Few video games have left such a lasting impact on the internet quite like Undertale. Toby Fox’s RPG completely changed how games are played, discussed, shared online, and approached. From fandoms to memes, Undertale has permanently changed the internet, positively and negatively. Undertale has impacted fandom spaces, memes, YouTube, Twitch, music, creativity, and future games, all have been approached in new ways, all thanks to the game’s large success.
Fandoms through Undertale have become more rabid. Children around this time were at a large scale being exposed to the internet; they did not understand fandom etiquette and would attack people. These children were negatively impacted by this, as most fandom spaces in 2015 were not largely kid-safe. A positive in fandom culture was mostly the creativity that came with the game concepts, AUs became more widespread, and people would take their favorite characters and essentially make a different reality, whether it be them as kids, to being in a world where everything is rough and tough.
Undertale has also changed people’s approach to meme culture. It had jokes and iconic moments that would get clipped and shared, while this is common among many fandoms, Undertale was on another level. YouTube and Twitch also blew up further, with people making playthrough streams and playthrough videos. Undertale animatics and vine compilations also boosted the site’s visit rates.
Even music and future games experienced changes. Some extremely famous songs, such as “Megalovania” and “Hopes and Dreams,” became remixed and spread across so many platforms. “Megalovania,” in particular, has the most listens on Spotify of any video game song and has 100 million views on YouTube. Undertale has also inspired many other games, such as Omori (the best game ever) and Hollow Knight, which in turn have also shaped and changed many people’s lives.
In the grand tapestry that is the internet, Undertale has carved a memorable spot, changing things for the better, and some for the worse. The impact may overall be a positive one, but it’s best not to ignore the damage it’s done, particularly to children in fandom culture spaces, the blame can mostly be pinned on parents, and adults making strange content, but the media twisted Undertale, leaving impressions on impressionable kids who didn’t properly understand how to function on the internet.
In 2017, I was a child who interacted with the Undertale fandom; some were bad, some were good. My internet experience was mostly negative, but as I got older, the creativity it gave me flourished, and many of my old ideas were taken and made better. I made many friends, made many ideas, and learned lessons. Undertale’s main idea is choice, empathy, and facing the consequences of your actions. Those lessons may have been lost on me when I was younger, but now I understand and greatly cherish the message the game conveys to its audience. The messages Undertale focuses on are so important. Empathy and choices can shape who a person is. It’s always best to be empathetic and try to make the best choices you can, help others, think before you act, and accept the consequences that may come from your choices.
