Undertale, Healing Items, and LOVE
What it means to gain love and not LOVE while playing Undertale.
Happy anniversary! Undertale is nine years old! We’re a year from the tenth anniversary. And so much time has passed since this little indie game went viral and took social media by storm.
The newsletter that creator Toby Fox released for the anniversary included a character interview referencing the number 9 and how it plays to a dark effect on the No Mercy/Genocide run. We also got a new array of official merchandise meant for the kitchen, including a Toriel-shaped oven mitt with matching potholder and apron. (Shayy on YouTube goes through all the Easter eggs and links here.)
Seeing Toriel associated with the kitchen reminded me of my love for baking. And it reminds me of the coziness of her home in the Ruins, where she offers butterscotch pie, a bed where you can heal, and a space safe from monsters that want you dead. I always felt sad that to proceed, you have to break Toriel’s heart by asking to leave. You can only get the butterscotch pie from Toriel; once you eat it, it’s gone. Sure there are some other items that are as exclusive, but Toriel gifted the pie to you from the goodness of her heart. And it can save her if you use it at the right time.