made you question Asgore's intentions, still trying to get you on their side, before disappearing into the hole.

While the first puzzle wasn't completed, based on the unlit candles and the "only the brightest may proceed" sign text, I'm under the impression that Asgore was supposed to light the candles to open the door!

If this was the case, I think that is very clever! Though, I'm not sure how anyone but Asgore is supposed to complete this puzzle--especially considering his Loox knight, standing guard at the entrance.

I absolutely ADORED this part, where Asgore actually helps you complete the puzzle by stepping on the other pressure plate. Character interactions like these are important, and help enforce their presence in the story.

I also liked how, after completing the puzzle, Asgore walks out of view and the player isn't able to move. This rectifies the earlier issue of how, with the sprint mechanic, the player is able to move faster than him and mess with sequences.

The next three puzzles are where I feel an issue of this area begins to present itself--introducing one puzzle mechanic after another, without expanding upon them.

Now, this first puzzle isn't too much of an offender with that. It's simply pushing a rock--and while I feel there could have been a sign telling the player to use "Z" to push rocks, it introduces that game mechanic. The player can then backtrack (at least, in a hypothetical finished build--the puzzles reset, so you can't backtrack) to apply this knowledge in order to get a treasure chest.

This is good game design--introducing a mechanic, and then expanding upon it! However, Asgore is nowhere to be found, and completely abandons the player for three rooms.

While I like the second puzzle's incorporation of Undertale's Bridge Seeds, they're used way too early for another mechanic to be introduced.

The third room seems like it would have been an overworld dodging mechanics introduction, complete with an axe swinging from the ceiling. Not only does it seem odd that Asgore would have this active (unless someone else re-activated it), but it's also way too early to introduce yet another mechanic.

I can't help but wonder if these two rooms were supposed to be placed later on, or if they were intended to be here. If the former was the case, then this makes no sense gameplay and pacing-wise. It overwhelms the player by introducing too many mechanics at once, and not expanding upon them--especially in such close proximity to the magic & fighting tutorial.

Always make sure to introduce a simple mechanic, give the player time to learn it, and then expand upon that knowledge before introducing other new mechanics.

The very end of the build included an unfinished room, which seems like it would have served as the introduction to the new spells system--and subsequently, a battle tutorial to make use of it. Unfortunately, that's it!

UPDATE (3/26/2021)

Apparently, there’s a LOT more to this demo! I wasn’t aware because it seemed the spells tutorial would always result in a softlock, and it didn’t explain how to progress further. I was able to find a tutorial that explains which specific bugs to avoid, and how to progress throughout each room.

It’s still incomplete and lacking a lot of polish, but much like before, there’s a lot of really neat concepts I would have loved to see developed further.

I’m probably going to update this review in the future with everything I had played up until the very end (including some earlier criticisms I had in this post). Until then, though, here’s a video playthrough of the entirety of the unfinished demo by jayonicblaze.

(Disclaimer: this is a modded version of the demo, where it seems the intro frames, Temmie dialogue portraits, and Eva menu sprite have all been “colorized.” This is not indicative of the cancelled project, but cosmetic changes. The gameplay and other visuals are unaffected.)

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I feel like that's really all I have to say here. Overall, while CompleteInfinity's Underswap demo was not finished, I still really enjoyed the concepts it made use of. My biggest issues had to deal with pacing, character interactions, replayability issues, and underdeveloped concepts--but despite everything, I had fun playing. I'm saddened to see that this project won't continue, considering the amount of promise it had, and love that went into it.